The sun hadn’t officially come up yet, but Matt couldn’t wait. He stood at Julia’s darkened door and knocked. He heard movement inside.
“Sweetheart. It’s me.”
“What time is it? I’m not dressed.”
“Good.”
She opened up slowly. Her hair was messed. Her makeup was gone. She was wearing a gray tank top that did little to hide her precious curves and a pair of pink silk shorts that perfectly adorned her bare legs.
He lifted a bouquet of wildflowers, twice as big as the ones he’d brought yesterday. “Go ahead. Smash the hell out of them.”
Her grin spread. She grabbed him by the collar and gave him a yank. They crashed into the same wall—lip to lip, pounding heart to heart, body to body.
When she released him to catch a breath she said, “Good morning.”
“I think we’ve found our sunrise ritual.”
She sighed. “Today’s our last day together.”
They locked eyes.
He tried to dive in deep so that he’d never have to come back out. He cupped her cheek and kissed her lips softly. “Then we’d better love the hell out of it.”
“Coffee?” Her voice cracked.
“Please.” He sat at the kitchenette and watched her get the coffee going. Then he pulled her into his lap. “Missed you last night. I wish you didn’t have to leave.”
She leaned her head back on his shoulder. “Missed you, too. But I couldn’t leave Henry alone.”
“I get it—”
“What time is it?” Henry came into the kitchen in his pajamas. He was rubbing his eyes.
“Half past the butt-crack of dawn,” Matt said.
Henry snorted. “You said ‘butt-crack.’”
Julia stood. “Oh, boy. It’s going to be one of those days.” Her voice sounded mom-ish. Hell, he loved it. He couldn’t get enough of all the amazing sides of Julia.
“It sure is. Get yourself ready, Henry. We’ve got a great adventure planned. Think Superman,” Matt said.
“What? Oh, no way! Are we going to fly?” The kid’s face split open with happiness.
Matt grinned. “Maybe.”
“Yippee!” Henry punched the air. “What plane are we going in? Mr. Harper’s new one?”
Matt shrugged. “I’ll have to see which one is available for us. Go get ready, brush your teeth, scratch your butt—you know, whatever you kids do.”
Henry was halfway out of the kitchen before he turned around. “Like this?” He scratched his backside.
“Yep.” Matt scratched his, too.
Julia rolled her eyes. “Oh, wow. Could there be any more boy humor in this kitchen?”
Matt laughed. He was enjoying this little family moment way too much. “You’d better get a move on, too. I’m hungry and breakfast is calling.” And then acted like he was going to swat her butt, too, but his hand lingered instead.
She turned and gave him a smokin’ hot look. “You trying to get something started, Matt Harper?”
“Maybe.” Hell, with that look, he already had. File that intel away for further inspection.
When Henry and Julia left the kitchen, Matt felt a sudden loss, like a hole opened up in the universe and sucked all the good stuff out. He sat down at the tiny kitchenette table. Glancing around the small kitchen with the crammed appliances and far too few cabinets, he realized he felt more comfortable here than anywhere else. The knowledge hurt.
Here didn’t belong to him. He had to leave it and all the good stuff behind.
An hour later they were flying over the ocean. Henry was in the back seat trying to see everything out the windows while playing with the headset. Julia was in the copilot seat, quietly taking everything in.
Matt settled into his captain’s seat, enjoying every damned second. God, he loved flying. It had only been two days on the ground but he’d missed jetting through the sky. The feeling of lifting off and leaving his troubles behind was addictive. He didn’t want to think about what it meant that he’d been so eager to share this with Julia and Henry.
It was a great day to fly. The Pacific Ocean was a sparkling navy blue with swaths of turquoise. The sky was streaked with orange and yellow as the sun came up. Winds were almost nonexistent. Perfect. He did one lazy circle over Plunder Cove.
“Look down, Henry. That’s Casa Larga. Wave at Old Man Harper.”
Henry waved. “I don’t see him.”
“That’s because he’s stuck on his throne or locking people in the dungeon.”
“Matt! He’s kidding, Henry,” Julia said through his headset.
Less than a minute later Henry asked, “Where are we going?”
“Santa Barbara. Should take us about half an hour. Keep your eyes on the coast and soon you’ll see the purple-blue mountains. That’s when you will know we are almost there.”
“What’s in Santa Barbara?” Henry asked.
“Breakfast,” Matt said, rubbing his stomach.
“Can we fly over my house first?” Henry asked.
“Sure thing.” Matt performed a large eight in the sky and came back around.
“You love this, don’t you?” Julia said softly. He couldn’t read her expression. It seemed like an odd swirl of sadness and admiration.
“Flying? Hell, yes. It’s what I was born to do. The only thing I’m good at.”
“I’d say there are other things you are good at doing.” Her cheeks were pink.
“Sweetheart, after breakfast I’ll try to beat my score.”
She bit her lip. “Yes, please.”
“There it is!” Henry yelled. “Wow. Pueblicito looks so small.”
“It’s not the size that matters.” Matt winked at Julia.
“Can you do some tricks?”
“Tricks?”
“Yeah spirals, rolls, dives, something.” Henry bounced on his seat.
Julia shook her head. “No! There will be no crazy tricks.”
“I have to agree with your mom. RW probably wouldn’t love you getting sick on his plane.”
“Fine.” Henry crossed his arms. “But you know how to do wicked maneuvers, right? Like in war and stuff. If bad guys were shooting at the plane.”
Where was the kid going with this line of questioning?
“If there was shooting, I’d pull out the stops to keep you two safe. The Air Force trained me to outfox the bad guys. Luckily, we don’t have to worry about that this morning.”
Henry was quiet for a moment and then he said, “Guess my dad didn’t do it right—the fox thing—’cuz they shot him down.”
Julia made a strange garbled sound. Her face went pale and the look in her eyes was panicky. Her hands were in tight fists. Just the mention of the guy knocked her on her ass. Her reaction made something in his chest burn.
“I’m really sorry about that. Search and rescue was the part of my job I loved the most. Saving lives is the biggest rush. I wish I could’ve found him for you guys.” He also wished he could pull Julia into his lap and kiss the sadness out of her lips. Kiss her until she couldn’t remember any other man but him. “Sorry to bring up bad memories. That was insensitive of me.”
“No, it’s not you. I just... Henry doesn’t...and you don’t...” She swirled her hand in the air as if to link the words together in a way that made sense.
The only thing clear was that she still loved Henry’s father. And Matt was never going to change that.
Right. He needed to stick with the plan. One last sexy weekend and then he would bug out and build that airline he’d always wanted.
Throwing out the game plan wasn’t an option.
* * *
A half hour later Matt touched down at the private airport in Santa Barbara. It was a small Spanish building with palm trees around the front.
“Perfect landing,” Julia said.
He cocked an eyebrow. “It could’ve been smoother.”
She’d never experienced such a graceful landing. Matt was an impressive pilot. In the pilot’s seat, he was both relaxed and energized. Comfortable and alert. He flew the skies the way he rode his bikes—one with the machine. Flying seemed to pull together his broken pieces and connect him with the wind, the clouds, that endless blue sky. She’d never seen him in his true element before today and it tore her up. He didn’t belong in Plunder Cove. Grounding him would rob him of the freedom he craved and the life he’d longed to have since she could remember. How could she do that to him?
She wouldn’t do that to him.
“You okay? You’ve been a little quiet.” Matt studied her.
“I’m fine.” But he wasn’t imagining things. She hadn’t said much since Henry had brought up his dad. With her fumbling reaction, he must’ve thought she’d lost her mind, and he’d be right. She’d almost blurted out that he was Henry’s father right then.
She’d started to think she should tell him the truth. But when? And how? The longer he believed that Henry’s father was shot down in Afghanistan, the harder it would be.
Would he feel trapped? Would he think he had to give up his dreams? Would he love their son?
Would he still leave Plunder Cove?
Her heart hurt.
“Are we getting out now?” Henry interrupted her thoughts.
“Yep,” Matt said to Henry but his intense gaze was still on her face. “Ready?”
No. She had no idea what she was going to do. But to him she said, “Absolutely. Let’s go.”