Page 78 of Teach Me Your Ways

I followed her, eager for an explanation. Once we were out of earshot, I turned to face her.

“Talk about not getting any warning,” I said, crossing my arms. “What the hell, Cece?”

A slow smile spread across her face, and there was something almost predatory about it. “Yeah, it’s not fun, right? Being ambushed without any heads-up?”

She was giving me a taste of my own medicine. The meeting with Dean Carver. I couldn’t stop the laugh that came out. “Fine. Lesson learned. But what are we doing here? What am I doing here?”

She flashed another sexy smile that felt like her hand was stroking me. “Flying.”

I tilted my head. “Flying.”

“Yes. In an airplane.”

“Well I’ve seen you naked and I know you don’t have wings.”

She let out a soft giggle. “Stop. No talking about being naked together. That makes things… difficult.”

I knew exactly what she was saying. Difficult. She’d get wet and that would be that. I was going to be the guy sporting blue balls. That was difficult.

“I told you my mom’s a pilot,” Cece said.

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“She’s been flying for twenty-five years. Started when I was Sophie’s age.”

I glanced back at Maggie, who was now doing some kind of pre-flight check on the small aircraft. “Okay.”

I still had no idea what this little exercise was.

“I want you to understand something,” Cece said, stepping closer. The heat radiating off her body made my pulse quicken despite the serious conversation we were having. “You think I’m reckless because I have a daughter. That I should wrap myself in bubble wrap and never take any chances.”

“That’s not⁠—”

“Let me finish.” Her blue eyes flashed with determination. “My mother took risks her whole life. She flew cargo planes, charter flights, even did some stunt work for movies. She never stopped living because she had a kid. And you know what that taught me?”

I waited, sensing this was important.

“It taught me that being a mother doesn’t mean disappearing. It means showing your child what it looks like to be brave, to pursue your dreams, to not let fear control every decision you make.” Her voice softened slightly. “My mom taking those risks, following her passion—that’s what inspired me to become an archeologist. To be a diver. To not settle for a safe, boring life.”

The pieces started clicking together. “So this is about the dive.”

“Partly.” She glanced back at the plane. “And I thought you might like to see the world from up here. Ever been in a Cessna?”

“Yes. I fly into areas that are off the beaten path.”

“Well, this is a different experience.”

“You two want to hop in?” Maggie called out from where she sat in the cockpit.

I looked at Cece. She offered me a half-smile. “Come on.”

I climbed up into the back seat. Sophie twisted around in the co-pilot seat and grinned. Cece sat beside me in the small space. Our knees were touching. Even in jeans and a tee, she looked absolutely gorgeous and irresistible.

I took a breath, knowing it was a bad idea to have any physical contact with her. It would make things too hard. Literally. My dick was stirring at the contact. And I didn’t think it was a good idea to sport a hard-on with her mother and daughter two feet away.

Maggie fired up the engine, and the propeller spun to life. She ran through her checklist with the practiced efficiency of someone who’d done this thousands of times, her voice calm and professional as she spoke into the headset.

“Everyone buckled in back there?” she called over the engine noise.