Page 125 of Shadow Sabotage
“That sounds very tempting,” I admitted. More than tempting. I’d already made up my mind to take it, but what he said next sealed the deal.
“SAR is your passion.” He grabbed a glass of champagne for himself and tasted it, shooting me a surprised look of approval. “The firm will understand and work around that. In fact, we plan on utilizing it. I had a long discussion with my father about that very thing. He’s been searching for someone who has those abilities. I told him about you and he’s as convinced as I am that you’re the perfect addition to the team.”
“Wow,” I said, shaking my head. “This is … amazing.”
“There’s more,” he said, grinning.
“How can there be more?” This was already everything I could ever hope for.
He leaned in, his lips tantalizingly close to mine. “My first assignment is in Florida. I’ll be there for December and January.”
“We’re spending the winter in Florida?” I squealed.
“We are.” He gave me a sultry smile. “Can you come for a drive?”
I nodded.
I’d go anywhere with him.
Twenty minuteslater we pulled into a field. He jumped out of his SUV and motioned for me to follow him.
“What are we doing?” I asked, pulling my sweater tight to shield against the cold breeze.
He stopped. “Wait for it,” he said, glancing at his watch.
Seconds later, I heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter and shot him a questioning look.
He just smiled.
“What is this?” I asked when the chopper landed in front of us.
He slipped an arm around my waist. “Thatis the new Sage County Search and Rescue helicopter.”
“What?”My jaw dropped.
“Crazy thing. My father mentioned that he was looking to sell this one and get an upgrade.” Vance grinned. His excitement was adorable. “As the final part of my contract negotiation, I convinced him to donate it to the SAR team instead. It’s a tax write-off and great publicity for him. Plus, I told him it would probably convince you to accept the job.”
“Hell yes it does!” I hiked up my dress and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. I kissed him feverishly, not even caring that the helicopter pilot could see us.
Vance didn’t care, either.
When we finally broke apart, he gave me a cocky smirk. “I take it you’re in?”
“I’m in.” I grinned.
In for all of it. The job, him… Everything we could have together.
Then I blurted out a thought. “I’m not good at relationships.”
He laughed, stroking a lazy hand up my spine. “That’s okay. We’ll take it slow.”
I smiled coyly. “I’m not exactly good at slow, either.”
“You? Not good at slow? I’m shocked.” He rolled his eyes.
I bit my lip and gave him a devilish grin. “Your cabin is still empty. How about we steal a bottle of scotch and go take things fast, instead?”
His smile became a smolder. “I knew I liked you, Claire Hawkins.”
