She leans in closer, a faint whiff of citrus and vanilla hitting my nose and making my goddamn dick stir in my pants. “But what if I told you I don’t believe in fate. I’m in control of my life and my destiny, not some unseen, all-knowing force.”
“Oh, so you’re a control freak.” I smirk as her eyes narrow. “It’s fine, I get it. A strong, independent woman like you has to take care of herself. It’s admirable. It’s how I want to raise my daughter. But there’s something to be said for not knocking opportunity down when it shows up.”
I watch closely to see how she responds to my comment about my daughter. If she’s a baseball fan, she might already know about my single parent status, but just in case she isn’t, her reaction will be telling.
“So you’re saying you’re an opportunity?” she says lightly, clearly unfazed by the daughter situation. Which means either she already knew or she doesn’t care. Both of which suit me just fine right now.
My shoulders lift in a shrug. “Maybe. I could be. We’re going to the same small island, after all.”
“Well, if that happens, we certainly can’t ignore that, now can we.” Sitting back, her tongue darts out to lick her lip just before she tugs it between her teeth. “And I suppose I should confess, I almost got on the escalator back down to follow you. Before I realized who you were.”
Even with that last sentence being a reason to pause, I mentally pump my fist. It’s been a long-ass time since a woman captivated me the way Willow does. I haven’t been celibate, but my daughter and my career have come first and second, leaving no time for any romantic connections. Aside from a few one-night stands with women I find at bars on the road, while my mother looks after my kid at home, I’ve been alone for years. That’s never bothered me; there’s never been anyone I wanted to get to know. Not until this woman, right here.
“Seems to me you should let me take you out for dinner tonight,” I suggest, taking the lead from her bold attitude.
“Hmm. If I say yes, then that’s not exactly leaving it up to fate. Maybe we simply enjoy the next few hours as seatmates, then go our separate ways and see what your friend fate has in store for us.”
I lean back against my seat with a rueful chuckle. “Alright, you win. Fate it is.”
The rest of the flight passes in a blink of an eye. Four plus hours of verbal banter, with only the slightest hint of flirtation, the barest of touches. A brush of her legs when she moved past me to use the bathroom. My fingers grazing hers when I pass her meal to her. For once, I wish I was crammed in an economy seat, simply so we’d be that much closer to each other. But then again, this has been fun.
Do I wish she’d just say yes to dinner? Yeah, I do. She’s fascinating, and beautiful, and I want to know more.
When we land on Oahu, I follow Willow off the plane, and we make our way together, but without speaking, to the luggage carousel. It’s weird how I don’t want to say goodbye to a woman I just met a few hours ago. But even with all the flirting, it’s clear she’s got some pretty tall walls up. And it’s got something to do with me being a baseball player. That was clear from her cryptic comment about following mebeforeshe knew who I was.
Once we both have our luggage, she turns to me.
“Well, this was fun. Thank you for making the flight quite enjoyable.” A warm smile belies her formal words. I take the hand she stretches out and shake it firmly.
“You sure I can’t take you to dinner?” I ask, trying not to sound too eager.
I might be imagining it, but I swear a flash of regret crosses her face. “Sorry, no.”
There’s nothing for me to do but nod, then watch as the most intriguing woman I’ve ever met walks away from me.
I don’t stop thinking about her the entire time while I pick up my rental car and drive it to the beachfront resort where Eddie is getting married in two days. Once I’m checked into my suite, I head upstairs, barely noticing the stunning vista out my window. Instead, I drop down onto the bed and call home.
“Daddy!” Peyton shrieks as her little face fills the screen.
“Hey, Rocket,” I say, feeling something settle in my chest the way it always does when I talk to my daughter. “How was your day?”
“Good. Did you find Moana?”
I chuckle. “No, baby girl, not yet. I just got to the hotel.” Rising to stand, I cross the room to the open balcony doors and turn the camera around. “But look, the ocean is right there.”
“I betcha find Moana at the beach!”
“Maybe. I’ll keep my eye out.”
“’Kay. And say hi to any chickens.”
God, I love my kid. “You bet I will. So, what was the best part of your day?”
I settle back down on the bed for my daily check-in with Peyton. We’ve never missed it, even when I’ve had evening games. I always found a way to call her in the afternoon or evening to check in, ever since she started talking. Before that, I’d at least call and wave at her chubby little toddler face. But now, at four and a half, she’s a chatterbox.
She’smychatterbox, and I’d do fucking anything to make her smile. There’s nothing and nobody on this planet more important than my little girl.
Chapter three
