Johanna stared out the window in complete awe. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah,” he said. “It is.”
Heat climbed immediately into Johanna’s cheeks the second she realized he wasn’t talking about the view.
The helicopter carried them north while soft music filtered through the speakers. Somewhere between the endless dark ocean below and Blaze’s hand resting warm against her thigh, Johanna realized this night already threatened to be close to unforgettable.
The closer they got to Baltimore, the quieter Johanna became. Her nerves had relaxed somewhere over the border, replaced instead by a deep overwhelming awareness that Blaze planned every part of this night. The glittering skyline rose ahead of them like something pulled from a romantic movie, none of it felt flashy or performative. Everything about the evening felt intentional, as though Blaze wasn’t trying to impress with grand gestures so much as provide a memory she wouldnever forget.
And the frightening part… it was working.
She reminded herself that Blaze hadn't created this evening specifically for her.
The chartered helicopter ride. The harbor dinner, and romantic skyline waiting ahead. All of it had been assembled as an auction package to raise money for charity. Any woman who'd won the bidding would have been sitting beside him tonight.
The thought should have made her feel better. Instead, Johanna found herself wondering whether Blaze would have looked at anyone else the way he looked at her.
Whether he would have held another woman this close.
Whether he would have memorized her smile the way he seemed determined to memorize Johanna's.
The answer settled somewhere deep inside her before she could stop it.
No.
This night might have started as an auction package, but somewhere along the way it had become theirs.
The helicopter descended slowly near the Baltimore Harbor just after sunset, the city glowing beneath them in ribbons of gold, white, and deep blue reflected across the dark water. Boats drifted quietly along the docks while restaurants and rooftop bars shimmered beside the harbor like something pulled from a movie scene.
Johanna stared out the window in disbelief. “This is insane.”
Blaze leaned back in his seat watching her reaction instead of the skyline. “You like it?”
“Really?” She looked at him like that was the dumbest question he’d ever asked. “You freakin’ flew me to Baltimore for dinner.”
“Yeah.”
“You booked a helicopter ride.”
A grin tugged at his mouth. “You saying it twice is not gonna make it feel any different.”
“It’s still hard to believe.”
Johanna laughed softly under her breath as the helicopter settled onto the landing pad moments later.
The harbor air felt colder than Sheraton Beach, and the sharp February wind carried the scent of water, seafood, and city nightlife the second they stepped outside.
Before Johanna could fully pull her coat closed, Blaze shrugged out of his leather jacket and wrapped it carefully around her shoulders.
“You’re going to freeze,” she protested immediately.
“I run hot.”
The answer came so automatically that she smiled despite herself.
He always said that.
Something about the familiarity of it wrapped unexpectedly around her chest.
