Thano jumped in and started up his truck. “Okay, let’s go have some fun.”
Keeping my mind busy with smalltalk, I wasn’t paying any attention to where we were going as I went on and on about nothing.
“Claire and Blake are trying for a baby.”
Thano smiled. “Are they really? Good for them.”
Nodding, I felt a tiny bit of jealousy in the pit of my stomach. “Her folks are pretty happy about it. They’ve been bugging them about it for a while.”
“Are you close to her parents?”
“Yes. I mean, they’re like my second parents. I know they love me like I’m their daughter.”
He reached for my hand and kissed the back of it. “You know my parents adore you, Kilyn.”
With a shrug, I looked away.
“Tonight, my mother said she loved you.”
Looking back at Thano, I asked, “She did? She really said that?”
With a huge smile, he nodded. “Yep.”
It was then I noticed we were at the airport. Anxiety washed over my body as I looked back at Thano. He was pulling into a different part of the airport. The area where private planes were kept.
“Where are you going?” I asked with a nervous edge to my voice.
All he did was turn to me and wink.
Pulling up to a hangar, Thano put his truck into park. “We’re here! Come on.”
Before I had a chance to even ask why we were at a hangar at the airport, Thano got out of his truck and made his way over to my door. I opened it and slowly got out. Lacing his fingers with mine, we headed over to the three guys standing a few feet away.
“Thano! Damn, man, it’s good to see you.”
The guy seemed to be the same age as us. His blond hair was a mess, but the only thing you noticed was his sky-blue eyes.
“Saul, it’s good seeing you. It’s been awhile. How are you doing?”
The man’s eyes quickly looked over at me before his attention went back to Thano. “I’m doing good. Still flying people all over the place. Your dad called in a favor for you I see.”
My heart began pounding as my eyes drifted over to the small jet that was parked outside of the hangar. Swallowing hard, I tried to speak but nothing came out.
Thano’s laugh caused me to look back at the men. “He did. It’s a quick flight, right?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve already called in the flight plans so we’re good to go.”
Oh. My. God.
We were flying somewhere. In a plane. In a small plane.
Turning to me, Thano must have noticed the sheer look of horror on my face. And then it hit him.
“Oh, shit. Kilyn, I wasn’t even thinking. Baby, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
My eyes bounced between him and the plane. Whatever he had planned he went to a lot of trouble to plan it. I wasn’t about to let my fears stand in the way.
“I’m . . . I’m fine, honest.”
His hands cupped my face, bringing my eyes to his intense stare. “We don’t have to do this.”
Lifting my hands to his, I smiled. “I’ve flown since my parents’ death. It’s always been on big planes and not smaller ones, though.” With a nervous chuckle, I continued. “I’ve missed out on some pretty fun trips because I wouldn’t fly on a smaller plane. It’s a stupid fear.”
He barely shook his head. “It’s not stupid.”
I pressed my lips together and forced a grin. “I want to do this.”
The way his thumbs moved across my cheeks had a calming effect on me. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been so sure.”
Thano dropped his hands and I instantly missed his warm touch. “I need to get the bags. Wait right here.”
I stood there and watched as he grabbed the bags and brought them over to the jet. My heart was racing as I listened to them talking.
There would be two pilots. The flight to Dallas would be short. A car would be there to pick us up.
My hand came up as I rubbed my fingers against my forehead. I was trying like hell to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach, as well as the headache that was quickly coming on.
Closing my eyes, I counted to twenty. This was good. I needed to do this.
I swear I blacked out because before I knew it, we were up in the air and I was gripping Thano’s hand so hard it was turning white.
“I’m sorry I forgot, Kilyn. I can’t believe I did that.”
By the time the plane leveled out some, I was feeling much better. “It’s okay. I don’t even remember telling you how my parents died.”
He looked down and then back up at me. “You didn’t. My father did.”
I nodded. “So, because of you forgetting, does this mean you’re going to tell me where we are going?”