Page 88 of An Irresistible Force (Vancouver Vice)

He popped the trunk to reveal two black suitcases. One of them was mine. “Bonita helped me out.” He lifted my chin, and I barely managed to keep it together. Chris’s dark eyes were looking at me in exactly the way I’d dreamed of—full of lust and affection. He placed his lips on mine, just a brief touch but the sensation of his mouth burned on afterwards. How could a polite, public-style kiss stir me so much?

“Mandy, I’m kidnapping you and forcing you to have a good time.”

Yeah, if I didn’t dissolve onto the pavement, I’d be up for that.

“Okey-dokey. That sounds nice.” Ugh, I sounded like five-year-old being offered ice cream.

We walked through the tiny airport and up to a gate. A uniformed man welcomed us and took our suitcases. “Good afternoon, Mr. Luczak. Your plane is ready.”

I looked at Chris. “You have a plane of your own?”

He laughed. “Of course not. That’s not how I roll. But I chartered one for us.”

“Really? Why?” It wasn’t like I wasn’t familiar with private planes; lots of my parents’ friends used them. But it still seemed extravagant.

“I didn’t want to have to rush out of the funeral service, but I did want to make sure we got every possible moment of our weekend together.”

A thrill went up my spine. Chris was being so considerate—for me.

We got inside the small plane. Its interior had been reconfigured so that there were only a few comfortable leather seats. We sat facing each other.

“Another plus,” Chris pointed out as he stretched out his long legs. “If I don’t have enough legroom, I start to cramp up.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that. A finely tuned machine like you.”

He grinned. “Are you making fun of me, Mandy?”

Ugh. When he called me Mandy, I melted every time. And I hated that nickname.

The flight was beautiful. I loved small planes because they flew so low. I could see islands, ships, and houses, all looking like a tiny dollhouse world. When I finally looked up, Chris was watching me.

I motioned outside. “It’s so beautiful here. I’ve missed the Pacific Ocean.”

“I know. I could never leave Vancouver.”

“Did you think about moving back to Winnipeg?”

“For maybe two seconds. My mom hoped I would. But I’ve spent more time here than I did back in Transcona. It’s my home.”

“Not to mention the winters are better here.” I laughed.

“Yeah, I went home for Christmas, and it was brutally cold. But it was nice to be there for the entire holiday.”

“You gave up so much to play hockey.”

He nodded. “It’s not just my NHL career. I’ve been playing hockey since I was four and there were always Christmas tourneys. To be able to relax over Christmas was a weird feeling. I kept thinking I should be somewhere else.”

“I almost didn’t come home for Christmas this year. Friends wanted to do a ski Christmas in upstate New York. But my mother sounded so disappointed that I got a last minute flight. And then she suckered me into the Vice job.”

“Good for her, because otherwise we would never have met.” Chris watched with X-ray intensity. A flush came over my entire body when he looked at me like that.

I blew out a breath. “And what would have happened to the team without us?”

He only smiled and looked out the window. Now I could only see the vast ocean, so we must have been on the west side of Vancouver Island. The plane began a wide turn and descended. We bumped down on a narrow airstrip.

“Do you know where we are?” Chris asked.

“Tofino?” I guessed.

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