Page 41 of Elijah’s Whim

Chapter Ten

Hannah

I was calmer for my final exam at Le Cordon Bleu than I was this morning as I checked my duffel bag for the fifth time.

Elijah was giving his landscaper instructions on some ornamental grass he wanted planted while we were away for the day, but we really needed to get going. The best time to launch was very early in the morning, but the fog was so thick this time of year, very few pilots were brave enough for the Dawn Patrol.

We had plans to meet with Rio, Grant, Abbigail, and Sebastian for dinner at a trendy new place that one of Grant’s friends just opened. Apparently, all the men knew the restauranteur since they were all childhood friends from the same neighborhood.

But until then, Elijah still had no idea what I had planned for just us, so he peppered me with questions the entire drive to our destination. Once we got in the general area, though, he got a very sly grin on his gorgeous face and kept bouncing his eyes between the road and where I—also grinning by that point—sat in the passenger seat.

“What do you have up your sleeve, Ms. Farsey? Did you charter a hot-air balloon?”

“Mmmm, not quite. Are you afraid of heights?”

I instructed him where to drive as we entered the restricted area of the field. At the guard gate, I leaned across him, placing my palm on his abdomen for balance, while I handed the security guard my credentials.

“Playing with fire,” he groaned when I let my hand linger on his body a moment longer than necessary.

I met his icy green stare. “You don’t know the half of it,” I teased, thinking specifically of the burner and smaller pilot light that were mounted above the basket.

“I’m going to show you how hot things can get when you hang around me.” I followed it with a saucy wink and absolutely no idea where this bravado was coming from.

The guard came back to the car with my license and smiled broadly. “Your crew is on lot five this morning. Have a great flight, Captain.”

“Thank you.” I smiled back and took my credentials from the man and stowed them in my wallet.

To my handsome date, I said, “Just follow the road signs to spot five.” I gestured forward toward the windshield. “They’re really well marked here.”

Instead of driving, though, Elijah leaned farther into his door and pulled his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to look at me over the top of them.

“I’m sorry, did he just call you captain? Tell me what’s going on, or I’m not driving another inch.”

Precisely at that moment, the driver of the car behind us laid on his horn impatiently, and Elijah had to do exactly that. I giggled at his little tantrum being thwarted.

“That didn’t work out so well for you, did it?” I taunted.

“Watch yourself, lady.”

Chuckling, I deciding to throw him a bone. “Yes, he called me captain. Do you feel better knowing that? So now you can call me chef or captain. How do you feel about that?”

“I feel like my dick is so hard I’m not going to be able to get out of the car.”

When he spoke his next words, his voice was so dark with promise I was grateful I wasn’t behind the wheel or we would’ve been pulling over.

“Tell me what’s going on, Hannah.”

If I was ever going to keep the upper hand in a conversation with this man, I would have to find a way to strengthen my resolve a bit. As it stood now, with a few spoken words—hell, a single look—I was melting in the seat beside him.

“Hannah?”

I gave my head a little shake. “Hmm?”

“I said tell me what’s going on. Jesus, what’s gotten into you?”

“Sorry. I’m just excited.” I grinned. “I wanted to surprise you today, so I’m glad I pulled it off. I just got my private pilot certificate a couple of weeks ago, so I’m not ready to take friends up with complete confidence yet. The people we are going up with today were all in my class or were my instructors at one point or another. We all do ground crew duties for each other to get more time around the ships and build our confidence with handling the lines and equipment. It’s the only way you get proficient, you know?”

I looked over to Elijah, and he was listening with what looked like awe. I felt so embarrassed when I realized I had been going on and on about my hobby.