Unbound_ _Olivia

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of red wine.
Question, Jack said. His smile faded and I was
relieved to see nervousness come across his face. Is he
one of those guys that's used to his good-looks getting
him whatever he wants? Surely not& he seemed so laid-
back earlier.
What? I asked, steeling myself against whatever
question was plaguing his pretty little head.
The little awkward spark or whatever it was& the
thing we both felt in your store earlier today. Should we
pretend that didn t happen? Is that going to make this
harder than it has to be?
I stared. It was such a blunt and strategic question
that it took me off-guard. That was the last thing I had
been expecting. And damn him, I was pretty sure I was
blushing right away. So, to circumvent his little jab, I
nodded.
Yes, I think so. As soon as it was out, I cringed.
Damn, I thought. I should have denied the spark. That
would have shown him.
But it was too late. There was nothing to do but sit in
silence for a moment as the bartender brought over my
glass of wine. I took a sip, trying not to let the fact that
Jack s eyes were watching my every move get under my
skin.
Okay then, he said, taking in a deep breath and
easing the grin off of his face. Strictly business. That
being the case, let me ask you: if you want a plan so
badly, why not buy one elsewhere?
It was a good question, and I knew the answer that I
had was stupid. The truth was that I wanted Mr. Tanner s
plane because I knew him well and when I had seen the
plan floating there behind his shop with the FOR SALE
banner on it, I felt as if it had been meant for me. The
solution to something that I had been thinking about for
years had been staring me in the face. The only thing
stopping me from at least inquiring about it had been
laziness and fear. But I had asked about and had been
incredibly serious about buying it but, in the end, had
been beaten to the punch by the man sitting next to me.
Because it s from a local man, I said, telling a half-
truth. I don t have the funds to buy a new one and,
honestly, if I m going to buy used, I d rather it come
from someone I know.
Jack nodded. That s understandable, he said,
taking a drink from his beer. But what I don t get is
why you want it so badly. You must have had some good
plans, huh?
I gave him a contemptuous smile. That s really none
of your business.
His flinched, his eyes narrowing slightly. Okay,
then let me tell you about why I wanted it,. I honestly
didn't care to hear why he bought the plane, but he didn t
give me an opportunity to say no or to interrupt him. I
got my pilot s license years ago, just as something to do,
really. I enjoyed the hell out of flying but not nearly
enough to go into the Air Force. So when I went into the
military, my interest in flying took a back seat.
I felt the blood rush from my face. You were in the
military?
Jack nodded and paused, giving me an odd look as
he did so. I was. But that s not the point. You see, I have
worked hard over the last few years and have missed
flying. When I saw Tanner s plane, it occurred to me
exactly how much I had missed it. And then I took my
little walk to Catchman s Pass. As& , he shook his head,
searching for the right word, ...as cheesy as it sounds,
watching the sunset up there solidified it for me. I
figured I could make some money by flying people to
these really remote destinations where they can have
weekend retreats or just some alone time in the
wilderness.
No freakin' way. I blinked hard. You re kidding
me.
No. I m not. Why?
Because that was my plan.
Jack twisted his head, brows furrowed. Really?
Really.
Huh. He looked somewhat amused.
Suddenly, my anger morphed into this flat and
featureless thing. It was still there, but it was useless. I
knew that any arguments I had to use against him would
come out making me sound like I was a spoiled little girl
that just wasn t happy with not being able to get my way.
Jack toyed with the condensation on his mug of beer
for a moment. Well, I might be willing to rent it out
here and there if that s something you d be interested in,
but ,
No, I said, cutting him off. I m not going to rent
the plane from you.
His chocolate eyes looked up from the beer to me
and he frowned. I don t know what else to say then. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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