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I grinned slowly at her and shook my head. “No, no, no. You’re not gonna get it outta me. It’s a surprise, all right?”
“Ugh,” she groaned, but the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips gave her delight away. “Fine! Then let’s get going already!”
“Yes ma’am.” I saluted her and she giggled.
We headed back up the hillside. I took the corners quickly, winding effortlessly around the familiar curves of the road. Holly squealed at one, particularly sharp twist, and grabbed hold of my forearm.
I grinned over at her, knowing that what was next on our itinerary would probably freak her out even more. I just hoped it was in a good way. I hadn’t been able to figure out whether or not she was much of a daredevil. She had mentioned that she took boot camp style workouts that involved climbing large walls with no footholds, using rope swings, and repelling tactics, but other than that, there’d been no clue that indicated she was an adrenaline junkie.
As we neared the Rosen Air Museum, I just hoped she would at least give it a chance and not turn me down flat.
When we reached the main road, a sign flew by and recognition dawned on her face. “Jack, are we…?”
“Surprise, remember?” I interrupted before she could finish her question.
She crossed her arms but still couldn’t keep herself from smiling. I turned into the lot for the Air Museum and she looked over at me expectantly.
“Come on,” I said, throwing the Camaro in park.
She pushed out her door and looked back. “What about the dogs?”
“Player can watch them,” I said, hoping he was less pissed off at me now that a couple of hours had passed since our argument that morning. “Come on, hounds, you too.”
Princess hopped out and Hunter followed after her like a duckling following its mother on a pond. There were a few other cars in the lot. I knew Aaron would likely be busy giving a tour or answering guest questions, so when we stepped inside, I took Holly on a miniature tour myself. Aaron had given me the basics on all the planes in the collection and I knew Holly wasn’t likely to ask too many in-depth questions.
Halfway through our self-guided tour, Aaron spotted us. He was smiling as he approached, but I could see a hint of anger still lingering in his eyes when he got close. “You guys decide which one you’re taking up?”
Holly turned at the voice and smiled. “You must be Player.”
“Aha, I can see I’m infamous already,” he replied, offering her his hand. “You’re correct. I am a Player.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m—”
Aaron smiled, “Holly.”
Her eyes floated to me in silent question.
“We hadn’t decided yet, actually,” I said, replying to Aaron’s original question. “Which one would you like to take out for a spin?” I asked Holly, as though we were standing at a car dealership instead of in the middle of a warehouse full of vintage military planes.
She glanced between Aaron and me once more, and I could almost hear her wondering what I’d told Aaron about her, but she shrugged it off after a moment and looked down the line of shining planes. “Any of these?”
I grinned. “Well, not exactly. You point out which one strikes your fancy, and I’ll let you know if it’s flyable or not.”
She cast an anxious glance at Aaron before starting down the line. She took tiny steps, spending a moment with each plane, before moving on to the next. When she stopped, she was right in front of the Soviet era fighter jet that I’d been enraptured with when I’d first arrived.
Aaron glanced over at me, and I wondered if he had made the same connection. “Your girl has great taste,” he said, striding over to where Holly had stopped.
“So, it flies?” She asked, craning around to consult Aaron.
He nodded and grinned. “Sure does.”
“Okay. Then, I pick this one, Player.” She looked over at me, waiting for my confirmation.
Aaron stepped in before I could, snaking an arm around her shoulders. “All right, but I have to ask, you sure you want Boomer over there to take you up?”
I rolled my eyes and shoved him away from her. Although I knew he was just fucking with me, it still riled me to see him even pretending to make a move on Holly.
“Boomer?” Holly repeated, looking between Aaron and me, waiting for an explanation.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
She wrinkled her nose. “What does it mean?”
Aaron clapped a hand to his chest. “Oh!”
She smiled at Aaron’s theatrics. “Boomer?”
“Yep,” Aaron answered, apparently recovered from his faked heart attack. “See, back in the Navy, we had a little bet going. Boomer here broke the record in our squadron of pilots for first to break the sound barrier, and as a result, ended up forever tagged as Boomer.”
