Page 8 of The Ampersand Effect

Her eyes wandered around the cockpit, and her body settled into the seat while she wondered what it would feel like to have the power of this machine at her command. She scanned some of the dials and knobs when her vision caught on the corner of a photograph, lodged into the control panel directly in front of the captain’s view.

A woman stared back at her—a gorgeous, younger woman captured in the unreserved throes of laughter, obviously giddy at whatever the photographer had said. Presumably, what the captain had said. A girlfriend. Or wife. It didn’t matter. Just as she had reminded herself only moments before: pursuing this line of flirtatious behavior was trivial and would lead nowhere. Except maybe to a new fantasy, because the flirtations certainly weren’t going anywhere beyond this afternoon.

Those green eyes, though… were absolutely going to make appearances in her dreams.

As they settled into their seats, Grier stared out the window, replaying her advances—and their unlikely success—oblivious to Delta’s ceaseless chatter beside her. She shouldn’t have been so forward, and she definitely shouldn’t have allowed her eleven-year- old niece to set the pace of the flirtation.

She was startled from her musings by the captain’s voice coming through the in-cabin mic system: “Ladies, get comfortable. Your tour this afternoon has been extended. We’re going to show you one of our favorite views with a flyby over Lake Aether. Have your phones ready, because these views are nothing short of spectacular.”

Grier could hear the smile coming through the mic. She hoped a little bit of it was meant specifically for her.

Three

What are you doing?Tobin thought to herself as they eased into their flight over Lake Aether. Was she flirting? Was that flirting?

She sighed audibly.

“I can see you sigh,” Eddie drawled.

Tobin refused to look at her. Her mood was souring quickly. What was she thinking?

Realizing Tobin wasn’t going to answer, Eddie continued. “I haven’t seen this side of you in a long while. You know I can mind my own business, but for what it’s worth, you should pursue it. Have some fun, Blur.”

Tobin knew Eddie was deliberately using the callsign she’d earned in flight school—not just for her natural skill with tactical maneuvers, but for the double entendre it had become. Back then, it had been a running joke about how fleetingly she ‘dated’ women, often falling in and out of love quickly as the chemicals of her brain intermixed stress from the rigors of training with ephemeral lust.

Tobin laughed. “You? Mind your own business? Since when?”

“I can and I do,” Eddie scoffed. “I’ve stood aside, giving you space for the last three years while you healed, and then while you withdrew. So yeah, seeing that spark of the old you today—the one that smiled all day at the kids, and flirted shamelessly with a very sexy doctor—I’m going to speak my mind. Because I miss that version of you. And, I think you do, too. It’s time she came back. I know you want a family, and you’re suddenly so set on having kids alone— which I admire! But… what if there’s a woman out there willing to create a family with you? Don’t you owe it to yourself to at least ask the question?”

“I liked you better when you minded your own business.”

Eddie quieted, calmly waiting for more as they continued along their flight. Extrinsically, she was perceived as the quiet type, often mistaken for broody. But Tobin knew her, and knew better. Eddie wasn’t a recluse—she simply valued discretion. Her boredom in the midst of seclusion was what had literally propelled her to take flight lessons in the first place.

Eddie had enrolled in college at sixteen, advancing through her studies in coding and forensics in three years. She developed an AI program used to help locate missing persons, which she sold to nearly every private search-and-rescue squad in the country, as well as to numerous sheriff ’s and fire departments. She’d made a mint off the sale of the technology, bought the land in Aetheridge, and built her hangar, compound, and house—where she could run her company outside the public eye.

Eddie had convinced Tobin to follow her into SAR training, eventually offering her a job after founding Parrish Aerial. Now, their friendship was akin to sisterhood, and Parrish Aerial was an established aid to local emergency crews, the preferred hospital transport team, and often a respected transportation option for VIPs valuing privacy and efficiency.

It was this blend of quiet opacity and startling clarity that earned her the callsign Cipher—a woman who could readwhat others couldn’t see. Cipher saw everything—and roasted everyone.

“She’s pretty. I’ll give you that.” Tobin conceded into the silence. Her stomach knotted, and it unnerved her. She wanted to pull away, to staunch this feeling before it grew.

“Blur, stop kidding yourself. She’s fucking gorgeous, and you’re attracted to her. And you liked that she was flirting with you. You arranged aprivatetour for her.” Tobin could feel the smugness radiating from her friend, even without looking at the grin she knew was plastered across her face. “Some part of you wants to impress her. Explore that. Please.”

Tobin couldn’t bring herself to respond. She was attracted to Dr. Savage. The woman was gorgeous. Confidence poured from her—a quality Tobin had always found sexier than hell. She was short and toned, at least from what Tobin could tell through her clothes.

She struggled not to fixate on the dimpled chin that only served to highlight her perfectly plumped lips. The doctor fit her type, firmly. And—damn—she reallywasgood with her hands.

Tobin’s forearm tingled with the memory of Dr. Savage’s hands on her. When she slid their fingers together, her stomach had nearly dropped to the floor with how perfectly they fit. If she wasn’t careful, she could let her mind drift into fantasies of where else Dr. Savage’s hands might fit perfectly. Her pelvic floor clenched against her will.Fuck.

She was so entranced in thoughts of the doctor when Eddie’s voice startled her, announcing their approach over Lake Aether. She hoped Dr. Savage and Delta were pleased with her efforts. The view of the lake from this height truly was breathtaking. But even more, she hoped it showed sufficient gratitude for her treatment. Her arm felt the best it had since the accident.

When they returned to the hospital, Tobin was overwhelmed with feelings and emotions she didn’t know how to assess. Thiswoman had gotten under her skin, and it was crawling. The problem was, she didn’t know if thecrawlingwas anticipation or a warning.

She couldn’t risk seeing her again. She needed to process what she was feeling. She remained in the box office while Eddie assisted them back into the hospital. Despite her efforts to push the doctor from her thoughts, she felt that precarious, hair-raising sensation on the back of her neck. She felt eyes watching her but didn’t dare look up.

Tobin was quiet on their return to the hangar. She was lost in the turmoil of her feelings, folding in on themselves with the constantShould I’s?andShouldn’t I’s?that plagued her overthinking brain. They cleaned the chopper, and Tobin was about to hop into the Raven to visit LoLo when Eddie walked around the side and casually leaned her shoulder against the craft, a resigned look covering her typically glacial elegance.

“I just cleaned that!” Tobin exclaimed, delaying the inevitable delivery of what she knew was going to be news she didn’t want to hear.