Staged (Exodus End 3)

“We were supposed to be in the air an hour ago,” Jordan said, sounding as annoyed as she must feel. “Where in the bloody hell are you?”

“Sorry, time got away from us. We’re leaving now and will be right there.”

He hung up the phone and waited for Roux to finish playing an up-tempo jig before breaking the news.

“We have to leave now,” he said. “That was the pilot, and she’s pissed that we’ve kept her waiting.”

“Aw, do you have to?” Dana said, as if she’d suddenly turned into her twelve-year-old self. “I haven’t seen Pops this happy in months.”

The old guy did have a huge grin on his face.

“We can visit again,” Steve promised, because yes, he wanted Roux in his life for as long as she’d have him. He might have suspected it soon after meeting her, but now he was absolutely sure.

Fifteen

Roux couldn’t decide if she was glad they were finally leaving the farm and Steve’s family behind or miserable about saying goodbye. Steve had taken what she’d expected to be a frivolous, carefree weekend and turned it into an emotionally exhausting ordeal in only a few hours. She doubted he realized how hard families were for her to handle even in small doses, and she was currently overdosed on the Aimeses. But like any addict, that didn’t necessarily mean she was prepared to stop seeking more of the same.

“I knew they’d love you,” Steve said as they sped down the gravel road, sending up an enormous dust plume in their wake.

“Quite a risk you took there,” she said. “They might have hated me.”

“Not possible.” He didn’t look at her, but he grinned crookedly. “You were perfect. That was exactly the recharge I needed.”

Recharge? “I feel completely drained.” Perhaps she shouldn’t admit something like that to him.

“You didn’t enjoy yourself?”

“I did,” she said. “Your family is amazing.” She plucked a stray dog hair from her shirt. “A bit too amazing. I have my sisters, and Mama Ramona, but—”

“My family reminded you of all you’ve lost.” He laid a hand on her knee, and her heart rate accelerated. “I didn’t think. I’m sorry. I thought you’d like the farm—the garden, the animals.”

“I loved the farm.” She covered his hand with hers and squeezed. “And your family and the house and the meal and the piano. It was just a lot to absorb in such a short time. I’m glad you brought me here and let me see a side of you I’d never imagined existed.”

“Not many people have seen that side. Not even my closest friends. Well, except Zach. Zach has been here with me. Dana adores him. But not my bandmates. Not even Logan.”

“Did you bring Bianca often?” She wasn’t sure why that thought made her tense with jealousy.

“A few times. I kept hoping it would grow on her, but she hated it.”

“Did you bring me here as some sort of a test?”

His head jerked in her direction, and she knew she’d caught on to the truth.

“A test?” He laughed sharply. “No.”

Right. “Did I pass?”

After pulling to a stop at the end of the gravel road, he shifted to look at her. His smile warmed his eyes and her entire body.

“With flying colors.”

“You passed my test too,” she said.

“What test was that?”

“You didn’t laugh at me for being excited about vegetables.”

“I was laughing on the inside. There is nothing exciting about vegetables.”

He brushed her hair behind her ear, his gaze holding hers with such intensity that her toes curled. As much as she’d enjoyed their little midwestern pit stop, she was definitely looking forward to being alone with him for the rest of the weekend.

A semi roared past on the connecting highway and drew Steve’s attention back to driving. Roux stifled a sigh of disappointment as he turned the car onto the blacktop. She was so craving a kiss from the unexpectedly complex man beside her. He wasn’t anything like she thought he would be and everything she wanted.

At the small local airport, Roux could tell the pilot—Jordan—was annoyed, but she didn’t yell at Steve for making them late. Roux got the feeling that she was used to him mucking up her schedule. Now that Roux knew him better, she realized he wasn’t intentionally self-centered and inconsiderate, just used to getting his way.

“Sorry for making us late,” Roux apologized, not sure why she felt the need to cover for Steve. “There were kittens.” And a thousand other wonderful things to see.

Jordan smiled. “Steve didn’t mention kittens.”

“They were so adorable,” Roux said. “I thought my heart would burst.”

Jordan blinked, tilting her head to one side as if trying to figure out what country Roux was from. “I wondered why he wanted to stop here, but now I get it.” She grinned, and after saying, “Enjoy your flight,” she slipped into the cockpit.

The copilot—who looked as unprofessional in his black T-shirt and worn jeans as Jordan looked professional in her pristine uniform—pulled the outer door shut and secured it while Roux and Steve found their seats.

Roux fastened her seat belt, wondering how long it would stay on this time, and said, “Your bringing me to the family farm made me feel special, but I have to ask: How many women have you taken to this island of yours?”

He went still, and then pulled his fingers through his thick mane of brown hair. He fashioned it into a loose sloppy bun on the back of his head, accentuating his high cheekbones, strong jaw, and exotic eyes with one simple accessory. Roux was so busy staring that she’d forgotten that she’d asked him a question until he responded.

“Not many,” he said, but he shifted in his seat, and she couldn’t help but think that he was lying or at the very least understating his prowess. She doubted he’d ever done that before. He seemed more likely to brag about his innumerable conquests.

“By whose standards?” she asked. She was starting to fall for this guy and needed to know what she was up against. In the past she’d always been so very careful not to fall too hard for any man. Keeping them at a distance made it harder for them to break her heart, and even after what she’d been through as a child, she had to admit the tender organ was embarrassingly soft.

“By any standards. It’s not my island, by the way. It’s Dare’s.”

Her jaw dropped. “Dare’s?”

“He’s with his family this break—probably helping Trey get ready for his wedding—so he let me borrow it.”

She shook her head at the outlandish idea of borrowing an island.

“I never expected Dare to—” She flushed. Why wouldn’t Dare own an island for private orgies? She was sure he was a hot-blooded man. Just because he was introverted didn’t mean he couldn’t whisk some lucky woman off to a tropical paradise for a little alone time.

“As far as I know, he has never brought a woman here either,” Steve said, leaning back against his seat as the small jet began to taxi.

Either?

“It’s where we go to ensure we aren’t recognized,” he added, “to completely let down our guard and relax. To get away.”

“Not to party yourself into oblivion and have wild sex orgies?”

He grinned. “What kind of perverted maniac do you think I am?”

“The right kind.”