AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Seeing Lacey’s face light up like the sun made Drew even happier than he’d been these past few days. He’d never forget the look on her face when she realized he would be their pilot today. And she didn’t flinch or look worried, which meant she trusted him—something he knew wasn’t easy for her to do.
“See that?” Drew pointed out the front window at a small, oddly shaped spit of land. “That’s an uninhabited private island. Ethan’s parents are in the process of purchasing it and building a couples-only resort there.”
“Wow, that would be amazing. I couldn’t imagine owning my own island. Then again, I couldn’t imagine being able to fly a plane.” Lacey turned as much as her lap belt allowed and angled her body toward Drew. “Any reason you decided to keep that to yourself?”
Without moving his eyes from the horizon, he thought about how he’d almost told her when she questioned the distance between them. It would be so easy to fly a plane to New York from Chicago, but even in his own head, it made him sound like a desperate creeper.
“No, it just didn’t come up. Plus, then you wouldn’t have been surprised today.”
“Where did you learn how to fly?”
“A frat brother of mine’s father owns a flight school. He took lessons over breaks and summers. I went with him once and went up with his dad. There was something very serene yet powerful about being in control at thirty thousand feet. After that ride, I was hooked. I started taking lessons and put in hours until I had my license. And when I came down here for the first time, I met John and took even more lessons.”
“Wow. The most exciting thing I’ve ever driven was a Segway on a tour of DC once.”
Lacey’s melodic laugh rang through his headphones. He took her hand, kissed it, and placed it on the yoke, allowing her to steer. She tried to pull her hand away, but Drew covered it with his. “Steer with me.”
He heard her let out a strong breath and adjusted herself in her seat, sitting up a bit taller as she stared out the front window at the endlessly blue sky and sea. When Drew lifted his hand off hers, she looked at him, brows furrowed with concern.
“You got this, Lacey.” He placed his left hand on the opposite side of hers and added, “We’ll do it together.”
“Okay,” she said with a smile. God, how he loved making her happy.
After helping her guide the plane for a bit, Drew put his hand back on the right side of the yoke and took control back. “You did great, but I don’t want you to miss what’s going on outside your window.”
Lacey stared down and let out a gasp. “Oh my God, is that awhale?”
“Keep watching. I think you’ll see it’s a couple of them.” Sure enough, the large mammals gave their own private show. Their shimmering forms crested the water, pirouetting like ballerinas performing a solo on the biggest stage created. Every once in a while, two would appear at once, in a duet like no other.
“That’s amazing!”
Lacey kept her eyes trained on the water while Drew flew flawlessly through the air. Every so often she’d ask a question about something she saw, either on land or sea. And when she placed her hand on his forearm, a jolt of happiness shot through him.
Drew flew all around the island, pointing out various coral formations and giving Lacey a little bit of the island’s history, which John had told him when he took his first flight. Lacey seemed to be enjoying herself, laughing at the boats that looked much smaller from their perspective. She even thought she saw a few nude sunbathers on the deck of a small yacht.
He glanced at his watch and knew he needed to get back to the resort, but he had enjoyed his time so much he didn’t want the flightto end. When he turned the plane, Lacey sighed, clearly feeling the same way.
Each minute that passed meant they were one minute closer to when Lacey left the island. If he could have flown this plane opposite the earth’s rotation to slow time down—if that were a thing—he would have done it. But instead, he decreased their speed and watched the altitude dial as the plane slowly descended toward the water.
Drew lowered the aircraft until the sea met the floats and let him use the water as a runway. Lacey lowered her headphones until they rested around her neck.
He still couldn’t fathom how he had such deep feelings for the woman sitting next to him. No doubt his family and friends back home might question them, but regardless of what anyone said, they were real.
Jonathon stood on the dock, ready to welcome them back. “How’d she handle?”
“Perfectly,” Lacey said with a sigh, a dreamy look on her face. When neither Jonathon nor Drew said anything, her eyes widened. “Oh, sorry.” She let out a sweet laugh. “You weren’t asking me.”
Drew took her hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss it. “I would have said the same.”
“Fantastic.” Jonathon clapped Drew on the back. “I need to take off—literally. My lovely bride has plans for us this evening. He waggled his brows, bringing a smile to both Drew’s and Lacey’s faces.
Jonathon hurried into the plane and started the engine, the warm air growing stronger with the force of the propeller. Lacey and Drew watched him take off. Once the yellow aircraft faded beyond the clouds, Lacey turned toward him and took his free hand in hers.
“Thank you, so much… for everything.” Her eyes shimmered, and a pang hit Drew square in the chest.
“Our day isn’t over yet. Are you hungry?”
Lacey’s head bobbed up and down. “Starved.”
