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The next moment, his large hand enveloped my fist as I still clutched the strap my seat hung from. My heart jittered in my chest and a thick and gooey warmth traveled up my arm.
I opened my eyes and, against my better judgement, looked into Kai’s deep brown eyes. The world fell away. The ocean. The harnesses. The winch. None of it mattered.
Kai was there. I was safe. I don’t know how I knew it, but I was safe.
“Trust me,” he said.
“I do.”
I could have sworn the earth stopped turning and time stood still. I became lost in Kai’s eyes, and there was no coming back. We’d found our quiet place, and I didn’t want to leave—ever. All I could think of was the way his hand fit perfectly over mine, as if it had been made just for me.
He winked.
I shivered.
And Uncle Leo unfurled the canopy behind us.
Up, up, and away!
Someone let out the most obnoxious squealing yelp I’d ever heard. It totally killed the moment Kai and I were having.
Just as I was about to look around and see who was making all the racket, I realized it was me.
“Whooo!” Kai shouted beside me with his black curls whipping around his face. “This is the best part!”
My gaze landed on his hand that was still wrapped around mine. “Yeah, it is.”
I was telling the truth. Watching the boat get tinier by the moment as we soared into the air like a couple of cuckoo birds was terrifying. Having Kai beside me was definitely the best part about this wild ride. Every time his leg brushed mine, my body charged with a delicious electricity I’d never felt with anyone else.
I wanted more.
I needed more.
“This is one of the best views of the island you’re ever going to get,” Kai said. “Helicopter tours are awesome, but there’s nothing like free-flying through the air.”
I looked at the shoreline and the green land rising behind it. It took my breath away—well, that and the fact that Kai’s leg had just bumped against mine again.
“Close your eyes for a minute and listen,” he said.
I did.
There wasn’t a sound besides the wind. The world and all of its nagging problems were so far away that they couldn’t touch us.
Up here we were just Beth and Kai. No secret spy mission. No nefarious hostile takeover in the works. Just two people—two people who could quite easily fall in love if we let ourselves.
“Hey.” An all-new bolt of electricity shot through my body when Kai bumped me with his shoulder. “Thanks.”
I swallowed hard, trying not to pay attention to the trillions of neurons firing in my brain, screaming that the hottest guy on the island had just touched me again.
“Thanks for what?” I said, cool as a cucumber in a frying pan.
“For being okay with our conversation the other day. You know, the one about kissing. It had the potential to get really weird. But you were cool.”
“What? Oh, that?” I pretended like I hadn’t replayed that conversation over in my mind a hundred times. “What can I say? That’s me. Cool Beth.”
“I wanted you to know I appreciate your understanding. Dad never mentioned anything while I was on the mainland, but business has been pretty rough the past few years.”
My ears perked up. Part of me wondered if business was bad enough for them to go under without me having to be the heavy. But the biggest part of me was sad to hear it. “I never would have guessed. You’re really good at helping people have fun.” My cheeks blushed at my admission. Truth be told, I'd been having a little too much fun with someone I was supposed to keep at a professional arm's length.
