Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“I’m a pilot, so I’m familiar with those.” Talking about feelings and behavior while a stranger stared at you, giving you absolutely no feedback, ranked close to Vitale’s office or the mountain. “How long are you going to be sticking around?”
“If I’m cleared tomorrow, they’ll authorize me to go back after the holidays.”
My heart fell out of rhythm. “Back to Europe?”
“Yeah.” There was a sound as he let out a deep breath. “I’ll be stepping back from operations for a while. My last few ops didn’t go so well. I’ll be assisting from a field office until further notice.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I asked for it. This ‘being someone else’ bullshit, it gets old.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “So, you’ll just be Ethan. The freakishly tall guy from Kentucky, with the Croatian mother and the father who builds custom homes on some river.”
“The Ohio River Valley,” he corrected, “not necessarily on the river.”
“Whatever.”
“You know an awful lot about me,” he said, his voice warm.
“I’m betting I haven’t even scratched the surface.”
There was a pause, as if he were carefully considering his next statement. “But you want to.”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation from me.
“I’m glad you called. Maybe don’t make me wait six damn days next time.”
I closed my eyes, so glad to hear his voice. “I’m sorry.” I’d never been more sincere.
“So, you’re not in Detroit. Where are you?”
“I’m in Washington.”
There was another pause. “D.C.? Why’s that?”
“I’m not sure. I have a meeting with Hendrix in the morning.” I didn’t want to keep secrets from him. “Do you think this is part of your eval?”
“It’s possible. They know we’re friends.”
He put extra emphasis on the wholly inadequate label I’d given him in front of my dad, and—oh, I definitely deserved that.
I fidgeted with the pillow on the empty side of my bed. “Can I see you after? You want to grab dinner?”
I held my breath as I awaited his answer and tried not to feel like the boy-crazed teenager I’d once been.
Thankfully, he didn’t make me wait. “Yeah, we could do that.”
42
ETHAN
I stood by the hostess stand of the restaurant, having spotted Olivia sitting at the bar as she waited for me. She wore a red shirt that hung off one shoulder and a pair of dark jeans, her hair down and beautiful. She’d gone back to her original dark hair that I liked better. And she had make-up on, like she wanted to look her best for me.
I could hardly stand it.
She was oblivious to me, but not to the guy sitting beside her. They seemed to be having a conversation about why her arm was in a cast. He was probably a nice enough guy, and I couldn’t blame him for trying, but shit. She was hopelessly out of my league, and most definitely out of that guy’s. It was cute until he leaned subtly toward her.
There was that strange possessive streak again, the one that had first appeared in South Africa. It drew me out of the crowded area and into the bar, so she could see all six-foot-seven of me. There was a flash in her eyes, more than just simple recognition. A single look that told me she was mine, which—thank fuck.
She was definitely stuck with me now.
“Hi,” she said when I came closer. “How’d your thing go?”
The friendly guy took one look at me, mumbled something about seeing his friend, and scurried away.
I moved to take the seat the guy had vacated. “It was fine. And yours?” Before she could answer, I changed my mind and stayed on my feet. “You know what? Hold that thought.”
I cupped her cheek, tilting her head up as I bent down and claimed her lips with mine.
This was the kiss I’d been sitting on since Landstuhl. It caught her by surprise, but she didn’t push me away. Instead, she melted into the kiss. She let out a sigh that seemed to be relief, and her warm, soft lips moved with mine, like she was just as eager to have this connection as I was. Perhaps even more.
When her tongue slid into my mouth and her hand curled around my neck, urging me to kiss her harder, alarms went off in my head. Public place. Not a good idea to get turned on right now.
Soon. Just not right now.
She looked woozy when our kiss ended, and, even though she was seated, she latched on to the bar to steady herself. I felt a smile spread across my face as I sat on the empty stool beside her, then gestured to her drink. Not bourbon, but beer.
“Osterhägen?” I asked, amused.
She shrugged. “It was on tap.”
The hostess approached and directed us to our table, and once Olivia was seated across from me, I couldn’t wait any longer. “Can I ask what your meeting was about?”