Page 96 of Heart Breaker

She smiles, but it fades almost as quickly as it appears and I wonder if she’s trying to figure out how to think about the time we shared together without also thinking about the lies. “I don’t want to leave it behind.”

My chest tightens. “You don’t have to.”

Her eyes search mine. “I mean…” She gestures vaguely toward the mountains disappearing behind us. “Everything felt different there.”

“It was.” I squeeze her hand. “I liked that it was just us.” I bring her knuckles to my lips and brush a kiss across them.

“I did too.”

She studies me for a long moment before leaning her head against my shoulder—as much as she can with her headset on. “It’s still just us.”

We have about half an hour before I need to prepare for our descent. Autopilot is on and it’s just the two of us and the endless blue stretching beyond the windshield.

I look at my wife, my eyes drifting downward before making the slow journey back up. She’s wearing a white linen wrap dress that ends mid-thigh, showing off her long, bare legs that have been driving me crazy all weekend. My gaze lingers on her for another heartbeat before settling on her eyes.

“You look fucking hot,” I tell her

A blush creeps into her cheeks. “Thanks,” she says with a shy smile.

I grin, reaching across the space between us to hook a finger beneath her chin, then I lean in and press a slow kiss to her lips.

When I pull back, she’s smiling.

“I could’ve gone with breathtaking,” I murmur. “Or gorgeous.” Her smile widens. “Or the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

She laughs softly. “So why didn’t you?”

I steal one more quick kiss. “Because I figured I’d spend the rest of the flight proving it instead,” I tell her, reaching over to run a hand up her bare leg.

“What do you think you’re doing, Mr. Pilot?” she asks, one eyebrow arching as she looks over at me.

A chuckle escapes me. “Admiring the view.”

Her expression tells me she isn’t buying it for a second.

My thumb traces a slow circle against her knee before my hand drifts a little higher, stopping just before the hem of her dress.

“You wore this knowing exactly what it would do to me.”

She laughs. “This? I just wore it because it’s comfortable.”

“Liar.”

She gasps in mock offense, her attention lingering on my mouth.

“You’ve been distracting me ever since we boarded the plane.”

A smile tugs at her lips. “Good thing you’re on autopilot.”

My eyebrow lifts in a silent challenge. She rolls her bottom lip under her teeth. My little tease. Lottie smiles, uncrossing and then crossing her legs again with deliberate slowness. The motion draws the hem of her dress up just a little higher. She knows exactly what she’s doing.

Before I can call her out on it, the radio crackles to life.

“Deep Cove Seven Two Whiskey, Vancouver Centre.”

Duty takes over. I press the transmit switch, forcing my attention back to the instrument panel. “Go ahead, Vancouver Centre.”

They relay a weather update and a minor routing adjustment for our arrival. I repeat the instructions back, my eyes flicking between the displays and the horizon.