Page 13 of The Wedding Toast (The Hamiltons #10)

The fog was lifting in ribbons off the trees as Ollie brought the Cirrus down smoothly on the strip at Little River. It wasn’t much more than a slash of asphalt tucked between forest and coastline – barely a blip on the map.

He liked it already.

As he taxied past the line of small hangars, it hit him that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d flown into a non-towered airport.

Flying the DuPont jet with Reaves usually meant flying into slick operations, where golf carts met them on the tarmac, ready to whisk passengers away to the FBO building. And where even the pilots had access to luxury lounges and high-tech briefing rooms.

He smiled to himself as he looked around. This place had none of that. But it still felt good to him.

It was hunkered down among the trees. Nothing pretentious about it, but it served its purpose.

That thought brought him back to the moment. He had to remember his own purpose. He was here to pick up Becca’s friend, Callie, to bring her back to Napa so that she and Becca could get some time together before the wedding.

He’d never met this chick before, and he didn’t really know what to expect.

He was hoping that since she was close to Becca, she must be okay.

At the same time, he was a little concerned.

Since she’d chosen to move out here to Fort Bragg, rather than come to Napa where Becca lived, she might be a bit… different.

He shouldn’t judge – he wouldn’t need to. He’d find out for himself in a few minutes. He was curious, though.

He could understand why Becca had moved to Napa.

It seemed a logical path to him that a Kansas farm girl might end up as an elementary school teacher in California.

Callie’s path didn’t make as much sense to him, though.

From what he understood, she was a ceramicist. And although he knew there was an artsy community up here, out on the coast, he didn’t know why Callie – who was by all accounts another Kansas farm kid – might have needed to come here rather than Napa to pursue her career.

He followed the line of hangars and soon spotted the parking lot and a low building beside it. He couldn’t see any people, though.

He checked his watch. He was a few minutes early. Maybe Callie wasn’t here yet.

He turned the plane around and brought it to a stop, hoping like hell that he wasn’t going to have to wait around for ages.

Although, as he removed his headset and unbuckled his seatbelt, this wouldn’t be the worst place in the world to hang around for half an hour or so.

He could take a walk, breathe in the cool, damp air.

As he opened the door, he hesitated, closing his eyes for a moment to just enjoy the silence. Then he got out and closed the door behind him.

It really didn’t seem like there were any living beings around.

No one had replied on the radio the whole time he’d been announcing his approach and landing.

Usually at little airfields like this, there’d be someone sitting at a desk somewhere, at least, who’d acknowledge the approach of small aircraft.

It didn’t matter. He’d enjoy the peace and quiet while he had it. If this Callie was a talker, he might not get any on the way back.

~ ~ ~

Callie watched the small plane come in to land nervously. Becca had told her that they weren’t sending the jet for her because this was a smaller airport. She could totally understand that, but she hadn’t expected to see something so small. Perhaps this wasn’t her ride.

She bit down on her bottom lip. She kind of hoped it wasn’t. That little plane made her nervous. She’d been nervous enough about flying in the jet with Becca and Jacob at Christmas, but…

She picked her duffel up off the ground and slung it over her shoulder.

She’d be fine. The whole deal of moving out here to California was to have a bit of an adventure.

So far, she hadn’t really done that. She’d settled into her cottage with the kiln out back and gone about making a nice quiet life for herself.

She loved it, but it was hardly adventurous.

She eyed the plane again as it turned around and came to a stop.

She should step forward, show that she was here, that she wasn’t late.

If Ollie didn’t spot her when he got out …

would he get out? She didn’t even know the protocol.

Perhaps she should go straight out there to meet him.

But she didn’t, choosing instead to wait and watch until he got out.

The pilots who flew for Jacob were really nice. Trick was a bit older, but he was so chill – Callie loved him. And Elliott was cool, too. He was a big old flirt, but there was something quieter about him as well. His flirting was only fun, and he felt… safe. That was the word.

She stood up a little straighter. This Ollie must be safe as well. Otherwise, Becca wouldn’t have let him come for her.

She hitched the strap of her duffel higher on her shoulder and stepped forward out of the shadow of the building. When she saw him get out, she took a few steps but then faltered when he turned around.

Wow . Safe or not, he was definitely sexy.

She’d been expecting a pilot’s uniform – but only because that’s what Trick and Elliott had worn. It didn’t make sense for Ollie to dress that way in the small plane he was flying. But still, she wasn’t prepared for the ball cap, the T-shirt – or the way it showcased his lean, but muscular build.

As he turned to look back at the runway then up at the sky, she let her gaze linger on his denim-clad butt – and took the time to appreciate that he was wearing jeans rather than black slacks.

She wished she hadn’t stepped out from the shadow of the building now.

He’d see her as soon as he turned back around.

But from the casual way he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around, she guessed that since he hadn’t seen her right away, he’d decided that she was late, even though she’d arrived fifteen minutes early, as she did most places.

But there was no way that he could know that.

She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. She was nervous about being around Jacob’s fancy friends – Becca kept telling her that they were lovely and she’d get along with them all, but she wasn’t so sure about that. She mostly preferred her own company lately.

But Ollie had been kind enough to come out here to get her. She was sure he’d be getting paid, but it wasn’t really his job. She could treat him as a kind of halfway step – he wasn’t one of the wine country royalty, but he was still a pilot – she could practice small talk with him.

With that decided, she pulled the lapels of her jacket a little closer together as she continued toward him and called, “Hi, are you Ollie?”

He spun around and seemed to freeze for a moment before raising his sunglasses over the bill of his cap and resting them there as he gave her one hell of a sexy smile and came toward her.

“I am. And you’re Callie?”

“That’s me.”

It was hard to drag her eyes away from his lips; they were full, and the way they curved up into that smile did strange things to her tummy.

“Oh!” She came back to her senses when he held out his hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She wanted to roll her eyes at herself as she pumped his hand up and down like a crazy person. “You too. And thanks so much for coming to get me. I could have driven – I told Becca that.”

“She told us you’d said so, but why should you have to drive when everyone else is being flown in?”

She held his gaze for a moment, wondering if he really didn’t know.

It seemed that he didn’t. “Well, for one thing, I live so close – it’s not that much of a drive.

And for another” – she glanced over at the small plane he’d arrived in – “this is hardly convenient for you, is it? The big plane wouldn’t even fit here. ”

“None of that’s a factor. You’re the bridesmaid, and you deserve special treatment.”

The way he said it made it sound as though those were two independent facts – and she liked that. Even though it was probably just her imagination.

She shrugged, not knowing what to say.

“Are you ready to go?”

“I am. Do you need to do anything first? Fill her up or …” She bit down on her bottom lip. She’d been about to say go pee ? But that was none of her damn business, and it had only come to mind because that small plane couldn’t have a bathroom like the jet did.

Ollie gave her a puzzled smile. “Are you worried? Scared of flying? I promise you I have plenty of fuel to get us back safe.”

She shook her head rapidly. “No, I’m not scared at all. I’m excited. I just didn’t know how it worked – if you needed to do anything before we take off again, or if you need me to do anything.”

He grinned. “You don’t need to do anything – other than sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Here, let me take that for you.”

When he held his hand out, she just stared, not knowing what he wanted.

“Your bag?”

“Oh. Right.” She let it slide down from her shoulder. His hand brushed hers when he took it from her, and her gaze flew up to his. He met her with that same sexy smile.

And when he asked, “Do you want to do this?” she could only hope that her enthusiastic yes didn’t give away the fact that whatever kind of this he might be referring to, she’d be up for it.

~ ~ ~

Reaves veered off the path, following the sound of laughter, finding himself smiling as he went. It was impossible not to. But although he could hear the girl, he couldn’t see her anywhere.

He stopped in his tracks when a little voice called, “Are you a good prince or a bad prince?”

He looked all around, trying to figure out where she was but still unable to see her.

“I’ll call the growly dragon if you’re a bad prince.”

“I’m not sure that I’m a prince, but I’m not bad,” he spoke loudly, still looking around.

Finally, he got a bead on her when she giggled. She had to be hiding behind the tree.

“Do you promise that you’re not lying?” she called.

“I promise.”