Page 44 of Shared By the Pilots

“When we’re retired,” I said, toasting.

He arched an eyebrow. “Are you commandeering my retirement plan, now?”

“I’m merely adapting my own plan,” I replied smoothly. “I’ll live on the beach in the winter, then spend my summers in the Alps.”

“Maybe I’ll see you there,” Luke said coyly.

I shrugged. “Maybe you will.”

We finished our lunch and took a taxi back to the airport. We didn’t take off for another hour, but our lone passenger was already waiting in the same pickup truck—except this time it was parked directly on the tarmac, twenty feet from the plane.

I tried chatting the passenger up on the flight home. I asked if he was moving down to Cabo, and he said no. I asked why he was visiting for such a short trip, and he said his plans changed. But I knew that wasn’t true, because he was registered for the return flight from the start. It’s not like he had flown down, then suddenly changed his mind and decided to fly back.

Whatever,I thought while filling out my crossword puzzle.If he wants to be secretive, it’s none of my business.

It was, quite literally, the easiest flight of my career. Aside from serving him two more Diet Cokes, I didn’t have to do anything. We landed in Houston at three-thirty and I gave him my spiel, thanking him for choosing Excelsior Air and saying that I hoped he chose us again in the future.

I gathered my own things and walked off the plane with Luke. That’s when I noticed the old fashioned seaplane with the red stripe on the side. Great; Taylor Hawkins was here. The last thing I wanted was to get a lecture from him.

Then I saw something even more surprising. The ground crew was unloading luggage from the storage compartment of our plane. But not just any luggage. It was the same luggage our passenger had brought with him to Cabo. Theexactsame: I recognized the red leather luggage tags on the handles.

“Veronica?” Luke said. “Earth to Veronica.”

I gave myself a shake. “Sorry. I was just…” I stared at the suitcases being unloaded. They looked heavy. Maybe heavier than before. “I hadn’t realized he loaded up all his luggage again.”

“They did it while we were eating lunch. They texted me to get the access code. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” I continued following him toward the terminal, and caught a glimpse of Taylor Hawkins standing next to his plane. He was helping two passengers down out of the plane, but his head was twisted to stare at me. When we locked eyes, he gave his head a disappointed shake.

What’s going on?I wondered as we went inside.Was Taylor right all along?

24

Veronica

Luke took me to a movie that afternoon, and then out to dinner after. The movie was fun, and the dinner was enjoyable, but I spent the entire time thinking about the passenger on our plane and his excessive amount of luggage.

“What’s eating at you?” Luke said.

“Nothing.”

He put down his drink and leaned across the dinner table. “If this is about the other guys you’re dating, it’s okay. I don’t feel threatened.”

I gave a start. “Other guys?”

“Adam, the flight attendant. And whoever the third man is that you had to sayyesto in order to fulfill your agreement with Dexter.”

I chuckled to myself. “I haven’t been asked out a third time. I’m still on the hook for that.”

“And Adam?”

I hesitated before answering. “We’re still casually dating. But I’m not thinking about him right now. You’re the only man I think about when we’re together.”

“As relieved as I am to hear that,” Luke said, “something is on your mind right now.”

I downed the rest of my drink—a margarita on the rocks that was nowhere near as good as the one we’d had at lunch—and ordered another. “It’s about the flight today.”

Luke’s eyes widened. “Did something happen? Was our passenger inappropriate? I’ve heard horror stories about men on private flights who think they can do whatever they want to the crew. Veronica, I need you to know that if anything like that ever happens, me or one of the other pilots will set things straight.”

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