Chapter Eighteen
When she got to the airport on Wednesday morning, Callie climbed out of her truck with a smile. She was looking forward to this. She and Ollie had seen each other a few times now, but in her mind, this was their first date.
The road hadn't exactly been smooth up to this point, but in the end, they knew each other better than they would have otherwise.
She shaded her eyes with her hand and looked up at the sky.
She didn't know which direction he'd be coming from.
That made her frown. She was going to have to ask him which end of the runway was which.
She was pretty sure that the first time he'd landed here, he'd approached from one direction, and the last time — when he came to collect her at the weekend — he'd come in from the opposite end.
There was so much she didn't know about flying, but she was eager to learn.
She grinned when she spotted the Cirrus. He was here a few minutes early again, just like she was.
She smiled as the plane touched down. It looked like another smooth landing to her. It was obvious that he loved to fly — it was so much more than a job to him. And from what she could tell, he was good at it, too.
As he taxied back toward the hangars, she walked out to meet him and hung back until he cut the engine.
When he climbed out, her breath caught in her chest. He really was a good-looking guy. That was the first thing that had struck her about him the first time they met.
He grinned and waved, and when she set out to meet him, he came toward her. Meeting her halfway, he wrapped his arms around her and grinned.
"Greetings, Lady Sunshine. The Secret King has come to fly you away."
That made her laugh. "Let me guess — you've seen Zia?"
He nodded happily. "I have, and she sends her love. Alara does, too, and Charles and Reaves." He held her gaze. "You have quite the fan club in Napa, you know. I hope you'll think about coming to visit us soon."
"I will, in fact. I'm going to come visit Becca tomorrow."
He raised his eyebrows. "Tomorrow?"
"Yeah. She wanted me to come today and stay over, but I told her I was busy." She tapped the middle of his chest. "I had a very important date I didn't want to miss."
He grinned. "I'm glad you didn't want to miss it, but..." He frowned. "We're flying tomorrow, so I can't come get you. But... "
"I wasn't asking you for a ride. I'm going to drive myself. It doesn't take all that long."
"Oh. Right."
She felt bad when he stepped back. "Just because I want to drive myself doesn't mean I'm rejecting you, you know. Even when I come to see you, I'll drive myself sometimes. You have to remember that I'm used to driving up and down the coast here to visit the fairs where I sell my work."
"Right." His smile returned. "Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed, should I? I know you're your own person, and you're perfectly capable. I wasn't trying to take over or anything."
"I know that. It's all good. What do you say — should we get going?"
"Yeah. Do you need anything from your truck? Is it locked, or are we good to go?"
"I'll just grab my bag. I brought a few things for our picnic."
She started to move away from him, but he curled his arm around her waist and reached up to turn his ball cap around, putting it on backward.
She looked up and laughed. "What's up? Are you trying to make a fashion statement?"
His eyes twinkled as he shook his head and said, "No, I just don't want anything to get in the way of this."
He slid his fingers into her hair, sending shivers down her spine. As he leaned in, he held her gaze the whole way — and hesitated when his lips were almost touching hers.
Her hands came up to his shoulders, and she closed the final distance between them herself.
Damn. The man could kiss.
It started out tentative but didn't stay that way for long. They'd only kissed a couple of times, but there was already a familiarity about it. She melted against him as he took it deeper, and slick heat trickled through her veins.
When he finally lifted his head, he winked, and she wafted her hand in front of her face. "Phew. I'm going to have to watch myself. If you're going to start kissing me like that..."
He chuckled. "Start? I don't ever want to stop kissing you like that."
A rush of warmth filled her chest. Never stop. Wouldn't that be something?
He seemed to feel as though he'd said too much and dropped his gaze, grabbing her hand as he said, "Come on, let's get your things from the truck and get out of here. We're burning daylight."
Once they were in the air, Callie couldn't stop smiling. The coastline stretched out beneath them, rugged and wild. From up here, she could see the waves rolling in, white foam against dark rocks, and the forest pressing right up to the edge of the cliffs.
"It's so beautiful," she breathed.
Ollie glanced over at her. "It is. I forget sometimes, flying in and out of airports. It's easy to stop noticing."
"Don't stop noticing," she told him. "This is incredible."
He smiled. "You're right. I won't."
They flew in comfortable silence for a while, and she watched the landscape change beneath them — the coves and headlands, the occasional stretch of sandy beach, the tiny towns clinging to the coast.
"How long until we get there?" she asked.
"About another forty minutes. We're making good time." He shot her a look. "Do you want to take the controls for a bit?"
Her heart leaped. "Really? Again?"
"You did great last time. Just keep us level and follow the coastline. I'll handle everything else."
She took the stick, her grip lighter this time, more confident. The plane responded to the smallest movements, and she found herself relaxing into it.
"You're a natural," he said.
"I don't know about that, but I love it."
"That's half the battle."
When they started their descent toward Gold Beach, he took the controls back and talked her through what he was doing — checking the wind, lining up with the runway, adjusting their speed. She absorbed every word.
The landing was smooth, and as they taxied toward a small cluster of hangars, she looked around. The airport was tiny — just a strip of asphalt nestled between forest and coastline.
"This is perfect," she said. "It feels like the middle of nowhere."
"That's kind of the point." He cut the engine and turned to her with a grin. "Ready for part two?"
"There's a part two?"
He climbed out and came around to help her down. "I called ahead. There should be a car waiting for us."
Sure enough, a small SUV was parked near the hangar, keys tucked under the visor.
She raised her eyebrows. "You planned this."
"I wanted today to be good." He shrugged, but she could tell he was pleased with himself. "The beach is only a few minutes from here. I thought we could find a spot, have our picnic, maybe walk for a while."
She reached up and kissed his cheek. "It's already good, Ollie."
~ ~ ~
The picnic didn't work out as well as Ollie had hoped. He'd had visions of them sitting on a blanket, chatting as they watched the ocean, eating the snacks and sandwiches that he'd prepared and packed in the hamper. The wind had other plans, though.
They'd found a sheltered spot tucked up against the cliffs, the rocks at their backs blocking the worst of it.
And what mattered was that they were there, together, having fun, getting to know each other better.
The sound of the waves was a steady roar, and every now and then a gust would whip sand across the beach in front of them.
Callie wiped her fingers on a napkin before balling it up and tossing it into the bag he'd brought for garbage.
"That was so good. Thank you," she said as she started to clear things away.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. And just in case you're wondering, it was all made by my own bare hands."
She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"
He groaned. "You thought I'd let Rosa make it for me?"
She gave him a guilty little shrug. "You have to bear in mind that I don't know how things work for you rich kids."
He narrowed his eyes at her.
"What?" she asked with a laugh. "I thought we agreed that there are going to be no more secrets between us. In my mind, that means I get to be upfront and honest about what I'm thinking."
He chuckled. "Fair enough. And I can see why you'd think that."
She nodded. "I wasn't being judgmental. You have to remember that the only frame of reference I have is Jacob, and Elena does all the cooking and food prep there.
" She laughed. "Well, except for when Becca does her own thing.
But then Becca's like me. She's managed to fit in, but she does things a very different way.
Whatever she does doesn't strike me as normal for Napa. "
He caught her hand, and she paused her tidying to look up at him.
"What?"
"I probably shouldn't say this — or at least I shouldn't say it yet — but I want you to remember that Becca's proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That whatever's normal in Napa doesn't have to apply in our case."
She held his gaze for a long moment before nodding. He couldn't mean what she thought he did. Even if the two of them figured things out and started dating for real, sure, she'd visit him sometimes. But she'd assumed they'd both enjoy it more if he came to see her in Fort Bragg.
He squeezed her hand, and she looked back into his eyes.
"Like I said, I know I shouldn't say it yet, but I hope you'll be ready to come see my place soon."
She nodded, still not knowing how to respond.
He laughed and got to his feet, brushing sand from his jeans. The wind caught his hair as he reached down to offer her a hand up.
"What do you say — want to dump our bags back in the SUV and then walk down the beach?" He gave her a wry smile. "Help me out here. I'm trying to distract you so that you don't get too caught up wondering if the creepy rich guy is trying to drag you away to his estate and keep you there."
She laughed and slapped his arm. "It's not like that."