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She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. “Something is wrong. I can’t get a hold of my brother. It’s not like Sebastian to be unreachable when we’re this close to Christmas. He’s got all the paperwork, and he’s supposed to be handling the press.”
“Sounds like he has a lot to do this time of year. I’m sure he has everything under control.”
“You don’t understand. If we can’t account for every cent of our donors’ money, we’ll be finished. There won’t be any more Christmases for the refugees Christmas Crates helps. Then there’s my plane and this weather. I need to get to Syria, Jarik, I need to get therenowbefore everything starts crumbling around me.”
As soon as Jarik saw the threat of tears in her eyes, he dropped his bag and crossed the room in two steps. Enveloping her in his arms, he held her tight. She didn’t even resist, and that alone worried him. Although he hadn’t known her very long, he had a feeling that embraces, particularly from men she didn’t trust, were not something she indulged in very often.
She fit perfectly in his arms. Bowing his head, he softly inhaled her scent and had to restrain himself from pressing his lips to her soft hair. He was used to women pressing themselves against him, but it was more than desire that awoke within him.
He wanted to comfort her and protect her.
The thought made him stiffen, and she immediately stepped away from him. It was clear to both of them that something had shifted between them, but neither of them wanted to talk about it.
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” he said resisting the urge to pull her back into his arms. “For all you know, your brother is on a plane right now, and that’s why you can’t get a hold of him.”
“You’re probably right.” Maria tucked her hair nervously behind her ear and swung her duffle bag over her shoulder. Flashing him a tight smile, she nodded her head. “How long will it take you to get ready?”
“Give me ten minutes. Then we’ll go get an airport breakfast. What every sheikh looks forward to,” he mumbled.
She smirked at him before laughing, and he couldn’t help but smile in return, as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door. This woman heated his blood. But she charmed him as well.
Pulling a hat on, he zipped up his jacket and prayed that no one would recognize him as they made their way to the airport. Between CCTV and cameras on every smartphone, an unintentional photo of him might easily make it onto the internet and ruin his plans. Walking into the airport, Maria immediately abandoned him at a food kiosk as she went in search of news about her plane. He grabbed them two cups of coffee and a bowl of fruit with some yogurt. When he found her again, she looked angry.
Really angry.
The poor mechanic trying to talk to her looked terrified. Jarik took pity on him and tried to intervene.
“What do you mean hours? It’s a simple fix.Icould do it. I don’t care what other planes you have to work on. I have a deadline, and I need to make it. If I don’t, an entire refugee camp is going to have a bunch of unhappy children. Do you want to be responsible for ruining Christmas for all those kids? Well? Do you?” Maria demanded.
The poor man looked like he was going to cry. He glanced nervously around as though he were searching for someone to rescue him.
Jarik tried to put a comforting hand on Maria’s shoulder, but she shot him an icy glare. “Everything okay?” he asked cautiously.
“No. No, it’s not okay. This guy is refusing to fix my plane until after noon.”
“She was already told that she couldn’t get back up in the air until this evening,” the mechanic said as he cast a pleading look at Jarik. “I’ve got five other planes that I have to inspect that were already on the schedule.”
“It wouldn’t take any more than an hour to fix, and I’m very familiar with this airport. The only reason they are pushing my plane back is because they have rich clientele who dock their planes in a private hangar, and those planes are supposed to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Their inspections are just routine—they don’t even have any scheduled flights.”
“They pay good money…” the mechanic argued.
“But they’re not going anywhere, and I am,” Maria scowled.
“Hey!” Jarik interrupted. He passed a cup of coffee to her. “Maria, why don’t you do a cursory check of the plane while I talk to the mechanic and see if we can’t figure something out.”
She opened her mouth to argue but just growled and snatched her coffee, careful to keep from spilling it. After she’d stomped off, the mechanic gave him a grateful look. “Thank you,” he muttered. “She’s very difficult to talk to.”
“Look, I know that you have a schedule that you feel obligated to keep, but we both have places that we need to be. I’m sure that, with the right incentive, you can find a way to make her plane a priority and still get all your scheduled work done. As she’s said, it shouldn’t take long to complete the repairs.” To make his point, Jarik pulled out his wallet.
The mechanic took one look at the incentive that Jarik offered him and immediately nodded. “I’ll have you up in the air in two hours, but please keep her out of my way. She’s scary.”
“Done.” They shook hands, and Jarik went to tell Maria the good news. She planted her hands on her hips and glared suspiciously at him.
“He changed his mind? Just like that?”
Jarik tried to smile charmingly. “I can be very persuasive.”
“How much did you pay him?”
