high school,” Koenraad answered.
The front propeller had started spinning slowly and was soon whirring in a blur. There was more jiggling of the zillions of controls and knobs, and then the plane was rolling down the runway.
It didn’t roll very steadily. It wobbled, in fact, and that couldn’t bode well for how it would fly.
Yet she kept her eyes open through takeoff, and a thrill ran through her as the small craft climbed into the cloudless sky.
“How are you holding up?” Koenraad asked.
“Fine,” Monroe said. And she really was.
“Koenraad has some fun planes to fly,” Spencer said. “He’s not nostalgic like I am.”
“I don’t have time to do the maintenance, and if I’m going to hire someone, I might as well get something more comfortable.”
She laid one of her hands on Koenraad’s broad shoulder, and he covered her fingers with his. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t want to try your planes.”
That made both men laugh. Outside the windows, Monroe could see the land, could see boats. They weren’t buzzing over the water, but they definitely weren’t super high. That was probably a good thing.
“You skipped the safety features of the plane,” she said.
“In case of water landing, jump into the arms of the closest shark,” Spencer said.
Monroe liked how Spencer talked to her as if they’d been friends forever. She didn’t know if he was generally friendly and outgoing or if he accepted her because she was with Koenraad.
With a flick of her wrist, she pulled her long hair over one shoulder and began to plait it loosely. She’d never liked Thomas’s friends, so it hadn’t upset her that they never double-dated. But what did that have to do with Koenraad? She was done comparing Thomas to Koenraad. It wasn’t fair to Thomas, it made her feel bad, and there really was no comparison anyway.
She wondered if Spencer was single. But then, all her friends were paired up.
Her thoughts swung back to Thomas, and she wondered if he was still stalking her hotel, looking for her, driving the staff crazy. She hoped not. If there was any sense of fairness in the universe, he would already be on a jet back to New York.
“When we were in high school, we used to jump out of planes,” Spencer said.
“This is going to shock Koenraad,” Monroe said, “but I’ve never been skydiving.”
Spencer laughed, and Koenraad’s fingers tightened around hers as he twisted in his seat to look at her. “It wasn’t exactly skydiving,” he said.
“Nope. We’d just jump out, then shift shark right before hitting the water.”
“You’re… joking.” She thought about it. “Actually, I guess if I could turn into a shark, I’d do it. Why not?”
“If you don’t hit the water just right, it’s painful,” Koenraad said, but he didn’t sound like he had any regrets.
The plane dipped to the left, changing course and making Monroe’s stomach rise. She clamped her fingers tighter on Koenraad’s shoulder until the plane was flying straight again.
“Your Koenraad used to be the biggest daredevil of us all. You should ask him how he got the scars sometime,” Spencer said.
“He said a propeller. From a plane?”
“No, from a boat.” He glanced at Koenraad. “Can I tell her?”
“I’d rather you didn’t.” He turned to look at her. “It’s not top secret or anything. I was stupid, engaging in the kind of behavior that would send a wise woman running in the opposite direction.”
Monroe gestured with her free hand. “I think we’ve established that I’m not one for jumping out of planes. Nowhere for me to run…”
“Not stupid. Heroic!” Spencer practically squirmed with excitement. “I’m gonna tell her.”
“Spencer—”
“The woman isn’t going anywhere. And it’s a good story.”
“I’ll tell her later,” Koenraad said tersely.
“It’s fine,” she said. A little suspicion told her there might have been a girl involved. Hard to imagine
The front propeller had started spinning slowly and was soon whirring in a blur. There was more jiggling of the zillions of controls and knobs, and then the plane was rolling down the runway.
It didn’t roll very steadily. It wobbled, in fact, and that couldn’t bode well for how it would fly.
Yet she kept her eyes open through takeoff, and a thrill ran through her as the small craft climbed into the cloudless sky.
“How are you holding up?” Koenraad asked.
“Fine,” Monroe said. And she really was.
“Koenraad has some fun planes to fly,” Spencer said. “He’s not nostalgic like I am.”
“I don’t have time to do the maintenance, and if I’m going to hire someone, I might as well get something more comfortable.”
She laid one of her hands on Koenraad’s broad shoulder, and he covered her fingers with his. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t want to try your planes.”
That made both men laugh. Outside the windows, Monroe could see the land, could see boats. They weren’t buzzing over the water, but they definitely weren’t super high. That was probably a good thing.
“You skipped the safety features of the plane,” she said.
“In case of water landing, jump into the arms of the closest shark,” Spencer said.
Monroe liked how Spencer talked to her as if they’d been friends forever. She didn’t know if he was generally friendly and outgoing or if he accepted her because she was with Koenraad.
With a flick of her wrist, she pulled her long hair over one shoulder and began to plait it loosely. She’d never liked Thomas’s friends, so it hadn’t upset her that they never double-dated. But what did that have to do with Koenraad? She was done comparing Thomas to Koenraad. It wasn’t fair to Thomas, it made her feel bad, and there really was no comparison anyway.
She wondered if Spencer was single. But then, all her friends were paired up.
Her thoughts swung back to Thomas, and she wondered if he was still stalking her hotel, looking for her, driving the staff crazy. She hoped not. If there was any sense of fairness in the universe, he would already be on a jet back to New York.
“When we were in high school, we used to jump out of planes,” Spencer said.
“This is going to shock Koenraad,” Monroe said, “but I’ve never been skydiving.”
Spencer laughed, and Koenraad’s fingers tightened around hers as he twisted in his seat to look at her. “It wasn’t exactly skydiving,” he said.
“Nope. We’d just jump out, then shift shark right before hitting the water.”
“You’re… joking.” She thought about it. “Actually, I guess if I could turn into a shark, I’d do it. Why not?”
“If you don’t hit the water just right, it’s painful,” Koenraad said, but he didn’t sound like he had any regrets.
The plane dipped to the left, changing course and making Monroe’s stomach rise. She clamped her fingers tighter on Koenraad’s shoulder until the plane was flying straight again.
“Your Koenraad used to be the biggest daredevil of us all. You should ask him how he got the scars sometime,” Spencer said.
“He said a propeller. From a plane?”
“No, from a boat.” He glanced at Koenraad. “Can I tell her?”
“I’d rather you didn’t.” He turned to look at her. “It’s not top secret or anything. I was stupid, engaging in the kind of behavior that would send a wise woman running in the opposite direction.”
Monroe gestured with her free hand. “I think we’ve established that I’m not one for jumping out of planes. Nowhere for me to run…”
“Not stupid. Heroic!” Spencer practically squirmed with excitement. “I’m gonna tell her.”
“Spencer—”
“The woman isn’t going anywhere. And it’s a good story.”
“I’ll tell her later,” Koenraad said tersely.
“It’s fine,” she said. A little suspicion told her there might have been a girl involved. Hard to imagine
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