Chapter 18 #3
Sera leans forward, her manicured fingers tapping the edge of the mahogany table.
"Oh, come on," she says, her voice silky with persuasion.
"You're the best pilot I know in bad weather.
It's because you're remarkably void of fear.
If anything, things that scare other people only make you sharper.
Every other pilot would be so terrified of flying in this weather that they'll make a mistake and crash the plane. And I have to get to Palo Alto today."
"It's a six-hour drive," Roman says, his jaw tightening as he glances out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the charcoal clouds gathering on the horizon. Lightning flickers in the distance, illuminating his sharp profile for a split second.
Still, I wonder if he'll fly her to her father's office.
Roman's the type who'd pilot through a storm just to prove a point.
I've seen that look in his eyes before—right before he does something reckless that makes my pulse jump.
And I can't help it—picturing his hands on the controls of that private jet makes me shiver in a way that has nothing to do with the weather.
Is there nothing this man can't do? He can apparently navigate a Gulfstream through stormy skies with the casual confidence of someone parallel parking.
Yesterday, I watched him hoist my oak bookshelf—the one that took three delivery men to bring inside—with nothing but his own strength, veins mapping his forearms like rivers.
And when he kissed me, those same powerful hands cupped my face with such tenderness that my toes curled against the hardwood, my body arching toward his like a flower seeking sunlight.
Roman's jaw tightens as he leans forward. "What's your father's emergency?" he asks, voice low and controlled.
"The storm's hammering Palo Alto right now.
His tech headquarters lost power when lightning struck their backup generator.
The server farm is overheating, and they've got millions in crypto assets that could vanish if the cooling systems stay offline much longer.
His entire security team is trapped in the building because the electronic locks failed in lockdown mode, and now there's three feet of water in the parking garage. "
Roman folds his arms across his chest. "And your presence is necessary because...?"
“I’m the only one who understands the proprietary storm-monitoring system my father installed last year - the one currently predicting catastrophic power failures within the hour.
And it takes both of us to get it back online because of the way my father designed it.
” She shakes her head. “Daddy didn’t have time to train somebody up there and I guess he didn’t imagine that a storm would hit of this magnitude so soon. Best laid plans…”
Roman's jaw tightens as he shakes his head.
"I'll do this for Caspian and your father, not you.
Got that?" He points at her, eyes narrowed, then looks up at the gray clouds.
"Goddamn it, I don't know if I can get clearance to take off in this weather.
Might have to override protocol." When he turns to me, his voice changes.
"Lilith, I wish you could come with us, but I won't risk your safety like this. "
“Oh, Roman, thank you so much!!!!” Sera is jumping up and down, but she takes a moment to give me a look of triumph.
“But Sera, I’m not stupid. I’m calling your father to make sure that the emergency is as you say it is.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“Your goddamn right I don’t trust you. So, I’m calling him right now.”
Roman takes his phone into the other room and five minutes later, he comes back out and looks at Serafina. “Let’s go. Not a moment to waste, it sounds like.”
He's risking his own life flying through this tempest for other people—including this woman with honey blonde hair cascading down her back, pouty crimson lips, and a designer outfit that probably costs more than my monthly store rent.
A woman he obviously doesn't care about anymore.
But he does apparently care for her father and this Caspian person, whoever that is.
My fingers instinctively touch the rose quartz pendant at my throat as I watch him.
The crystal warms beneath my fingertips, and I know as sure as I'm sitting here that he'll successfully navigate through this weather, his capable hands steady on the controls.
I have complete faith in this. And I also have complete faith in something else—that I can trust him.
Yes, Sera might look like a Barbie Doll come to life with her perfect figure and flawless complexion, and her father is apparently a tech billionaire who no-doubt has a mansion overlooking the Pacific, and she's an heiress and probably brilliant if her father relies on her like this, but no matter.
Roman is meant for me. The universe has aligned our paths for a reason. Of that I'm sure.
Time to listen to my gut for once, to trust the intuition that's been humming through my veins since the moment our eyes first met.