Love on Landing (2 page)

She cleared her throat. "I should be the one asking you the questions." She turned to the co-pilot Cameron and was relieved to see his familiar face smiling back at her.

"Hey, Tali," Cameron said.

"Hey, Cam," she replied. "Who is this guy? What happened to Edgar?"

"Didn't your father tell you? Edgar retired. This is Captain Taylor. He'll be flying with us from now on."

Tali turned her attention back to the pilot. Her cheeks grew hot as she processed this information about Edgar and the new—ahem, sexy—pilot. Why wouldn't her father tell her to expect a new pilot so she wouldn't make a fool of herself? Didn't he realize how much she hated change when it was sprung on her like this? How much she hated being left out of the loop so she'd inevitably end up feeling stupid?

"I wasn't told there would be someone new flying my plane."

The man laughed and shook his head. "Your plane, huh? You Meadow girls are all the same," he mumbled under his breath.

Her mind instantly thought of Samantha and her recent indiscretions. Tali could be a lot of things, but a cheater wasn't one of them.

He did not just lump me together with girls like Samantha.

"The last time I checked," the pilot continued, "I was the one sitting in the driver's seat, so I'm pretty sure that makes it my plane, at least for the duration of the flight. Now I'm going to have to ask you to leave since it's against FAA laws to have passengers in the cockpit while the aircraft is in flight."

Oh no. There was no way she was going to give up control of her own plane that easily. He might be the hired pilot, but it was still her damn plane. The initial sting of impending tears prickled her eyes. She clenched her jaw and steadied herself with a deep breath through her nose.

She made her voice as calm as possible. "My family's monogram is on the tail of this plane. I'm pretty sure that makes it mine along with anything in it, including you."

He stared at her without speaking before closing his eyes and rubbing his fingers in circles, massaging his temples. "So you want to have a pissing contest with me at thirty thousand feet? Great. Let me pull over for a minute so I can stroke your ego."

Tali sucked in a breath. This had nothing to do with her ego. If it had anything to do with that, he'd be talking about her shoes since she felt completely trampled after the last twenty-four hours and her shoes were the only ego-worthy thing left about her. "Where do you get off being a jerk to the girl who signs your checks?"

This man was infuriating, whoever the hell he was. Where did he get off speaking to her like this? No one spoke to her this way. Not if they wanted to keep their jobs.

He smiled and a small dimple appeared in his cheek. The sight of it made her feel like swooning. She'd never swooned for anyone, for any reason before. Damn it. She wasn't about to start swooning now. She placed her hand on the back of the co-pilot's chair to steady her equilibrium and her will.

Tali glared her challenge at the pilot, trying desperately not to notice the flecks of dark stubble along his strong jaw. How the man had stubble when it was barely mid-afternoon, she had no idea, but damn it looked good on him.

So. Damn. Good.

"I'm pretty sure it's your daddy's signature on the bottom of my checks so why don't you go back to your seat, read a trashy celebrity magazine and rest your pretty little head until we land in Paris. Leave the work to me, sweetheart."

Tali huffed. How dare he insinuate she had nothing better to do than sit and read the trashy celebrity magazine tucked away in her handbag?

He might be right, but he was still a jerk. She looked him over, sizing him up before answering and noticed his nametag read Gavin.

Gavin. Sounds like an asshole-y kind of name.

"How do you know this isn't a business trip to Paris,
Gavin
? How do you know I'm not sitting back there working on important documents instead of assuming I'm reading a trashy magazine?"

A shiver of excitement tickled along her spine. Fighting with him was so infuriating and—exhilarating. Her pulse pounded in her ears, her hands almost shaking with the thrill of anticipation as she waited for his response.

"That's Captain Taylor to you." He smirked. "Are you reading documents? Are you going to Paris for business?"

Tali swallowed hard, but didn't break her eye contact with
Captain Taylor
. Never let them smell your fear, right? Or was that only for wild animals and not incredibly sexy looking pilots?

"Well no," she said quietly. "I'm not actually looking at documents, but I am going to Paris for business."

Sure, business.

Getting over a jerk like Roger was really hard work and she absolutely needed a private meeting with Dior and Chanel. This business was critical to her mental wellbeing.

Totally counts.

Besides, nothing made her feel better than when she shopped for outfits for her little cousins. And there just so happened to be a super cute baby boutique down the street from Chanel. After she picked out a few outfits for them, there was no harm in stopping into Chanel for a few new outfits for herself. In fact it would be rude to Chanel not to stop by.

See, public relations—totally business.

A crooked eyebrow raise from Gavin told her he didn't believe her story about business meetings. She cleared her throat as she held his calculating gaze steady. She didn't have to prove anything to him. She did nothing but sit in boring business meeting usually. This was her trip, her
vacation
and she wasn't going to feel guilty about it.

Damn those eyes of his were incredible. The longer she gazed at them, the more she couldn't look away. It was as if his eyes were polar opposites of hers—drawing her gaze into his with an invisible, unbreakable force field. Her breathing hitched under the unfamiliar intensity.

"I'm sure your business with your personal shopper will be very ground breaking. Now if you'll excuse me, I really should focus on actually getting us to Paris." He turned his back to her and adjusted a few dials on the dashboard in front of him.

The guy was something else. Did he have a strong desire to stand in the unemployment line when they got back to the US? Because at the rate he was going, she had every intention of reporting him to her father. She may not sign the checks, but she had her father wrapped nicely around her little finger.

She spun on her heels and slammed the cockpit door on her way out. Sara glanced up from where she was now sitting in the seat across the aisle from Tali's seat.

"Everything okay?" Sara asked, placing her novel in her lap. "You sounded mad at the door."

"Peachy. Thanks. Can I get a diet soda, please?"

Sara put her novel aside and walked to the galley in the back of the jet, leaving Tali alone with her thoughts. Angry, annoyed thoughts.

She sat with a huff and pulled out the celebrity magazine she'd brought with her. She didn't give a damn if he saw her reading the magazine at this point. This was her plane. He was working for her family. She could do what she wanted without worrying about what he thought of her reading habits or vacation choice. If she wanted to shop until she dropped, that was her business.

Flipping a few pages, she tried to get interested in what the hottest celebrities were wearing and what they most certainly shouldn't be wearing. That always cheered her up. Today however, all she saw when she stared at the pictures were images of Gavin smirking at her with an expression of "I knew it" on his face.

"I don't like you," she whispered to the magazine, pretending the glossy photos were pictures of Gavin, then crammed it unceremoniously back into her bag.

Tali pulled out her sketchbook and a charcoal pencil, and flipped to the first clean page she found. As she began to draw, playing with the thickness of the line as she pushed harder or softer on the pencil, a wave of warmth washed over her. Her heartbeat faded back into her subconscious, her hands stopped shaking, and her breathing came in slow steady breaths.

Finally, for the first time in days, she felt marginally in control again.

Gavin groaned as the cockpit door slammed. "Wow. Seriously, what the hell is with that girl?"

Another stuck-up girl from the Meadow to make my life complicated.

"You better watch your mouth around Tali. She doesn't react well when people push her buttons. She can be a real firecracker."

"Come on, Cameron. You can't possibly be afraid of that princess. She's a marshmallow."

Cameron laughed. "Be afraid, dude. Be very afraid. If you think she's just a princess, you are so wrong."

Gavin knew she was more than just a princess. She may initially come off as a beautiful and charismatic ball of fluff, but she was a ball-breaker in every other way. He could see the fire in her eyes as she met his gaze and challenged him. This girl wouldn't take shit from anyone, and certainly not from him. Knowing that fact almost made him want to push her buttons more. There was something strangely arousing about fighting with her. Every time she fired back at him with hot words, he felt the stirring of something more.

Squelch it, dumbass. Hot words don't equal hot sex.
No, more likely hot words would equal big headaches as always. He wouldn't let another Meadow girl take advantage of him. When the whole "pilot" novelty wore off, he'd be left empty handed and out of a job again. This time, he was keeping his distance and his job. He wouldn't be anyone's toy—or slave.

He'd been warned to watch out for the boss's daughter, but somehow he'd imagined her being a bit different. He had expected Tali to be like the other rich girls he was used to. The girls who simply got their nails done and went shopping and otherwise remained fairly quiet—seen and not heard, that type. He hadn't expected a girl who would stand up for herself. A girl with fire and fight.

He liked this unexpected twist. A lot.

This girl with the feisty personality was someone he could imagine spending time with. Except for one small problem—she annoyed the crap out of him. How was it, someone who looked so sweet and innocent could spar with him so effortlessly? And why did he enjoy interacting with her so much when all he really wanted to do was ignore her?

A smile played on Gavin's lips again at the thought of Tali's hip pushed to one side as she stood before him, challenging him. Good thing he knew better than to get involved with a princess. Some unsuspecting poor bastard was going to be in for a ride getting involved with her.

No thanks. He shook his head. Better to stay away from that mistake.

He was free and he wanted to stay that way. No way would he ever allow himself the chance to get mixed up with a girl like Tali—no matter how smokin' hot she was.

"Listen," Cameron started, "if I were you, I'd keep my opinions to myself from now on when it comes to Tali. That girl can make your life in this job a living hell if you let her. I don't know about you, but I think this job is too cushy to risk messing it up by pissing off Tali."

"She can attempt to make my life as awful as she wants. But if she thinks I'm going to kiss her ass because she's the boss's daughter, well she's in for a harsh reality. Besides, if the Radcliffs don't want me to fly for them because I won't suck up to the girl, well then there's always another rich family who will want me."

I can't wait to have my own charter company. Then I'll choose who I fly.

"Whatever you say, dude. It's your life."

"Exactly. Which is why I'm not going to let some spoiled brat make me her slave."

Gavin flipped a switch and leaned back into his chair to relax as the plane flew itself on autopilot for a while. He closed his eyes and sighed, enjoying the silence filling the small space. A few more hours and they'd land in Paris. Then he'd be free of Tali while she shopped her heart out.

He planned to enjoy every single second of Tali-free time he got until she snapped her fingers for him to bring her back stateside.

Chapter Two

Gavin stood on the top step of the stairway leading down to the tarmac below and took a deep breath of air, filling his lungs as he stretched his arms above his head. Nothing compared to those first few breaths of fresh air after a long flight. He loved to fly, but he hated the recirculated air onboard. He slowly exhaled with a sigh.

"You gonna stand there all night stargazing or do you plan on moving sometime soon?" Tali's voice behind him was as crisp as the early-evening air.

Without a word, he stepped aside.

"Thank you." She brushed passed him, her flowery perfume scenting her wake. "Would you grab my bag, please?"

Well, at least she asked nicely.

He stepped back into the cabin of the plane and opened the storage closet nearest the cockpit. Tucked inside sat her Louis Vuitton luggage. Only one piece.

She packs light.

Gavin hauled her suitcase out of the cabin and down the narrow metal stairs. For a small suitcase, the bag was surprisingly heavy. At the bottom of the stairs sat two more pieces of luggage, which must have been retrieved by the ground crew from the underbelly of the plane. A memory of counting bags clicked in his brain. Of course they'd been hers. No way did a girl like Tali travel light.

Figures.

"This way," she said. She spun on her heel and walked off with only her handbag slung on her shoulder.

Gritting his teeth, he propped her smaller bag on top of one of the larger ones and his overnight bag onto the other and followed her. He only had to put up with her for a few more minutes and then he'd be free to lounge, undisturbed in his own room. She could be across town in her fancy five-star hotel ordering around the bellhop and he would happily grab a greasy burger at the two-star airport hotel bar. Perfect. If she took a week to finish her "business" before she called him to fly her home, that would be fine with him—as long as he wasn't expected to spend the week at her beck and call.