Risky Play (Red Card #1)(4)

“Really?”

“Really.” I nodded. “Your turn.”

The plane dipped, and she sent a worried glance toward the cockpit.

“Hey.” I grabbed her chin. “It’s going to be fine, pilots are trained for this. Just focus on me, on my voice. Can you do that?”

She swallowed, closed her eyes, then nodded. “Yes, I can do that.”

“Good.” I dropped my hand as an alarm sounded around the plane. The flight attendants ran to their spots as we lost more elevation. I could see the mountains in the window right along with civilization; we were at least ten thousand feet, maybe lower. The airport must be nearby.

“I would have said no,” she finally answered.

“Said no?” I repeated, confused.

“To Alton, when he asked me if I loved him. I would have said no. I would have said not the way you deserve, and I would have walked away.”

Heavy.

My eyes briefly scanned her left hand. No ring.

“And then”—she kept talking—“I think I would have kissed you.”

My eyebrows shot up as a smile spread across my face despite my growing anxiety over how fast the plane was traveling and how close we were getting to the ground. “Oh? You often kiss strangers?”

“Only ones from Spain.” So she’d nailed my heritage without even asking. Which seemed impossible, I was mostly half Spanish and German with a whole bunch of other things my mom couldn’t seem to remember.

“Spain is for lovers,” I found myself saying like an idiot.

She smiled, though.

And I wanted to think it was because of me, not because of who I was, or what I did.

“My favorite place in the world,” she said in a faraway voice as the plane bounced lower, making her shriek as she clutched both my hands in hers. “Are we going to die?”

“Absolutely not,” I lied. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I couldn’t die, not when I finally had a fresh start. “We’ll be just fine.”

“Okay.” She nodded a few times and gulped. “But just in case, I think I’ll do this—”

Her mouth was on mine before I could protest.

And then any argument I would have had died on my lips at the first taste of her tongue. Her hands tugged on my hair as my arms wrapped around her warm body.

The plane made a screeching sound and then slammed against the runway, pulling us apart amidst sirens and cheers from the other passengers.

I stared at a pair of lips I wanted to taste again.

And when she said, “I’m Ashley, what’s your name?”

I did the dumbest thing to date and lied. “I’m Hugo. Nice to meet you.”





Chapter Three MACKENZIE

I just mauled a nice stranger with my tongue.

And gave him a fake name.

All within the span of five minutes.

This was not normal behavior.

But he’d been there.

And those eyes.

Paired with my absolute panic that we were about to die, I just . . . I reacted.

And it felt good.

So.

Good.

The last time I’d reacted to something without thinking, it had been with hives after eating too much peanut butter. Well, that and this vacation. Two instances.

I wasn’t reactive.

I was a planner.

Which was probably why my parents were so concerned about my impromptu trip. I was the girl that had a wedding book at age five and had picked out my colors and flowers at six.

“Where are you staying, Ashley?” Hugo asked.

Oh duh, me. He was talking to me. I was Ashley, not Mackenzie. “Um, the Secrets resort, something . . .” I frowned. All I could remember was that I’d booked the penthouse with a swim-out because Alton said he’d want his own private pool for us since we wouldn’t be leaving the room at all.

I blushed at the thought.

Funny, since the guy had never passed third base the entire time we were together.

Saving it for later, he said.

Making it special, he said.

He respected my father too much, he said.

Hugo handed me my bag. “Me too.”

“You too?” I said in a confused voice as we were shuffled out of the plane by security and enough police officers to make my head dizzy.

“Secrets,” he said slowly. “It was one of the first ones to pop up on my search engine. I booked it and didn’t look back.”

“Oh.” My head felt warm as I followed him off the plane and toward customs. He went into a different line, not that I was watching.

By the time my passport was stamped and I found my luggage, he was nowhere to be found.

I tried not to be disappointed.

After all, this vacation was about me.

Not the handsome stranger I’d kissed in first class when I thought I was about to die.

“You ready?” Hugo said from behind.

I jerked and then turned as he dangled the keys to what looked like a Ferrari—the rearing horse emblem was a dead giveaway—in front of my face.

I was used to money.

But my family didn’t spend it if it wasn’t necessary.

So renting an expensive foreign car?

Not necessary when you could invest!

Who was this guy?