"Ms. Natalie Summers, I presume," he said.
Oh, that voice. The timbre was firm and sensual at the same time. But he seemed to be displeased by the mere fact that I was here, and still, I couldn't shake off my stupor.
"Yes. Great to meet you."
That’s it, girl. Pull it together. You’re a professional.
He offered me his hand, and I shook it briefly. The skin of his palm was calloused, which surprised me. It contradicted his polished appearance. I couldn't imagine he did any sort of physical work. Perhaps it was from his workouts. He definitely had to be doing a lot of those to fill out his suit that way.
"I trust you found this place easily?" he asked.
"Yes, I did. The staff at the airport was very professional and friendly. I enjoyed the lounge as well."
He nodded, turning to the steward. "May we proceed?"
"Yes. Right away, sir."
During our last phone call, Jeannie had told me her grandson was difficult and not a man of many words, and I had a feeling she hadn't exaggerated at all.
He motioned for me to walk in front of him. I appreciated the manners, but when I passed him, I thought I heard a sharp inhale of breath.
I glanced at him over my shoulder, and our eyes connected for a brief second. Were they even more intense than before, or was the light playing tricks on me? No, I must have imagined it. Straightening up, I followed the steward, who simply gestured us to go out of the building. I couldn't help but grin.
"I'm sorry. I have to take a photo of this," I said.
"What?" Jake looked genuinely confused.
"I'm going on a private plane!" I couldn't contain my giddiness. "I've got to memorize it somehow."
He looked at me like he’d never heard anything more absurd.
Oh, this man. I wasn't going to let him get me down. I was going to enjoy this trip from beginning to end. I didn’t care if he thought me a bit of a country bumpkin. Whatever—I was going to have fun.
Taking my phone from my purse, I held it in front of me, but the angle was all wrong. I could only catch the ladder properly, not the plane. I was too close.
Peeking over my phone at Jake, an idea struck me. The way he looked at me told me he would probably threaten to leave me on the tarmac if I even suggested this, but I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass me by.
"Would you mind taking a picture of me in front of the plane?"
"Ms. Summers."
Yup, he thought I was an idiot.
"You can call me Natalie," I teased. Jake definitely had a stick up his butt, and to a girl like me, that was a challenge.Game on.
"Ms. Summers," he repeated, "I don't have time to waste."
"It's just going to take three seconds. Look, if you argue with me, it's actually going to take longer. Please?"
He held his hand out, and I couldn't believe my luck. I handed him the phone and went as close as possible to the plane’s stairs. Then I actually took a step up.
"I think this is good." I stretched out my arms, grinning from ear to ear. Of course, a gust of wind blew just then, whipping my hair all over my face and my lips, sticking to my freshly applied coat of red lipstick.
Great. Just my luck.
I pushed my hair out of my face as quickly as possible, then asked him, "Did you get a good one?"
"Probably."