Page 108 of Crazy Thing

For now, that’s enough.

43

ZIGGY

When we step out of the elevator, a handsome middle-aged man in a crisp white shirt with a black tie rushes across the windy rooftop, meeting us halfway.

“Mr. Brighton! Good seeing you again.” He whisks the luggage out of Darius’s hands.

Darius offers a brisk nod. “Cal.” His eyes shift to me, his palm settling at the small of my back. “This is Ziggy.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” the man says with a warm smile that eases my anxiousness the tiniest bit.

Salt and pepper hair, cool sunglasses and swagger. Cal is everything I’d imagined the pilot of a private aircraft to be.

Even still, I warily eyeball the helicopter that’s waiting here on the rooftop of Darius’s office building. My pulse bounces in my throat. “A pleasure to meet you, too, Cal.” I pull my cardigan tighter around my shivering shoulders.

Reading my untrusting expression, Darius chuckles, his strong arm coming around my back as his lips press to my temple. He speaks to Cal. “Think you can get this beautiful lady and me safely to the city?”

The pilot nods confidently, walking ahead of us with our overnight bags. “I’ve got twenty-seven years under my belt. You’re in great hands, Ms. Ziggy, if I do say so myself.” He smiles at me over his shoulder.

My eyes dart to the helicopter again as my hair whips into my eyes. “I’m not scared of flying,” I mumble to Darius for the tenth time today as Cal quickly stores our luggage and steps aside to make way for us to climb inside.

It’s true. This helicopter doesn’t scare me. I’m sort of looking forward to the thrill of being in the air, actually. It’s the rush of being here with Darius that has my belly flipping double-time today.

“Is that why you’re shaking like a leaf?” I don’t have to glance at his face to know that he’s smirking. I can hear it in the amused rumble of his deep voice.

“I’m shaking because it’s freezing up here,” I protest stubbornly, and Darius’s hand protectively returns to my waist as I board the aircraft.

We step into the small but luxurious cabin. Cal promises us a safe and smooth flight before entering the cockpit and closing the door, leaving Darius and me alone in privacy.

I slide into a camel-toned leather seat and Darius scoots in beside me. I’m busy looking around at the glossy wood panels and the brushed metal finishes when Darius’s suit jacket comes around my shoulders. Then he’s buckling my seatbelt and pulling me up against his side.

His voice drops to a quiet rasp. “No worries, beautiful. I’m here to keep you safeandwarm.” He lifts my chin with his knuckles and sweeps a kiss over my lips.

“Do you ever get tired of being so corny?” I say, even as a grin splits my face in two.

“Do you ever get tired of pretending not to like it?” Darius shoots right back.

“Ugh. You win. You’ve got me there,” I grumble, pulling his arm tighter around me.

I can hear the whirr of the engine. But the sound is relatively faint from where we’re sitting. Before long, the helicopter is climbing into the sky and whisking us over the mountains of Starlight Falls.

I’m trying to retrace my steps and remind myself of how I ended up here. Mere weeks ago, I was at my metaphysical shop, struggling to figure out how I’d meet my financial obligations. Even more importantly, Darius Brighton was my sworn enemy and all my well-buried memories of him were embedded with rejection and pain.

Now, here I am, dangling ten thousand feet above ground level with Darius’s arm around me. I’m his assistantandhis lover, the lines between us hopelessly blurred. It makes me shiver again. Am I being a fool here?

“Still cold?” He stares at me, his palm stroking up and down my bicep.

I force a smile, easing out of his hold. “I’m good.”

He studies my expression more closely. “Is something wrong?”

I reach for the leather file organizer where I stored my yellow notepad. “Should we be getting prepared for the meetings?”

He wags his head. “No need. All the meetings today will be pretty casual. Important but casual.”

I nod. “Do you think we’ll be done with everything in time to fly back home tonight?”

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