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“I hope it’s all right for me to tell you you’re beautiful,” he says once we’re within earshot.
Warmth flushes onto my face. “Only if it’s all right for me to say you’re looking really good in that suit.”
He gives a short, gruff laugh and places a careful hand on the small of my back, guiding me toward the lobby’s revolving doors. “Did you sleep well? How is Tasha doing?”
“Tasha’s Tasha. A vault she’s letting nobody into. I’m hoping she’ll come around,” I say. We step outside into the blazing summer sunshine, a car already awaiting us. “But I haven’t slept much since our call.”
“Oh, yeah? Why not? Were you up thinking of me?”
His tease only makes my smile widen. “I see in our time apart your cockiness has only doubled.”
“Well, I figure I have to make up for the past few days. I told you it was very difficult being around you.”
“You still haven’t said what that means.”
He offers his hand to help me into the passenger seat of the car we’ll be taking. “It means you’ve had me feeling like a nervous teenage boy who hadn’t touched his first pair of tits yet. A feeling I have not felt since I was fifteen.”
I laugh. “But if it’s hard being around me, how are you going to manage today?”
“That’s where the cockiness comes in,” he says, winking at me. “Fake it ’til you make it.”
He walks around to the driver’s side of the car. In the span of those few seconds, I inhale a breath I hope will calm me down and help me keep my head—the flirtation is already too much. My stomach ripples with more nerves, making me feel like I’m in a constant state of free fall. Both thrilling and dangerous.
Crap.I thought I could hold it together better than this.
Gio hits the gas and we’re off. The security that’s accompanying us follows in the car behind us.
I sneak a smile at him only to discover he’s already glancing at me between paying attention to the road. He’s enjoying every second of this as much as I am.
Our car speeds ahead down the fast lane, like an actual trip down memory lane. Years ago we’d go for drives just like this one, where Gio showed off his racing skills and the wind whipped around us. Only he can drive like a speed demon yet somehow as safely as possible at the same time.
We arrive at a small regional airport. A helicopter sits nearby on a pad, its thunderous engine powered on. Gio’s hand returns to my back as we cross the tarmac.
“Are you okay with this?” he asks. “I thought it would be enjoyable to go on an aerial tour of the city.”
I lean in and kiss his cheek without thinking. “Sounds like fun. So long as your fear of heights doesn’t kick in.”
“What do you think you’re here for? To make me feel better.” He grins, his hand slipping to my hip for a quick squeeze.
My breath draws short at the contact. His touch is like his gaze, eliciting a current of electricity down my spine. It’s been so long since I’ve felt it, it disorients me for several seconds.
Our pilot helps us get strapped in and explains our upcoming ride. As the sleek blades spin and whir around us, we leave the ground and take off. Soon we’re hundreds of feet into the air, gazing out the glass at the desert landscape and city edges below.
For a while, as we float miles in the sky above steep canyons and sharp cliffs, we sit and admire the panoramic views. At some point, I’m leaning closer to him, our bodies brushing side by side in our seats. His hand encloses around one of mine in our laps, and I don’t have the resolve to pull it away—nor do I want to.
Gio’s touch is the warm, comfy blanket providing me solace on a chilly day.
His hands have touched me a million different times in a million different ways, yet the heat they bring me only seems to burn eternal.
I’m learning it’s never going to go out, no matter the storm.
“If someone told me even a week ago I’d be on a helicopter tour with you, I would’ve thought they were crazy,” I say loudly.
He squeezes my hand. “I would’ve thought the same. Only because I’m a dumb fuck and ruined what we had. A regret every day for the past seven months.”
“You’ve really thought about it every day?”
“Every day,” he says. His attention shifts solely onto me. The fantastic sights of our helicopter ride become background fodder. “Everynight, Falynn. I won’t tell you the extent, because I’m not trying to put any pressure on you. But it’s something I haven’t stopped thinking about.”
