Chapter 15 #3
“That’s my girl!” he said, lifting her up and spinning her around.
“I knew you had it in you!” When he placed her back on her feet, he stood back with the biggest grin.
“I knew everything would come together. The management here at Horizons didn’t believe me and refused to let me make the announcement to get you, but I knew this would work! ”
Her laugh came out watery and disbelieving. “Wait, did you seriously hijack the airport loudspeaker for this?”
“Technically,” he said, “I asked very politely.”
She shook her head, overwhelmed and breathless and suddenly so full of hope it almost hurt. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Probably.” Slater reached for her hand, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. “But you’re worth it.” He paused. “I love you, Evie. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. Even hijack an airport loudspeaker.”
Her chest tightened. “I love you too.” Tears stung her eyes. “I never thought you’d…”
But he didn’t let her finish. Instead, he silenced her with a kiss that was beyond perfect. She clung to him, but the sound of a jet engine in the distance reminded her of where they were and why this wasn’t really the time or place for them to stay in a romantic clinch.
He squeezed her hand gently. “So…what do you say?” He nodded toward the plane. “Ready to go home?”
For the first time since she’d walked into the airport almost two hours ago, Evie felt the weight on her chest lift. Because suddenly home didn’t feel like Seattle. Or Harbortown and the resort.
It felt like him.
She smiled. “Yeah,” she said softly, squeezing his hand back. “Let’s go.”
Slater picked up her carry-on with his free hand, holding hers with the other.
When they reached the plane, there were people all around doing inspections or whatever she guessed went on pre-flight.
Someone came over and handed Slater a tablet that he needed to read something on, and she took that time to let all of this sink in.
A few minutes ago, she’d thought she was leaving something behind, but now it hit her that she wasn’t leaving at all. She was heading toward something.
Something that had the potential to be everything.
When he thanked the crew around them and turned to face her, he looked completely in his element. “This is a smaller plane than the one we flew here in, so we’ll have to stop to refuel. We’ll make a quick stop around halfway. Gives us a chance to stretch our legs.”
Nodding, she turned toward the steps leading up to the plane. But she didn’t move. Not yet. “You realize if I get on that plane,” she said, “you’re stuck with me, right?”
Slater smirked. “That’s kind of the point. But I could say the same for you. If we get on that plane, you’re stuck with me.”
Just the thought of it made her smile. “That’s what I’ve always wanted.”
With his hand resting on the small of her back, he gently urged her up the stairs. “Then let’s do this.”
She climbed up and then stepped onto the plane.
It was definitely smaller than the last one, but she felt confident sitting up front with him.
Behind her, Slater closed the cabin door before securing her bags and sliding into the pilot’s seat, his focus solely on the task at hand.
All she could do was sit back and watch him run the controls with calm confidence.
He flipped a few switches, eyes moving across the gauges as he worked through the checklist.
There was nothing even remotely sexy about it, and yet she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
Next, he slipped on his headset before reaching behind him and grabbing one for her. “Put these on,” he said, passing her the headset. “Otherwise, we’ll be shouting at each other the whole way to Seattle.”
Evie slid it on and tried to get comfortable, but Slater leaned closer to adjust the headset on her.
“There,” he said softly into the mic. “Now you can hear me.” With a wink, he went back to doing whatever it was he was doing with the controls. “You buckled in?”
She scrambled to get her seatbelt secured and suddenly didn’t know what to do with herself. Should she have grabbed a drink? A snack? Her book? Rather than say anything, she figured it was fine to simply sit back and wait for them to get in the air.
As if on cue, they were rolling out of the hangar. It was wild to see it from this viewpoint. Last time, she had been sitting in the back with Milo and Nora before they decided to try to join the mile-high club. But now, all of her attention was on everything happening in front of her.
It felt like an adventure.
Slater pressed a button on the yoke. “Albany ground, Horizon charter seven-two requesting taxi.”
The plane rolled slowly across the tarmac before turning onto the long stretch of runway. Slater paused for a moment, eyes scanning the instruments.
“Alright,” he said through the headset. “Here we go.”
As the plane gathered speed, Slater reached over and squeezed her hand briefly before returning his focus to the runway. Somehow that simple touch said more than anything else he could have promised.
As the plane climbed and the land slowly gave way to sky, Evie smiled, certain there was no better way for their adventure to begin.