Nicole’s nose scrunched, and she nodded. “Good idea.”
Half a pill had done the trick. Katie chatted happily with the taxi driver on the way to the airport, all her previous anxiety gone. She was grateful for their late departure time, as the cover of darkness meant she wouldn’t be able to see how high up in the air she was. Though her slightly uneven gait made climbing onboard a bit awkward, she was soon buckled in and fast asleep, waking after the jet was airborne.
From her inward-facing seat, she surveyed her surroundings, still cloaked in an unaccustomed mellowness. Except for the vibration and the roar of the jet engines, she could have pretended she wasn’t zipping through the air inside a hunk of metal that was too heavy to fly. Steven had his computer open, brows bent in concentration, but Gary was nowhere to be seen. Katie retrieved her bag from under her seat and pulled out her phone. Searching through her digital library, she opened one of several books she’d been waiting to read. But the words on the page refused to make sense in her scrambled brain. She gave up and put her phone away, just as Gary returned from a door in the back, his face lighting up when he saw her.
“You’re awake!” He sat down and handed her one of two insulated cups of ice water. “Here. I got this one for Steven, but he’s busy, anyway.”
“Thank you.” She took a soothing sip, trying hard to remember why she’d been so angry with the man.
“Listen, I want to apologize for scaring you about the spider eggs. I was only teasing.”
“My roommate thought it was funny,” she answered cheerily, amused by the slight slur that crept into her speech. “I didn’t.”
“Don’t you ever tease? Maybe a little?”
“No teasing in our house. Dad was very serious.” She held up a finger to mimic her father. “He always said ‘A moment of carelessness can ruin your life.’”
“I’d say, ‘A life without a carefree moment is no life at all.’”
Katie’s fuzzy mind chewed on the statement. “Then I guess I don’t have a life, because I can’t remember a carefree moment.”
Gary’s jaw tightened, his blue eyes glinting with determination. “We’re going to change that this week. I’m a personal trainer, you know. I’m going to teach you how to be carefree.”
Katie envisioned a massage table, soft music, strong hands kneading warm oil into her tight muscles. Perhaps his hands.
This idea has promise.
“How does one become carefree?” she asked.
“My plan involves a bucket list. I’m working my way through it.”
“A bucket list?” Even with her anti-anxiety pill, the thought made her pulse race. “Like what?”
“A lot of things I’ve already done, like skydiving, helicopter skiing, bungee jumping, diving with sharks. But my list keeps growing, so I’ll never get through it. I’d like to surf in Australia, climb Mt. Everest… stuff like that.”
“Sounds like you have a death wish.” She should’ve known from the moment they met—too bad they were so incompatible.
“I’m not afraid to take a risk, if that’s what you mean.”
How could she have let herself become attracted to someone like him, her opposite in every way?
“I should introduce you to my roommate, Nicole. You guys are a lot alike.”
“How so?”
“She jokes around, and she’s not afraid of anything. She’s even been sky diving, like you. She’s remarkable.”
“I’d rather get to know you.”
His clear gaze penetrated deep into her soul, with such gentle sympathy, she felt her walls begin to crumble. She almost told him her family history—why her parents had become so overprotective. It was a story she’d only shared with Nicole.
But alarms began to ding inside her head. She barely knew this man who was tempting her to reveal her deepest secrets.
This drug is making me lose my self-control.
“I’m boring,” she said. “Nothing special.”
“I know you’re the only PA who’s managed to keep Steven happy for more than six weeks.” He glanced toward her boss, still intent on his work. “And I know he probably wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t come. That makes you special in my book.”