5. Todd
TODD
"Good morning, Mr. Archer. I'm Captain Connelly. I'll be flying you to Charlotte today."
For a second, I honestly wondered if I'd lost my damn mind.
Cici was a fucking pilot. My fucking pilot.
Captain Connelly.
I stared at her.
Blonde hair secured neatly at the back of her head.
Navy uniform.
Captain's stripes.
Professional smile.
The same woman who had been wrapped around me two nights ago screaming my name as she came undone.
The same woman who'd walked half naked through my hotel suite while I was live on national television.
The same woman I'd spent the last several days trying not to think about.
Trying and failing.
Badly.
I wasn't usually a man who got distracted. My schedule didn't allow for it, and neither did my life. Yet somehow, every time my mind wandered, it went straight to her.
And now she was standing in front of my airplane.
My airplane.
"What are the odds?" I muttered.
Her smile never moved.
"What are the odds, Mr. Archer?" She emphasized the word odds.
Jesus Christ. She heard me.
Mr. Archer.
Not Todd.
Not even a hint that we'd met before.
Nothing.
I almost admired the commitment.
Almost.
Beside me, Bunny shifted her laptop bag higher onto her shoulder.
"Well," she said cheerfully, completely unaware she'd just walked into the strangest situation of my life, "it's so nice to meet you, Captain Connelly."
I shot her a look.
Bunny's eyes widened.
"What?"
I shot her another look.
She wisely stopped talking.
Cici's expression remained perfectly neutral.
I had a sudden, ridiculous urge to see if I could crack that composure.
Probably not my brightest idea.
"Captain Connelly," I said.
Her gaze met mine.
Cool.
Professional.
Untouched.
As if we had never happened.
"Mr. Archer."
Her tone had a slight edge to it. She wasn't as unaffected as she wanted me to believe.
Good.
At least I wasn't the only one suffering.
I stepped toward the stairs.
"After you, Bunny." I held out my arm in a gesture.
Bunny moved ahead of me.
The second I said it, I caught something in Cici's expression.
Not much.
A flicker.
Gone almost instantly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Bunny stopped beside her.
"Hi. I'm Naomi."
For the first time, Cici offered a genuine smile.
"Nice to meet you."
"Todd here," Bunny playfully punched my arm, "is the only one who calls me Bunny. Todd and I are?—"
"We should probably get moving."
The words left my mouth before I thought them through.
Bunny blinked.
I blinked.
What the hell was that?
A slow smile spread across Bunny's face.
The kind that usually meant I was in trouble and would be interrogated later.
Cici's expression returned to polite professionalism.
If she found my interruption strange, she gave no indication.
"Of course," Bunny said.
I gestured toward the aircraft.
"Let's go."
As we climbed aboard, I found myself looking back.
Cici was standing tall with her eyes forward, staring out at the tarmac.
I paused on the top step. My eyes were fixed on her. She must've felt my gaze. She turned her head ever so slightly toward me. Our eyes locked. Her expression was neutral.
I tried my best to return the same expression. Only then did I enter the jet.
Bunny took her usual seat near the back of the aircraft.
I would normally take the seat across the aisle from her.
Today, I wanted to be closer to the front.
I took off my coat and Julie, my flight attendant, was right there to hang it up for me.
I settled into my seat and stretched out my legs.
The soft leather creaked with the movement.
Cici appeared in the jet's doorway.
"We'll be on our way shortly," she called as she stepped inside.
Julie handed her a tablet, and Cici reviewed it quickly.
She checked the fuel numbers, departure time, and weather before having a brief exchange with the flight crew.
There was nothing remarkable about any of it, nothing that should have held my attention, yet I found myself watching every move she made.
The cabin suddenly felt smaller, which was ridiculous. A Gulfstream G280 wasn't exactly cramped. I'd spent hundreds of hours on this aircraft.
I conducted meetings, closed deals, and crossed oceans. Never once had I given a second thought to the amount of space inside the cabin.
Now there seemed to be less of it. There was less air, less distance, and less separation between my life before the other night and now.
Because she was here. In my airplane. Talking to my crew.
Reviewing my flight plan. Acting as though she belonged.
Maybe she did. She looked completely at ease. Confident. Focused. In command.
Nothing like the woman who'd laughed with me over a plate of truffle fries.
Nothing like the woman who'd curled against my side in a hotel bed.
Nothing like the woman who fled my suite before breakfast.
This was Captain Connelly.
And judging by the way she refused to look directly at me, Captain Connelly intended to keep things that way.
Professional.
Distant.
Forgettable.
As though that night never happened.
As though I was just another passenger.
Just another client.
Just another name on a flight manifest.
I didn't want to admit it, but that realization bothered me. A lot.
Cici handed the tablet back to Julie.
"Ready for departure."
A few moments later she disappeared into the cockpit.
The door closed behind her.
The engines started.
Three months.
Three months of flights.
Three months of meetings.
Three months of sitting a few feet behind the woman I couldn't stop thinking about.
And if Cici had her way, every one of those miles would be strictly professional.
I had a feeling it was going to be a very long three months.