I’d made the right choice picking her up here.

  I took her hand and squeezed.

  She smiled tentatively at me. She was nervous. I could see it in her tight smile and feel it in her hand.

  “You’ve never had a guy pick you up for a date before?”

  “In a limo? No.”

  “I’m glad to be the first,” I said.

  She blushed. She actually blushed.

  We arrived at the bar in all of five minutes.

  Peter, my driver, pulled to the side and stopped, looking questioningly at me in the rear view mirror.

  I considered having him drive around for awhile.

  Instead I held up a finger, signaling for him to give us a minute.

  Taking her other hand, holding both of them now, I looked into Scottie’s beautiful Aurora Borealis eyes.

  “I think we’re there already,” I said.

  She nodded. “It isn’t very far. We could have walked.”

  “Maybe we’ll walk back,” I said.

  “Maybe not at night,” she said with a little smile. “It is Houston.”

  “Good point. Do you want to go inside?”

  “Sure.”

  “Peter,” I said with a little nod. “I’ll text you when we’re ready to go.”

  “I’ll be here, Sir.”

  I opened the door and helped Scottie out.

  “Do you always have a driver?” she asked.

  “Pretty much. I’m not really into driving myself.”

  She looked at me sideways. “That’s just un-American,” she said.

  “Really?”

  “Don’t all teenage boys love their cars?”

  “Didn’t say I’d never been a driver. Just not a driver now.”

  Someone opened the door as we reached the entrance to the bar.

  “Do you have a table on the balcony?” I asked the hostess.

  “Just go on up,” she said. “Top floor. You can sit anywhere you can find a seat.”

  I still held Scottie’s hand as we waited for the elevator.

  It was quite possible that we were going to miss the sunset, but oddly enough, I didn’t really mind.

  I was enjoying just being with her.

  As we stepped onto the elevator and I pushed the button for the tenth floor, I knew that three weeks with her wasn’t going to be long enough.

  A lifetime wouldn’t be enough.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  SCOTTIE

  We got off the elevator on the tenth and top floor of the building and stepped out into a cacophony of noise.

  The whole floor was open air, no roof. Two men sat on the east side playing guitars. One of them was singing a catchy tune that could easily tempt people to sing along.

  There were at least two dozen tables and at first glance all of them looked occupied. There were other people standing around near the balcony.

  “What do we do now?” Henry asked, speaking over the music and the loud conversations.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never been here before.”

  He looked at me sideways.

  “I guess we’ll figure it out then.”

  I followed him as we wove our way through the crowd looking for a place to sit.

  “There’s a little bench over there,” he said, bending close so I could hear him.

  “We should grab it,” I said, but we were already headed that way.

  Henry drew attention as we passed, especially from girls.

  They probably noticed his suit first, since most people were dressed a lot more casually, mostly jeans and even some shorts. Then they would notice how handsome he was. Some of them went so far as to glance in my direction.

  I was struck with a sense of pride that I was the one he was leading across the crowded rooftop.

  Unfortunately the reminder that he was only here for a short time followed on the heels of that sense of honor.

  The bench we managed to snag had an awesome view of the sunset.

  “Look,” I said. “That building to our left. See how the sun is reflecting off the glass.”

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “I need a picture of that to send to my sister.”

  Using his phone, he snapped a quick picture.

  “Martini extra olives?” he asked me when a server, a tall, lanky young man, stopped to take our order.

  “Good memory.”

  “Two martinis extra olives,” Henry said. “Would you take our picture? With the sun reflecting off that building behind us?”

  “Sure thing.” The server took his phone. “Say cheese,” he said.

  Henry put an arm around me and pulled me close until our cheeks touched.

  “Smile,” he said.

  So I did.

  Henry had caught me off-guard in every way.

  I’d never expected him, in a million years, to pick me up at my apartment in a limo.

  And I hadn’t expected him to be wearing a suit that made him look even more handsome than he had in his pilot’s uniform. I was pretty sure the suit was designer. I didn’t know enough about suits to guess whether it was Armani or Versace or something else, but it looked and felt like designer quality.

  “My sister,” he said. “The one graduating college this year, is an artist. Mostly graphic design, but she’s taught me a lot about color and lines and shading.”

  “Have you always been drawn to sunsets?” I asked.

  “As long as I can remember. It’s something my grandfather loved and he passed it along to me.”

  “I’m envious,” I said.

  “You’ll like him,” Henry said.

  I smiled and something constricting my heart loosened.

  I had no explanation for it, but that simple statement brought a lightness to my heart. A hope that I might actually meet Henry’s grandfather.

  The idea of meeting Henry’s grandfather implied all sorts of things, not the least of which was the impossible. That he and I could somehow find a way to be together beyond the short time that he was in Houston.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  HENRY

  This rooftop bar that Scottie had chosen, sight unseen, was loud and informal and messy.

  It was perfect.

  And it had a perfect view of the sunset.

  Even though it was early evening, it was still hot as hell. I’d been pleasantly shocked to find that they had those water misting things like Vegas had to keep the air at a tolerable temperature.

  All in all, I was impressed. As far as a first impression of Houston, it was overall positive.

  I held my martini glass in one hand and rested my other hand on the iron railing on the bench behind Scottie.

  I was staking my territory with her and I knew it, but I didn’t know if she noticed or not.

  I was typically good at living in the moment and not stressing about what came next. It had served me well.

  But at the moment, I wasn’t doing such a good job of it.

  I had about a hundred things going on in my head.

  The most prominent thought at the moment was that I wanted to take Scottie home with me. Specifically I wanted to take her home this weekend to my grandparents’ Sunday dinner/birthday party for my sister.

  I wanted to ask her, but I figured it was probably too soon.

  I didn’t want to overwhelm her any more than I already had.

  Besides that, my thoughts kept trying to dash ahead to the future, but so far I’d been able to rein them in. I didn’t need to think too far ahead.

  There were too many variables at play. Too much uncertainty.

  My grandfather had taught me that anything was possible. That even things that seemed impossible could happen if we believed in them.

  He believed in the power of positive thinking, but he also believed in hard work. He’d taught me that the two go together.

  That they were inseparable.

  So I worked hard and I kept a positive attitude.

  Even knowing that Scottie and I lived in two worlds that were impossibly far apart, I didn’t let go of that little kernel of hope that it didn’t matter.

  I took a sip of the martini. It was cold and salty with the right amount of bite.

  After Scottie finished her olives, I slipped one of my two untouched toothpicks packed with olives into her glass.

  She smiled up at me.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “I’m good.”

  “How’s your drink?”

  “The olives are good.”

  “I can tell.”

  She smiled. “How’s yours?”

  “Mine is great. My older brother makes a good martini.”

  “Is that so? Is he a bartender?”

  “No.” The idea of my older brother being a bartender was so farfetched, I had to swallow back a laugh. I couldn’t even picture it.

  “What does he do?” she asked.

  “Corporate work,” I said, purposely changing the subject. “Look. People are dancing.” Some people had pushed their tables aside and were slow dancing.

  “They are, aren’t they?” She followed my gaze. “Do you dance?”

  “A little,” I said. I’d taken dance lessons from the time I was ten years old until I was sixteen. I’d say I was fairly proficient.

  Sixteen was the arbitrary age when the Ashton kids got to decide what they wanted to do. I had dropped ballroom dancing at sixteen, but by then, I was already proficient. But slow dancing, was a whole other thing.

  “Do you want to dance?”

  Chapter Thirty

  SCOTTIE

  The music was loud and slow. The two guys playing the guitar were merely background noise for the music coming through the speakers. And yet it all flowed together seamlessly.

  The sun had dropped over the horizon, leaving us in the glow of the artificial lights.

  It didn’t matter that we were in a crowded space.

  With one arm resting over Henry’s shoulders, my fingers brushing his soft neatly trimmed hair, my other hand clasped tightly in his, I rested my cheek against his chest.

  We moved slowly together with the music.

  Around and around in a tiny little circle, our feet moving in sync. The music wove a magical spell around us.

  I was already enchanted with him, but now I knew that in just two days I had gone from hiding from relationships, using Thomas as an excuse, to falling head over heels for a guy I could actually touch. Dance with. Hold.

  I allowed myself a moment of sadness for all those years wasted crushing on a man who was unavailable to me.

  A moment. Just a moment was all I allowed myself.

  Then I put it behind me. I tucked it away to think about later. Maybe. Maybe I would allow myself to think about it later. Or maybe I would simply put it behind me where it belonged.

  Allow Henry to replace that spot in my heart that I had saved for Thomas.

  Thomas had been a schoolgirl crush, albeit a grown up one.

  Unfortunately Henry came with his own set of problems.

  Henry was only here in Houston for a short amount of time.

  “Scottie?”

  “Hmm?”

  Henry nudged me and I shifted to look up into his eyes.

  “The music stopped.”

  “Oh.” A quick glance around told me that he and I were the only ones still standing on the makeshift dance floor.

  Everyone else had gone back their tables.

  I cleared my throat and, dropping my hand from his shoulder, pushed at my hair.

  “I was…”

  “It’s okay,” he said, leading me back toward our bench.

  Another couple, though, was sitting there.

  “Guess we lost it.”

  “I guess so. I don’t think there are any empty tables either.”

  “You want to go for a drive?”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know. Just a drive around Houston.”

  “Okay. Sure.” I was still in something of a daze and it didn’t matter much to me what we did as long as it was together.

  “I’ll let Peter know.”

  He sent a quick text.

  “Okay,” he said. “You ready to go?”

  “I’ll follow you.”

  As we left the bar and headed toward the elevator, I decided that I didn’t have to know anything past today.

  I didn’t have to know tomorrow or next week or even three weeks from now.

  All I had to know about was today.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  HENRY

  Sunday morning dawned nice and clear following on the heels of an overnight storm.

  The tarmac still glistened with moisture as the sun peeked over the horizon.

  It was early enough that the temperature was still pleasant. Before the sun heated the air, turning it into an oven.

  With the loud roar of a commercial jet taking off from runway three and flying overhead, I walked around the little Phenom, doing an external preflight check.

  I was in no hurry.

  Peter wasn’t here yet. I couldn’t leave until Peter got here.

  I pulled a peppermint out of my pocket and popped it into my mouth as I lowered the steps leading up to the airplane.

  It was only a three hour flight up to Pittsburgh and then an hour’s drive to my grandparents’ house.

  That wasn’t, however, why I watched the gate for Peter. I watched the gate for Peter because he was supposed to be on his way here with Scottie.

  I hadn’t seen her since Wednesday evening after we took our drive around the city.

  I hadn’t asked her then. I’d asked her to come with me today during one of our late night text message conversations.

  Maybe that made me a chicken, but either way, she had said yes.

  I’d woven it into the conversation rather smoothly if I did have to say so myself.

  Still. She wasn’t here yet and I wasn’t going to relax until Peter drove up with her in the backseat.

  It was just a day trip, so it wasn’t like I’d asked her to go away with me.

  I’d merely asked her to meet my family.

  I hadn’t told them yet that I was bringing anyone. They would make a big deal out of it. And besides… she wasn’t actually here yet.

  The only thing worse than them making a big deal out of me bringing someone was them making a big deal out of her changing her mind.

  I went onboard and sat in the pilot’s seat. Checked the radar. Checked the flight plan.

  Then I started the preflight checklist.

  She would be here.

  Standing me up didn’t seem like something she would do.

  Besides, Peter would have told me if she wasn’t coming and I hadn’t heard anything from him.

  I took that as a good sign.

  After I finished the preflight checklist, I was checking the weather again when I saw Peter’s car coming through the gate.

  Scottie was here.

  Peter would not have come without her. He would have no reason to.

  I wanted to do a happy dance, but instead, I went to the door at the top of the stairs and watched as Peter drove up and got out of the car.

  He nodded as he walked around to open the back door.

  My heart pounded as Scottie stepped out.

  A whole new version. Not the professional elegant version or the sex goddess version, but the girl next door version.

  She was wearing a long flowy skirt in a pretty green flowered design and a white sweater set.

  Her hair was secured at the back of her head with a clip, letting it fall down her back in soft curls.

  She’d nailed the perfect look for meeting the family.

  Without even thinking, I bounded down the stairs and strode toward her.

  “Hi,” I said, picking her up at the waist and twirling her around.

  She gasped and grabbed hold of my shoulders before I lowered her back on her feet. She was wearing her boots again instead of wearing heels. I liked it. It made her the perfect height for her to rest her cheek against my chest.

  I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead then grabbed her hand to pull her toward the airplane, thanking Peter along the way.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  SCOTTIE

  It had only been just over three days since I’d seen Henry, but it had been a busy week.

  Somehow, even though both of us had worked, we hadn’t crossed paths.

  Instead, we had texted back and forth. There had been long stretches of silence while he was in the air, but as soon as he was on the ground we started texting again.

  We had talked about everything and nothing.

  I’d been surprised and shocked when he had asked me to go to Pittsburgh with him to his sister’s birthday party.

  I hadn’t wanted to intrude and I told him so, but he insisted that he had a big family and they got together every Sunday. He assured me that I would be welcome.

  He’d also confided that he had never taken a girl home.

  I found that hard to believe.

  But then it was also a bit hard to believe that a guy like him was single.

  At any rate, I had enticed my sister to spend several hours at the Galleria with me yesterday picking out the perfect outfit.

  Jenny had laughed at me for being so nervous about making sure I had the perfect thing to wear.

  I’d been nervous the whole drive up to the airport.

  It was just a day trip. It wasn’t like he was asking me to go away for the weekend.

  For pilots, taking a flight wasn’t a whole lot different from most people taking a drive.

  It wasn’t that big a deal for him and I probably wouldn’t have thought it was a big deal either except that I was going to meet his family. His very large family.

  On his sister’s sixteenth birthday.

  Jenny had seemed to think that was the biggest thing about the whole invitation.

  When I’d told Jenny about it, she’d contacted one of her friends that owned an online jewelry shop to get a special gift for her. I had it with me in a little gift bag.

 

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