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Chapter Nine
She argued with herself for a full hour before Marshall showed up with his rental car and whisked her away to his private jet. But despite her inner monologue that teetered between you’re out of your mind to this just might work after all, she’d been outside her wedding shop promptly at one that afternoon.
“Comfortable?” Marshall asked and stretched his legs the entire width of the aisle.
“What? Oh, yes, thank you. I’ve never flown on a private jet before.” Everything screamed dollar signs. Burgundy pleated curtains with a golden cord framed small portals that let the early afternoon sunshine through. Their color matched the ultra-soft material of the plush chairs that looked nothing like the commercial flights she was used to.
Beige carpet covered every inch of the floor with more gold accents. And down the length of the aisle that led between the cockpit and the tail was the Blackwood name in bold black lettering.
Busy since the second he walked into her shop; she’d overlooked one detail that should have been first. Who exactly was Marshall Blackwood?
“It’s definitely a change from what I’m used to.” Turbulence rocked the cabin, and her nails bit into the soft armrests a little too tightly.
Another pocket. This one strong enough to rattle her teeth. She squeezed her eyes shut.
He moved from the small stretch of couch that lined the left side of the plane and joined her.
“It will smooth out in a second, sweetheart.” He slipped his hand over hers. “Nothing to it. Promise.”
He took a seat across from her and settled a stack of papers and a laptop on the low table between them. “I hope you don’t mind. I have a meeting with my board as soon as we land, and I need to have some answers before then.”
Worry lines around his eyes and across his brow grew the longer he stared at the paper he held.
“No, not at all. In fact, we should both work.”
It was way safer doing that than fantasizing about what a man like him would feel like pressed up against all of her.
He stood and slipped from his suit jacket and tossed it over the back of his chair. His broad shoulders pulled at his shirt, the material clinging to all that Texan muscle. Despite all her efforts to the contrary, her gaze drew to the finger he slipped around the knot of his tie as he loosened its hold by a few inches before moving to the cuffs of his sleeves and rolling them to reveal strong, thick forearms.
She swallowed past a dry spot in her throat and took a long drink of the bottle of water he’d handed her when boarding.
“What are you working on now?” He gestured to her planner and laptop.
Eating him for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
She cleared her throat and dropped her gaze to the screen trying to focus on the words. “Umm...meal plan options, at the moment. Imagine all the delicacies we can feature.” She brought her eyes back to his. “I might have to rein in Rachael, my in-house baker and chef, on this one. She’ll want to go crazy at first, I know it.”
His warm laughter made her smile. “I’m familiar with the effects summer eating has on belt lines and budgets. My mother and sister turn into a sugar factory as soon as the heat cranks up. Then again for the holidays.” He paused, holding her gaze for a moment. “This job of yours suits you, Juniper. You look like you’re in your element.”
He flashed a grin that was so inherently confident that she nearly forgot to blink for a full minute as he continued to hold her gaze captive. “It gives you this glow. Every time you talk about one aspect or another… I don’t know, you give off a romantic vibe that’s contagious.”
Contagious? That was a new way of looking at it.
“Is that a good thing or bad?”
“Depends on which side of the romance spectrum you sit on I guess. I’ve been known to prefer a lonely dinner poring over contracts and numbers than a night out on the town.”
She gave a slight shrug, relaxing into the chair. “That might be due to not having the right woman to tempt you.”
His brows shot up and her foot went into her mouth. Gah, she was really stepping in it with this man. Why him? Why now? What was it about him that had her so damn mesmerized she couldn’t focus?
“Until now, of course. Stella,” she offered quickly.
He nodded, a sort of cocky grin on his face.
“How about you?”
She blinked, noticing his lack of agreement with her statement.
