priest?” she said, quickly steering the conversation back to safe territory. “What happened? Did he lose his faith?”
“Something like that,” Nick answered. “But there’s no need to worry—he’s a good pilot, and trustworthy. We’ve used him a couple of times over this past year.”
At that moment, their priest-turned-pilot slid into the cockpit and started flicking knobs and buttons. The dashboard came alive with a multitude of lights, and then Manuel glanced over his shoulder and addressed Nick.
“Forecast calls for heavy cloud coverage,” he said in Spanish. “Might be some turbulence, so it could get bumpy.”
Rebecca’s stomach churned at the thought. “Gosh, I hate turbulence.”
“You speak Spanish?” Nick said wryly.
“Yep. And French. Russian. Hebrew. Passable Italian and Farsi. Not-so-passable Chinese.”
Nick let out a soft whistle. “We’ve got ourselves a real linguist here.”
“I travel a lot. I’ve picked up a few languages over the years.”
A metallic whine reverberated in the cabin, followed by the roar of the propellers coming alive, and a moment later, the little plane chugged forward. They taxied out of the hangar and into the pitch-black night, taking flight less than two minutes later.
As the Cessna rose higher and higher into the dark sky, Rebecca glanced at the back of Manuel’s head, then shot Nick a sidelong look. “How exactly did you convince our pilot to leave his bed at one in the morning and fly us to Costa Rica?”
“Money. Lots of money.”
“Pays to be rich, huh?” she said glibly. “I bet you single-handedly bankrolled everything this past year.”
“Yep.”
“And your soldier buddies never asked where the money came from? You said they don’t know about your family, so how did you explain all the cash?”
“I didn’t, not really, anyway. I told them my family has some money, and they were satisfied with that. They didn’t ask any other questions, which isn’t much of a surprise, actually. We’re private men, all three of us. We don’t do too much talking about the past.” He sighed. “Eva and Julia have been bugging me about it lately, though.”
Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “Eva and Julia?” she echoed, and damned if she didn’t experience a little pang of displeasure.
Who the heck were Eva and Julia?
Had Nick somehow managed to date not one, but two women during his year of hiding?
She didn’t know whether to be impressed or ticked off at that.
“Eva is Tate’s fiancée, and Julia is Sebastian’s girlfriend.”
The green-eyed monster swiftly retreated to the dungeon of jealousy in Rebecca’s belly. Jeez. Why had she reacted so viscerally to the idea of Nick having some kind of harem?
Because you want him for yourself.
Yep, she did. She totally did. Then again, how could she not? The man was drop-dead gorgeous and his body was utterly droolworthy. Lord, she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers over every hard ridge of muscle and sinew. To nuzzle the crook of that strong neck and breathe in the woodsy, masculine scent of him. To feel those sensual lips pressed against her own, his tongue sliding into her mouth while his hands tangled in her hair.
The naughty images sent a shiver dancing through her.
“You cold?”
In the blink of an eye, Nick removed his bomber jacket and was draping it over her torso like a blanket.
Rebecca stared at him in wonder. “You really are the consummate gentleman, aren’t you, Nick?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“Your girlfriend back home must miss you a ton.”
He burst out laughing. “Is that your incredibly un subtle way of asking me if I’m single?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
He laughed again, a deep, sexy sound that had her shivering again beneath the warmth of his coat. “Well, I am,” he said. “Single, that is.”
Rebecca shot him a pointed look, then waited.
Nick furrowed his eyebrows. “What is it?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m single?”
“Of
“Something like that,” Nick answered. “But there’s no need to worry—he’s a good pilot, and trustworthy. We’ve used him a couple of times over this past year.”
At that moment, their priest-turned-pilot slid into the cockpit and started flicking knobs and buttons. The dashboard came alive with a multitude of lights, and then Manuel glanced over his shoulder and addressed Nick.
“Forecast calls for heavy cloud coverage,” he said in Spanish. “Might be some turbulence, so it could get bumpy.”
Rebecca’s stomach churned at the thought. “Gosh, I hate turbulence.”
“You speak Spanish?” Nick said wryly.
“Yep. And French. Russian. Hebrew. Passable Italian and Farsi. Not-so-passable Chinese.”
Nick let out a soft whistle. “We’ve got ourselves a real linguist here.”
“I travel a lot. I’ve picked up a few languages over the years.”
A metallic whine reverberated in the cabin, followed by the roar of the propellers coming alive, and a moment later, the little plane chugged forward. They taxied out of the hangar and into the pitch-black night, taking flight less than two minutes later.
As the Cessna rose higher and higher into the dark sky, Rebecca glanced at the back of Manuel’s head, then shot Nick a sidelong look. “How exactly did you convince our pilot to leave his bed at one in the morning and fly us to Costa Rica?”
“Money. Lots of money.”
“Pays to be rich, huh?” she said glibly. “I bet you single-handedly bankrolled everything this past year.”
“Yep.”
“And your soldier buddies never asked where the money came from? You said they don’t know about your family, so how did you explain all the cash?”
“I didn’t, not really, anyway. I told them my family has some money, and they were satisfied with that. They didn’t ask any other questions, which isn’t much of a surprise, actually. We’re private men, all three of us. We don’t do too much talking about the past.” He sighed. “Eva and Julia have been bugging me about it lately, though.”
Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “Eva and Julia?” she echoed, and damned if she didn’t experience a little pang of displeasure.
Who the heck were Eva and Julia?
Had Nick somehow managed to date not one, but two women during his year of hiding?
She didn’t know whether to be impressed or ticked off at that.
“Eva is Tate’s fiancée, and Julia is Sebastian’s girlfriend.”
The green-eyed monster swiftly retreated to the dungeon of jealousy in Rebecca’s belly. Jeez. Why had she reacted so viscerally to the idea of Nick having some kind of harem?
Because you want him for yourself.
Yep, she did. She totally did. Then again, how could she not? The man was drop-dead gorgeous and his body was utterly droolworthy. Lord, she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers over every hard ridge of muscle and sinew. To nuzzle the crook of that strong neck and breathe in the woodsy, masculine scent of him. To feel those sensual lips pressed against her own, his tongue sliding into her mouth while his hands tangled in her hair.
The naughty images sent a shiver dancing through her.
“You cold?”
In the blink of an eye, Nick removed his bomber jacket and was draping it over her torso like a blanket.
Rebecca stared at him in wonder. “You really are the consummate gentleman, aren’t you, Nick?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“Your girlfriend back home must miss you a ton.”
He burst out laughing. “Is that your incredibly un subtle way of asking me if I’m single?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
He laughed again, a deep, sexy sound that had her shivering again beneath the warmth of his coat. “Well, I am,” he said. “Single, that is.”
Rebecca shot him a pointed look, then waited.
Nick furrowed his eyebrows. “What is it?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me if I’m single?”
“Of
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