Kiss Me Forever (Bachelors & Bridesmaids #1) (9 page)

"It never fails to impress me," Alex said quietly.

She glanced over at him. "So you like to fly, I guess."

"I do, but when I first started coming here, flying somewhere else seemed like an impossible dream."

His voice was quiet, reflective. She almost didn't want to ask another question, because he seemed lost in thought, and she was afraid any word from her would stop him from talking further. He'd put his guard back up and remember she was a reporter and someone who threatened his privacy.

He looked over at her. "No questions?"

"When did you find this place?"

"A long time ago."

"After your parents died?"

"Yeah," he said shortly. "We should eat. I hope you don't mind a picnic in the car?"

"If you don't mind food in this beautiful car, it's okay with me." She actually liked the idea of sharing a meal in complete and total privacy, no other people or distractions except the planes, of course. She pulled out the containers and a couple of plastic forks, and for a few minutes they ate in silence, the only break in the quiet coming from the jet engines.

"That was good," she said, sliding their empty containers into the bag. "I'll have to remember that place."

"I told you it was the best Thai food in town."

"You did. And you were not exaggerating." She paused as another plane took off. "How did you find this place?"

"For about six months, I lived a mile away—on the other side of the freeway. I used to come over here whenever I needed to get away."

"Who were you living with then?" she asked, trying to figure out what period of his life he was talking about.

"A foster family. There were a couple of different ones over a few years. This particular family had taken in four other kids, and it was a small house. It felt really crowded to me, so I got out whenever I could."

"Why did you end up going somewhere else?"

"I don't really remember."

She doubted that. Alex seemed like the kind of man who remembered everything.

"Let's get out of the car," he suggested.

"It's kind of cold," she protested.

"You can wear my coat."

"All right." She stepped out of the car and followed him over to the chain link fence.

He took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. "How's that?"

"It's good."

Alex put his hands on the fence, linking his fingers around the wire as the next plane pulled into position. "This runway opened up the world for me. It made me feel like I could dream, like there was freedom somewhere, I just had to find a way to get to it."

"You certainly did that. You not only found a way to get on a plane, you found a way to own your own plane—didn't you?"

"I do have my own plane. I'll have to give you a ride some time."

"That would be amazing. I've never been on a private jet. Now you can go wherever you want. You're about as free as any man could be."

"I am." He shot her a quick look. "And I want you to know that I don't take my success and good fortune for granted, Andrea. I worked hard for it, probably a lot harder than anyone would believe."

"I don't doubt that. You faced a lot of challenges as a kid, but you didn't let those obstacles keep you down."

"I was too stubborn to give up. I knew there had to be more to life than the one I was living. There were people on these planes, people who'd found a way to take off on an adventure, maybe people like me." He paused. "One of my first games, Wing Rider, is based on all the days I spent standing on this fence."

She made a mental note to check out the game as soon as possible.

"It was my first bestseller," he added.

She liked that his childhood dream had turned into a reality. It seemed the best kind of justice. "Did you ever imagine you'd be this successful, this rich?"

"Yes," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "I've always believed that if you're going to dream, you should dream big. There are no barriers to the imagination, only in the real world. But you can move some of those barriers with persistence, determination and ambition."

"I really should be writing this down. Or do you mind if I tape our conversation with my phone?"

"I'd rather have you write what you remember from our conversations, what sticks in your head as important. Everything else is worthless."

"But you just gave me a great, inspiring quote. You are someone to admire, Alex. I'll admit I didn't really know that when I first got this assignment, but I'm starting to really respect you and everything you've accomplished."

"I'm glad."

She looked through the fence as the engines of the jet in front of them began to roar. It seemed to move down the runway in slow motion, although she knew it had to be hitting speeds over a hundred miles an hour. The wheels lifted and the plane tilted, for a moment caught between earth and sky. It would either go up or come down. She caught her breath, lifting the plane with her mind. And then it was up and airborne, flying off for destinations unknown.

"It is incredible that man can move so quickly from one place to another," she said.

"Do you travel much, Andrea?"

"No, but I hope to do more in the future."

"Do you want to be a foreign correspondent like your father?"

She thought about his question. "For a while I did, but as I've gotten older, I've begun to realize that I don't want to live his career; I want to make my own way in the world. Although I haven't dreamt of having my own airplane or even a million dollars, I have imagined myself making a difference in the world in some way."

"I have no doubt that you will."

"If I can just get my interviewees to talk to me," she said with a sigh.

"I'm talking to you now, and I took you to the gym earlier. I also brought you here. You're way ahead of every other reporter I've talked to."

"I appreciate that. But I wasn't just referring to you."

"Are we back to the other secret story?"

"Yes. I thought I had a really good source, but he disappeared on me, and neither I nor my investigator have been able to find him."

"What do you think happened?"

"I believe he got scared. He was in a position to share some information about his company, something they were doing wrong, and I really believe he wanted to blow the whistle, but someone scared him off."

"Or paid him off," Alex suggested.

She frowned. "I did wonder about that. It's so frustrating. I feel like I let him slip through my fingers. I should have done a better job of cornering him, but I let him call the shots. I was playing it his way, and that didn't work."

"Does this person still work for the company?"

"No, the official word is that he resigned. I called his cell phone, but his number is no longer in service. I went by his apartment, and his neighbor said he'd left for an extended vacation. She wasn't sure where he'd gone. I worry that something bad happened to him because he was trying to talk to me."

"That's a leap."

"I don't want to believe it's true, but I have to consider all the options."

"You're not going to tell me what this story is about, are you?" Alex asked.

"I really can't. Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." She paused. "Getting back to you. Do you have a woman in your life?"

"No one serious."

"Have you been involved with anyone in the recent past? I know you've gone on a lot of dates, but has there been someone who stuck around awhile?"

"How long would you consider awhile?"

"Six months."

"Then no."

"Okay, what has been your longest relationship in the past five years?"

He thought for a moment. "Probably about two to three months."

"What happened?"

"The fire burned out."

She stared back at him. "On whose side?"

"Both sides. It was a mutual parting."

"So you're a serial dater?"

"That sounds bad. I don't think I want to be that," he said with a lighthearted grin.

"You're messing with me, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"This is why you haven't had a relationship longer than three months. You don't take women seriously."

"And you seem to take things a little too seriously. It's a beautiful night. Relax, enjoy it. You don't have to work every second."

"I don't know how many seconds I'm going to have with you," she replied. "I don't want to waste them."

"If we're just going to talk about my love life, you are wasting them. I really have nothing momentous to share with you. And I don't date nearly as often as you think."

"Why not? You could have any woman you want."

"Could I have you?" he challenged.

She shivered at his words. "You don't want me. You just want to shake me up."

"I do want you, and I do want to shake you up," he said, taking a step in her direction.

She instinctive backed up, right into the fence. "Let's get back to the interview."

"What are you afraid of, Andrea?"

"I'm not afraid. I just want to get back to business."

"This is business. The business of you getting to know me." He put his hands on her waist. "I'm about to reveal something to you that I've never shown another reporter."

"What's that?" she asked breathlessly.

He lowered his head and his mouth covered hers.

She jumped at the heat of his lips, the sudden unexpected contact. She should have pushed him away, but instead she found herself sinking into the kiss, sliding her arms around his back, pressing her breasts against his chest. His mouth was warm and still spicy from the curry, and he kissed with same confidence and intensity that he seemed to bring to everything else in his life.

She kept telling herself she would end the kiss in a moment. She would move away. She would get back to the most important thing in her life, which was her job. But she didn't feel much like a reporter now. She felt like a woman—a woman filled with desire and need and an ache that started in her heart and ran through every muscle in her body.

Thankfully, the need to breathe finally broke them apart. She doubted she would have made a move otherwise.

Alex lifted his head and the steam of their heated breaths flowed around them. He stared into her eyes, and she wished for a few less shadows. If she could see him better, maybe she could read what he was thinking, but in the dim light, his expression was indecipherable.

She swallowed hard and drew in a breath. "That was…" The right word seemed impossible to find.

"Yeah," he said. "I completely agree."

"You agree it was unprofessional?" she asked, finally finding the word she was looking for.

"That's what you were going to say?" he asked with a frown.

No, she'd been searching for an adjective along the lines of amazing, awesome, fantastic, unbelievable…but she wasn't going to tell him that. "I don't know. I don't want to talk about it. We should go." She slipped his coat off of her shoulders and handed it back to him. Then she headed to the car.

She was in her seat with the belt buckled a good minute or two before Alex finally slid behind the wheel. He started the engine, then looked over at her. "That was the best kiss I've had in a long time." His gaze lingered on hers for a long moment, then he shifted into drive and pulled out of the parking spot.

She looked out the window, his words rocketing around her head. Alex had said exactly what she'd been thinking, what she hadn't had the courage to say. What the hell were they going to do now?

Chapter Seven

Andrea still hadn't come up with an answer to that question when Alex walked her into her apartment building twenty minutes later. He'd insisted on leaving his car temporarily double-parked so that he could see her to her door, which seemed like a remarkably nice thing to do. Most of the guys she went out with were happy to pause the car while she jumped out, and they were usually gone before she entered her building.

On the other hand, Alex's insistence on accompanying her to her apartment created yet another awkward moment. Did she say goodnight at the door or invite him in?

She should invite him in so she could ask him more questions and get him back on the interview track. But inviting him into her apartment came with other problems, most notably the desire still ringing through her body after their kiss.

She slid her key into her lock and opened her door. "Do you want to continue our interview?"

"Not tonight."

She knew she should push, but she couldn't find the words. "Okay. What time should we meet tomorrow?"

"Actually, I'm going to have to pass on tomorrow."

"Why? I thought you'd cleared your weekend for this interview."

"Something unexpected came up."

"When did that happen? And why didn't you mention it before now?"

"Because I don't have to clear my schedule with you," he said, a hard note in his voice.

She stared back at him. "Is this about what happened before?"

"No, it's not."

"Really? Because it seems like your sudden plans for tomorrow came out of nowhere."

"They didn't. I got a call earlier, before the cocktail party. I just didn't have a chance to mention the change in plans until now. Don't overthink this, Andrea. It was just a kiss."

"The best kiss you've had in a while," she couldn't help reminding him, feeling a little annoyed that he was suddenly blowing her off.

His lips curved into a smile. "I thought you didn't want to talk about it."

She didn't want to talk about it, and she was sorry she'd brought it up, because the memory only increased the tension between them. "I don't."

"Then I guess we'll touch base on Monday."

"Alex, we have so much to do. I only have ten days to write this piece, and I don't have much of anything to say yet."

"I don't think that's true. But if I have some time later tomorrow, I'll give you a call."

He paused, his gaze so dark and intense her stomach did a little flip-flop. Was he going to kiss her again?

The air between them sparked. She could practically see the fire, but when Alex moved, it wasn't to kiss her; it was to walk away.