"I'm the logical choice to stay, sir." Gaze magnet-stuck, Bo watched Paige thumb chocolate frosting off the corner of her mouth.
"Strange running into her here today, and you two talking," the boss noted quietly.
"Yes, Colonel, it is." Could Quade see inside his head? Probably. The man was everywhere, all the time.
He wanted to like the commander, certainly respected his airmanship. But Quade went out of his way to be unlikable.
Quade cleared his throat and backed up a step. "Well, Captain? Don't you have some paperwork to file before these damn mosquitoes make lunch out of us both?"
Before Bo could answer, Quade pivoted toward Tag and Mako a few yards away. "And you two, what are you gabbing about? The flight's not over until the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the plane, even if we had to make an emergency landing."d. Afraid she couldn't feed her daughter. Terrified one of her husband's connections would come after them. She was also mortified. Decimated.
Lonely. And really, really enjoying the hot strength of this man's touch against her elbow.
Ah, geez, was he actually leaning closer, his nostrils flaring as if catching her scent like a stallion choosing a mate?
No problem, then, unless he got worked up over the smell of Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen.
She eased her arm free. "We're building a new life. I appreciate your taking the time to say hello—" Now wasn't that a whopper lie? "But my daughter and I are about to eat lunch."
"Cupcakes," Kirstie whispered from around Paige's leg.
Resting his guitar on the cement, he lowered to one knee in front of Kirstie. "Sounds like my kind of meal."
Was he angling for an invitation? For what possible reason? She hated being suspicious, but when someone you loved betrayed you so totally, trusting strangers was all but impossible.
"Well, goodbye, Captain, we need to get mov—"
Kirstie released her death grip on Paige's thigh and inched forward. "Will you show me the airplanes? I'll give you half my cupcake."
"Kirstie," Paige shushed low. "Captain Rokowsky probably has—"
"Bo." He tapped the name tag on his flight suit. "My name's Bo."
"He has other things to do."
Bo glanced over at the three men and then back. "I'm afraid your mom's right."
Kirstie's disappointed sigh huffed up to rustle sweaty bangs. Then her spine straightened with her old spunk. "What if I gave you my whole cupcake? It's chocolate with sprinkles."
"Sprinkles, huh?" He scratched his square jaw. "That's a tempting offer, but my boss is going to come looking for me soon, and he gets cranky when we're not on time. I just wanted to say hello before debrief."
"De-what?" Kirstie's curiosity about all things flying overtook her shyness. As much as Paige wanted to run, she couldn't bear to stomp on the spark returning to her daughter.
"Debrief. That's when we talk about the flight so we can learn how to do things better the next time," he explained with surprising patience for a young bachelor with "player"
stamped all over his godlike body and confident strut.
"Oh, kinda like how I hafta go to school."
"Exactly. But are you coming back tomorrow? I could work around those other things to spend an afternoon with two pretty ladies. If it's okay with your mama, of course."
He grinned up with unrepentant mischief, as if he knew darn well he'd maneuvered her by offering in front of Kirstie. Yet why offer at all? Didn't he have better things to do? It wasn't that deserted in Minot.
"Are you always this accommodating?" And full of bull, she silently added.
"I aim to please." His smile kicked up a notch, his perfect face somehow enhanced all the more by his ever-so-slightly crooked teeth. "What do you say, ladies? Are you going to stand me up tomorrow?"
"No way." Kirstie's curls bounced with her shaking head. "You betcha boots we're coming back. Mama promised."