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Becca frowned. “I don’t want to put you out.”
“It’s fine.” Jacob put his hand on her shoulder. “Slade can’t follow us out because I didn’t come into the parking area. Our ride is outside.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, here you go then.” She handed the ticket over. “And it’s got the spot written on it. I can never remember where I parked. So, I write it on the ticket.”
Jacob exchanged a glance with Slade. He was going to have to talk to her about that – make sure she stopped doing it. If her purse were lost or stolen, she could easily end up losing her car as well if some unscrupulous person wanted to use the ticket. Although, on second thought … He had to bite back a laugh. It wouldn’t be much of a loss in his eyes if someone took her clapped-out old Focus.
Slade took the ticket with a smile. “Thanks. I can take it from here. You guys should get going. I’ll see you at home.”
“Thanks, Slade.”
Slade gave Jacob a knowing smile that made him smile right back. It wasn’t the kind of look one guy gave another that said,good luck getting laid. It was more like … understanding and support.
“Yes,” said Becca. “This is so awesome of you. Thank you so much. I owe you one. Big time.”
Slade just laughed and waved as he walked away. “It’s all good. You’re welcome.”
Once he’d gone, Jacob looked down into Becca’s eyes. “Are you ready to go?”
“I am. And we’d better hurry if you’re parked outside. You don’t want them to tow you.”
He took hold of her case and then reached for her hand. It was only when she linked her fingers through his that he realized he’d reached for her automatically as if it were the natural thing to do, and somehow normal between them. When she smiled up at him, it felt like the most natural thing in the world, and he couldn’t help but hope it might become his new normal.
When they got out onto the street, Becca stopped and looked around. She was no doubt looking for the Range Rover. Of course, it wasn’t here. Instead, he led her to the car that the guys at Signature had given him the use of.
She gave him a puzzled look. “I don’t get it. Where’s your car?”
He chuckled when the driver came to take the case and open the door for them. “This is it.”
She looked even more puzzled now, but he gestured for her to get in and was grateful when she did.
He got in beside her. Her eyes were so huge as she watched the driver get in, that it made him laugh.
“What the …?”
He chuckled as he reached for her hand, loving the way she linked her fingers through his again, even while she was so obviously and utterly confused.
“Where’s your car?” She shot a glance at the driver, and even though he couldn’t hear them through the glass partition, she lowered her voice to ask, “And who’s he?”
He squeezed her hand as he chuckled again. “My car’s at home. There’s no way I would have been able to drive here in time to catch you before you – and Fred – set out to drive home.”
She frowned. “Yeah. That’s why I couldn’t believe you were here. There’s no way … I’m not sure that I believe you’re here even now. How did you get here? Am I about to wake up in a minute?” She glanced at the driver again. “And whoishe?”
She was adorable! Every second he spent with her, Jacob felt more drawn to her. “I am here. You’re not dreaming it. I got here …” he hesitated, but there was no point in holding back. She was about to find out as soon as they got back to Signature – the fixed base operator on the general aviation side of the airfield. “I came in the jet.”
Her eyes grew even bigger still. “The jet? You mean … like … a plane?”
He had to laugh. “Yes. Just like a plane. In fact, so much like a plane that it is a plane.”
“Wow!”
“Is that okay?”
She shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. I mean, are you trying to tell me that … that when I talked about driving home in Fred, you jumped into your plane and came to rescue me?”
He bit down on his bottom lip to try to hide his smile as he nodded. “Yes. That’s about it. When you said that you were about to spend the next several hours in that deathtrap that you drive – and in Oakland traffic, no less – I just couldn’t. I knew the jet was ready, the guys brought some of the execs back from San Diego this afternoon. So …” He shrugged. “I gave them a call and asked if they could do a quick turnaround and get me to Oakland. Then I called Slade and asked if he’d mind doing me a favor.”
“Wow!”
