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“You being on a commercial flight right now is stupid,” I mutter. “At best you’ll be mobbed. At worst things could get scary quickly.”

She nibbles at her red-painted lips. “I know.” A shrug then I watch the worry being wiped clear of her face. “It’ll be fine. Erin will take care of it.”

“Come with me,” I blurt.

Confusion in blue eyes. “Um…where are we going, big guy?”

“I can give you a ride on my private jet,” I say in a rush. “I was heading to Denver tomorrow, anyway.” A lie, but not a huge one. I need to check in with the office there. It just wasn’t at the top of my priority list.

“You were?” Her brow furrows.

“I have an office there.”

Her face relaxes. “I can’t ask you to?—”

“It’s not asking. I’m offering. I have a jet, Lily.” I glance at my watch. “I’ll make call, have it ready by ten. Does that give you enough time?”

“Atlas,” she begins, and the protest hasn’t left her tone.

“It’s heading that direction,” I say, grasping at straws, unable to let this go. “God knows the environment would prefer if someone more than me was on it.”

“So, you’re saying we should carpool to minimize our carbon footprint?”

Well now, that sounds dumb.

And…I turn back into an idiot.

“I—um… Well— I just?—”

Then I catch it—humor in blue eyes, red lips curving into a hint of a smile.

The damned woman is teasing me. Again.

“Lily,” I warn again.

A flicker of something through her face—heat maybe? But before I can really process it, her voice is gentling. “Thank you, Atlas.” She lifts on tiptoe, presses her lips to my cheek. “I really appreciate the offer. I’ll see you at ten.”

My skin burns from the contact, from the agreement.

Then she’s slipping her arm free of my grip and I know that nothing is going to stay the same.

Because I’m not going to let it.