Page 26 of The Maverick

“First, we have the dining area and kitchen. You’ll notice there is no stove, just a microwave.”

“Fire hazard, I presume.”

“Exactly. But we do have a small fridge and a sink. Through here,” he moved them on to the next area. “is the eating space.” He waved his free arm to take in the area.

A small, round oak table with four matching chairs around it was in the space, with the aisle running along the side of the plane. It gave much more room than if it had been down the middle.

“Next comes my office. I keep it fully functioning so I can work from here wherever in the world I happen to be.”

“Do all of your brothers and Megan have planes, too?”

“Adam and Ray do. I’m not sure about the rest. I lose track of what they have and what they don’t.” He placed his free hand on top of hers, where it curled in the curve of his elbow.

His office had a standard desk with a lamp and a printer. The chair was black leather and matched the ones in the front of the cabin.

“This is nice. Fully functional without being ostentatious.” She looked up. “I’ve always liked that about you. You never liked fancy things.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that. I like good food and sometimes that means fancy. The restaurant I’m taking you to is Matsuhisa. It’s a Japanese restaurant and we’ll be there for Nobu in Town. The owner and master chef himself will be creating his one-of-a-kind dishes. He doesn’t do this very often, but when I told him I would be on this date, he said he would be delighted to be there for us.”

“That’s awfully nice.”

“He’s an old friend. We do things for each other. I brought his family over from Japan in my plane. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford to fly them; it was for comfort. His mother is quite old and a regular plane trip would have been uncomfortable, to say the least. Here, she could lie down, if she needed to. Which brings us to the last room—the bedroom.”

When she saw the room, she raised her eyebrows. It was as beautiful as the ones at his house. The deep green comforter on the king-size bed was silk. She couldn’t miss the telltale sheen.

Nightstands in a deep cherry color stood on each side of the bed. A chest of drawers was built into the wall, and a full-length mirror hung on the wall next to the drawers.

Two doors were on the long wall, which looked like the back of the plane. Rachel guessed one door was to the bathroom. And she wouldn’t have been wrong.

Nick opened the door on the right.

She saw the bathroom and released his arm as she went into the space. It was huge by normal airplane standards. She held her arms out like she was an airplane and turned a circle in the room.This is amazing. I can’t believe I’m here.She watched him.And with Nick. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this.“I can’t believe how big this is. Does it take up the back third of the plane?” She giggled.

Nick leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest and a smile aimed at her.

The large, glassed-in shower dominated the room followed by the white marble countertop and sink, with a lighted mirror on the wall above. No stainless steel anywhere in this bathroom.

Nick smiled and spread his arms wide. “And that’s the tour. What do you think of my...toy?”

“It’s incredible. I never thought I’d ever see the inside of a private plane, much less take a ride in one.”

“Come on. Let’s have a glass of wine and relax.” Nick took her right hand and led her back to the main cabin.

She sat on the sofa and only then noticed the large-screen TV across the room. “Holy cow! I’ve never seen a TV that huge in an airplane.”

Nick chuckled. “I have to have something to play my games on. I do some testing of the new games. I have an entire department that does it, but I like to keep my hand in it and test the final product.” He took a bottle of wine from one of the cupboards, uncorked it and poured two glasses before putting a keeper top on it and placing it in a rack on the counter.

“That makes sense. Just because you write the program doesn’t mean it will be packaged the way you want it.”

“No, it doesn’t.” He handed her one of the glasses.

She took a sip of wine. “It’s definitely a family affair based on what you told me before.”

“It really is. None of us could do it without the others. I’m not the writer that Ray is and all I can draw are stick figures.” Tossing his head back, he let loose with a belly laugh.

Rachel couldn’t help but laugh, as well.

Would it always be like this? If we get together, will we laugh a lot, like we used to, or will it be like it was with Greg...all fun and games until he has me and then all rules and punishments?