“We got off the ground, and the weather worsened, but we were able to push through. We picked her up and got her to the destination. We refueled and grabbed a quick bite. Before we were halfway through the meal, we got another call, this time an older gentleman with a heart condition. It wasn’t a particularly exciting night, but it was almost endless, and we were the only ones flying.”
“I was hoping you were gonna tell me of an epic water rescue,” she admitted.
Nick laughed. “The reason this night is so memorable for me was that our crew saved six lives that night. Our chopper was the only one willing to make the pickups and do the drop-offs. The weather worsened all night, and because my crew was skilled, no one died. It was a good night,” he told her.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put you down,” she told him as she reached out to him.
“I didn’t take it that way. I’m just saying that the most exciting moments in life can be those quiet in-betweens.”
“What does that mean?”
“We have to appreciate the calm before the storm to make it through the turbulence about to come,” he said.
Chloe realized she was falling more and more for this man who didn’t belong to her. She wanted to categorize him into one box, but the more she learned about him, the more she realized she would never be able to do that. She just didn’t understand what that meant. Maybe it was that she didn’t want to know what it meant. Then she would have to face too many questions she didn’t want the answers to.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Chloe didn’t know what to think about how her day was going. After a leisurely morning of making love and talking about nothing of importance, she and Nick had been in sort of a truce it seemed. They’d made a very late breakfast together and relaxed while watching a show.
It had taken her a while to calm the beating of her heart while waiting for the other shoe to drop, but they’d even done some physical therapy. This time while he’d been flirting, she’d allowed herself to enjoy it instead of fighting what she was feeling. The problem with that was the realization that she truly enjoyed being with him, but she wasn’t sure how much longer their “relationship” was going to last.
One night, at about six in the evening, he walked in wearing a fitted suit that showed off his muscles to perfection.
Chloe’s mouth watered as he stepped closer to her. The man was beautiful in a rugged way. He was wearing black with a splash of green in his tie that showed off the sparkles in his eyes. She wondered what was happening.
“You should probably go put on the dress I bought you,” he said with a smile.
She looked at him with suspicion. “Why?”
“Because there’s a party tonight. I had forgotten all about it until my captain called,” he told her.
“I still don’t know why I would be putting on a dress,” she said with a raised brow.
“Because you’re going as my date,” he told her.
“I don’t think that’s the best idea,” she said.
“Why not?” He seemed genuinely perplexed.
She couldn’t tell him. She knew someone might put the pieces together, figure out who she was, and then everything would be ruined. So she offered a different excuse.
“We aren’t dating,” she told him.
He smiled. “If this isn’t dating, I don’t know what is,” he said as his eyes traveled down her body.
She couldn’t help but blush as his gaze fastened on her cleavage before moving down the rest of her frame. She felt as if she were wearing nothing at all. When his heated gaze met back up with hers, desire rushed through her.
This stunning man, who seemed to really have nothing at all wrong with him, wanted her―desired her. She couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around it. But she also was a little euphoric from the feeling.
She was unable to take her eyes away from him as he moved closer to her. His strong hands wrapped around her back in a hug. She sighed with pleasure before his lips drank up the sound. By the time he released her, she was almost dizzy.
“What’s the event?” she asked, already forgetting what he’d said.
“Just a get-together,” he told her.
“Why are you so formally dressed then?” she asked with suspicion. He laughed.
“You don’t like me in a suit?” he questioned.
“It’s not that, it’s just you don’t really seem the suit-and-tie sort of guy,” she admitted.
“Hey, I can clean up,” he told her, taking her bottom lip in his mouth and tugging on it before kissing her again.
“You aren’t playing fair,” she told him as she ran her hands up and down his arms, loving the flex of his muscles.
“I play to win. I never said I followed the rules,” he assured her.
“Fine, I’ll come with you.” Her words earned her a brilliant smile. She turned to walk into her room, and he swatted her behind, telling her to hurry.
Chloe was enthralled with the dress the moment she saw it. She had no idea when he’d managed to get it, but it must have been a while ago, because the two of them hadn’t left the house all day.
She ran her fingers across the green material that matched his tie and sighed at how soft it was. Hurrying through a shower, she was anxious to put it on and see how it fit. When she looked in the mirror, she was delighted. It had been made just for her, hugging her curves in all the right places, having a slit up the side that showed off her thigh and ending just below her knees. It flowed against her legs, making her want to twirl in circles to see how high the material would ride.