The Black Sheep and the English Rose by Donna Kauffman Page B

ma’am,” Brian hurried to assure her. “I can get them to put a rush on it; it’s just we had to go retrieve it from one of the hangars—” He broke off when both Finn and Felicity turned to look at him. “What? What did I say?”
    â€œIt was left at a hangar?”
    â€œYeah, some hot shot called and informed us we’d have to go pick up the car ourselves, like we have that kind of crew available. Some people just aren’t considerate, but I’m sure we can accommodate you. How about I offer you an upgrade, free of charge? I have a nice—”
    â€œThat’s quite kind of you,” Felicity responded, this time with a smile only Finn knew was forced. “We need to go discuss this; then we’ll get back to you.”
    â€œSure, no problem. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do. I’ll put a rush on the Caddy for you, just in case. It’s a convertible!”
    â€œMuch appreciated,” Finn said, then steered Felicity back outside, leaning down to speak quietly in her ear. “I saw a sign pointing to the main flight office. It’s over there, about halfway down the line of private hangars. We’ll head there and see what we can find out.”
    â€œIf she’s on Reese’s plane, they could be heading anywhere. He doesn’t fly in anything small.”
    â€œI’ll bet,” Finn muttered.
    Felicity let that pass. “We’d be lucky to find anyone in the office who’d talk to us.”
    Finn smiled as they both ducked into the waiting town car. “You underestimate yourself. You had the car rental kid ready to offer marriage if it would keep you in his proximity a minute longer.”
    She did smile at that, despite the concern still clear in her eyes. “It’s the accent. You Yanks just don’t know what to do with it.”
    â€œIt does hold a certain charm.” He sat back and pulled his iPhone out once more, his smile fading as he went back to work. “You know, I’m going to have to rethink the whole leased limo thing. This is coming in pretty handy.”
    â€œIt does that,” she responded, still sitting on the edge of the seat, looking out the window as the driver maneuvered along the narrow road leading toward the hangars and other outbuildings.
    Finn noticed the pensive look on her face. “We’ll track them down.”
    â€œI wish I had your confidence. I’m concerned that we’re heading off in the wrong direction. If it turns out Julia isn’t involved, or doesn’t know who John sold it to, then we’ve wasted valuable time, and the stone will have left the country.”
    â€œI’m betting the private plane belongs to Reese. We find the plane, we’ll find Reese and, hopefully, the stone. My gut says Julia helped him broker a deal with one of her clients back home and they’re headed to California.”
    â€œAnd if you’re wrong?”
    He waited for her to glance his way, then grinned and said, “Well…we could always discuss dessert.”

Chapter 6
    T he town car swung around toward the final hangar, mercifully preventing her from responding. Dessert. Like they weren’t in the midst of racing about, trying to track down a priceless gem before it disappeared again. Like they had time for some frivolous liaison.
    She kept her gaze focused out the side window…and away from the temptation seated across from her.
    They pulled up in front of the small office, which was wedged between the much bigger metal structures that were the hangars. Most were relatively small, the ones they could see anyway, but there were a few in the distance that were rather large. Large enough to house a decent size jet.
    Once again, Felicity exited the car before either the driver or Finn could assist. This time, she was going to do all the talking. And, again, Finn caught up to her just before she pushed open the glass door. The