1. Skylar
Chapter One
SKYLAR
I dashed across the parking lot to the public restroom. Too many seconds later, my bladder felt as if it let out a giant sigh when I made it into the stall and slammed the door shut.
“Finally,” I muttered to myself.
“You know you’re in the men’s bathroom,” a voice said.
“What?” I yelped before slapping my hand over my mouth.
Oh, my freaking god.
Fu-uuuuck , I hissed silently to myself.
There was no stopping my body now, though. The sound was way too loud for my comfort.
“Do you mind?” I ground out.
“I was in here first,” the voice returned.
I could’ve sworn I recognized the voice and prayed it wasn’t who I thought it was.
“Fine. I’m sorry I came into the men’s bathroom.” I flushed the toilet so I didn’t have to hear the guy next to me peeing.
Another moment passed before I heard the stall door opening beside me. I considered just waiting it out, but I didn’t want to be a coward. I pulled my dignity on, along with my pants, and walked out only to discover it was exactly who I feared.
Tucker Harrison stood there calmly washing his hands at the sink. He glanced over with a sly glint in his blue eyes. “Hi, Skylar.”
Oh. My. God. I was usually able to speak, but Tucker could render me speechless even without me accidentally encountering him in the men’s bathroom.
I didn’t want to admit I had a crush on him, but my body defied me every time I saw him.
With his sky-blue eyes, rumpled brown curls, and a seriously fit bod, I got hot just standing near him.
Now, we were in the men’s bathroom together.
“Hey,” I squeaked.
I almost ran out, but that meant not washing my hands, so I cleared my throat. “Excuse me.”
He turned off the faucet, stepping out of the way as he dried his hands on a towel. “All yours.” He nudged his chin toward the sink.
“Thanks,” I mumbled. My cheeks were burning up. I carefully kept my gaze lowered as I quickly washed my hands. “Are you going to leave?” I finally asked when I glanced over to see him waiting by the door.
“I was just trying to keep any other men from coming in while you’re here.”
“Oh, god,” I finally said, feeling even more flustered. “I was in a hurry.”
“Yeah, that was obvious,” he replied dryly.
“Do you have to make it a thing?” I muttered when I shook the water from my hands.
“I don’t know what you mean by that.”
I snatched a paper towel out of the dispenser, drying my hands as fast as humanly possible then tossing it in the wastebasket.
Tucker even held the door for me as I walked out.
Two strange men I’d never seen in my entire life waited out there.
But then, this was a public restroom. I let out a sigh when they looked curiously at Tucker and me.
I suddenly realized what conclusions they might be drawing from the fact that we’d been in the public bathroom together.
I didn’t know it was possible for my face to get any hotter, but the temperature climbed. Chin held high, I kept on walking.
One of the men chuckled as they walked in. “Hope it was good.”
“Oh, my fucking god,” I muttered to myself.
Tucker laughed softly as the door swung shut behind them and fell into step beside me.
“Why are you walking with me?” I ground out.
“Because I’m walking in this direction.”
Of course. “Sorry, I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Oh, I bet not,” he mused.
I glared at him. “Can we just move past this?”
“We already have. We’re out of the bathroom. Moment over.”
“Do you know who those guys were?”
“One of them is a new pilot. I’m not sure which airline he flies for.”
Airline, in this case, meant a number of small airlines that flew lightweight, small planes in Alaska. That meant I would probably get to know the guy. I worked for a local air transport coordination business here.
“Ugh. Could you please clear up that misunderstanding?”
“I think the less said, the better, don’t you? The guy who cracked the joke wasn’t the new pilot. You can assume he was a random tourist.”
Tucker stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked alongside me.
“This is the longest conversation we’ve ever had,” I observed.
He slid his gaze to mine. “What do you mean?”
“Just that. You’re not exactly chatty.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, no.” I felt a little defensive for making that observation. “Where are you going?”
“I’m actually going all the way to your office,” he replied.
“Huh, why?”
“Because I need to stop by and pick up something for Flynn. I guess a delivery was left there for him.”
“Oh,” I said brilliantly.
When we arrived at the square industrial building where I worked, Tucker opened the door for me just as someone was coming through. The man turned too fast and bumped into me, bouncing me directly into Tucker.
Tucker was hard all over. His palm landed on my hip as he steadied me. A blaze of heat radiated from his touch. The man muttered an apology and jumped back before hurrying away. I practically sprinted into the building after a rushed goodbye to Tucker and hurried down the hallway into the back.
“What’s up, Skylar?” Ludie Hill asked.
Ludie and Dan owned Diamond Creek Transport, which basically functioned as a sort of port for the wide array of items that landed here to be routed out to the smaller communities off the road system in Alaska.
They also managed a local communication hub for the various small planes that passed through here, sending along safety messages and more.
The business didn’t make much sense anywhere other than Alaska.
It was the most interesting job I’d ever had, and I loved it.
“Nothing, I was almost late,” I said, hoping my flustered state could be chalked up to that. It had nothing to do with encountering Tucker Harrison in the men’s bathroom and then having an actual conversation with him. Well, sort of a conversation. Nothing to do with that .
“You’re not late,” she said easily.
I immediately plunked down at the desk, putting on my headset and clicking open my computer screen. I couldn’t believe I’d finally spoken more than a few words to Tucker. He probably hadn’t even known who I was before. Maybe he knew my name. If that.