The second he reached her, one hand slid naturally along her waist like touching her had already become instinct again. That realization affected her every single time.
“You ready?” he asked quietly.
Johanna looked up at him. “For the helicopter ride or for the way you’re looking at me?”
A mischievous grin spread across his mouth. “Both.”
This man was entirely too dangerous when he felt confident.
The drive passed quickly as they talked and laughed aboutnothing and everything. The conversation flowed so easily that Johanna found herself forgetting to be cautious. Every story led to another, every joke sparked a memory, and before long she was laughing without wondering if she should be protecting her heart.
That realization should have alarmed her. Instead, it made her want to lean closer. And that was becoming a problem.
The helicopter pad sat just outside Sheraton Beach near the water, and by the time they arrived, the evening sky had deepened into rich shades of navy and silver while moonlight stretched faintly across the ocean beyond the shoreline.
Johanna stopped walking the second she saw the helicopter waiting beneath glowing runway lights.
“Oh my God.”
Blaze looked entirely too pleased with himself.
“You nervous?”
“Nervous? Not anymore.” Meeting his eyes, she said, “This is arealhelicopter.”
“That’s usually the preferred kind.”
Johanna smacked his arm lightly while Blaze laughed.
She loved his sense of humor and the way the sound gave her goosebumps.
Before she could spiral too deeply into that emotional crisis, Blaze reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers.
“Come on,” he murmured.
The pilot greeted them briefly before helping Johanna climb inside.
And the second Blaze settled beside her, all broad shoulders and masculine confidence, the small cabin felt intimate.
Moments later, the chartered helicopter lifted smoothly into the night sky.
Johanna grabbed onto Blaze’s arm.
He looked down at her fingers gripping him and hisexpression grew almost serious. “You good?”
One brow rose. “Nope.”
Blaze laughed before sliding an arm around her shoulders.
“You trust me?”
Johanna looked at him then.Reallylooked at him. And that’s where things got hazardous to her heart because the answer came far too easily now. “Yes.”
Something quiet shifted across Blaze’s face. He pulled her a little closer against his side while the helicopter climbed higher above Sheraton Beach.
And… the view.
The coastline glittered beneath them while moonlight stretched silver across black water and the town glowed softly in the distance like something suspended between memory and dream.
