Page 39 of Fire Dragon Lover

Sloan laughed as he accepted his offer and shook his hand firmly. “Good. Make it a quick vacation, will you?”

“I’ll do my best.”

* * *

Gretchen was already waitingfor him at the terminal as he approached, her face blooming with relief. “I didn’t think you’d make it!”

Most of the passengers were already onboard, and the steward was eyeing them.Tick, tock.Logan caught her arm and guided her to the bridge doors at the behest of the staff. “It took forever to get the luggage checked in. I’m sorry. Why aren’t you on board, already?”

“I was waiting for you,” she said, absently stroking her belly, which was growing larger by the day. “We wouldn’t dream of leaving without you.”

He produced the tickets to the impatient steward and let them lead. “I hope you haven’t been standing around too long. You know what the doctor said about water weight.”

“I’mfine, Logan,” she said on a simper. “Or should I say ‘Brian’?”

The temporary pseudonym grated on his nerves, and he couldn’t help but grimace. “Who chose that name, anyway?”

She nudged him. “You did.”

“Right,” he said as he checked the ticket stubs.Brian and Sophie Smith, the most generic names he could imagine up when he paid for the fake IDs. They only had to be them for a few more hours, because when they landed, there wouldn’t be anyone in Colorado who’d recognized him. Hopefully.

“So…” she began, “what’s he like?”

Logan was so deep in thought, he had no idea what she was referring to. “What’s who like?”

Gretchen let him fuss over her first-class seating arrangement before he took his own. She rubbed his arm as if to console him. “Your brother, of course.”

He swallowed and thought hard. “Oh- Well… I haven’t seen him in a long time, so, I don’t really know.”

She offered him a confused look. “Why not?”

“Distance, mostly,” he said. “I think- we just never really saw eye-to-eye, so things were always strained between us. Too much male energy in one room, I guess.”

Gretchen laughed.

“I’m serious,” he said in his defense. “For now, just trust me. You’ll see what I mean when we arrive.”

She rolled her eyes, then settled in the crook of his arm. “I’m just glad he agreed to let us stay for a little while.” She went quiet, then changed the subject. “How did Slade take it?”

“Pretty hard.” Logan pulled her in close. “I don’t think he wanted the responsibility.”

“I don’t blame him. As yourex-secretary, I know exactly how much work your position is.” Gretchen looked up at him and offered a troubled smile. “But he’ll get used to it, after a while.”

“He doesn’t know how long we’ll be gone.”

Her smile turned down. After a time, she asked, “Do you think we’ll be okay?”

Logan watched her profile as she stared out the round window. “I think it’s the best move,” he said as he reached to stroke the charming swell of her stomach. “-for all parties involved.”

She cupped his hand and thumbed his knuckles. “I’ll miss our old life, just a little.”

“I know,” he said as he kissed the top of her head. “Me too.”

The overhead radio buzzed, and the passengers were reminded to buckle up, with a stewardess miming the safety features of the plane. Logan did as he was bid, and Gretchen followed suit.

She caught his eye again and hope glimmered in her features. “Am I a bad person if I admit I’m a little excited, too?”

“Gretchen,” he said with all the gravity he could muster and leaned in as if to taste her full lips. “You don’t have a bad bone in your body. Believe me, I’d know.”

Her smile was bashful but he interrupted it with a kiss.

She accepted him with a sigh.

This woman was everything he could have wanted in a mate, and he wish he’d known better from the start. It would have saved them so much grief. But, after everything they’d gone through, all the troubles, all the pain, he realized she was well worth it.

No place was home without Gretchen.

The End (for now!)

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