Love at First Flight by Marie Force Read Free Book Online Page B

high?'“
    “You don't have to take the job.”
    “Yeah, right. If I say no your father
will be embar-rassed in front of the same people he's counting on to put him in
Congress. I'm sure my future father-in-law would be delighted to welcome me into his family then.”
    “You don't have to do anything you don't
want to do.” Paige reached for his hand. “I don't care where we live as long as
we live together.”
    He pulled his hand free. “I've already
let him push me into one job I didn't want. I've given that one my all, and
I've grown to like it. I don't want the job with the A.G., but more than that,
I don't want your father thinking he can make career decisions for me. I'm not
one of his sailors he can just order around.”
    “I'm sorry.”
    “I'm sorry you didn't put a stop to it
when you found out about it.”
    Tears spilled from her eyes. “I just
wanted you to be happy.”
    “Give me a break, Paige! You weren't
thinking of me when you let this happen.” He shook his head in frustration and
anger. “I need to get out of here.”
    “You can't leave your own party,” she
said franticly.
    “I can't trust myself to be civil right
now.”
    “You'll embarrass me if you leave me
here alone. This is our engagement party ,
Michael.”
    “Our engagement is off. I can't marry
you. It'd never work. I'm sorry.”
    “ Michael! ”
she cried as he walked to the terrace stairs. “Michael, please. I'm sorry.”
When he didn't stop, she screamed, “ Michael,
I love you! I love you! ”
    Moving through the darkness, his heart
raced. After he walked for several minutes, he finally left the sound of her
choking sobs behind. Did I really just
break up with her? His hands felt clammy, and his stomach lurched. Cutting
through the golf course, he recalled making love with her the summer before in
a dark corner near the sixteenth fairway.
    At the Simpson's house, he found the key
they kept hidden in the lanai that covered the pool. He punched Paige's birth
date into the security system to shut off the alarm. In the great room he
poured a shot of whiskey and downed it. After two more shots, the liquor
finally did its job, and his heart stopped racing. Reaching up to his collar,
he tore off the bow tie and went into the kitchen to use the phone.
    Ten minutes later, he slammed the phone
down after learning he had missed the last flight out that night and the next
day was booked solid. “Shit,” he said on the way upstairs to the guest room
where he shed the monkey suit and took a long shower. With a towel tied around
his waist, he lay down on the bed. The whiskey and champagne had given him a
buzz, and the room tilted in a nausea-inducing spin. He had ended it with
Paige, and now he was trapped in her parents' house. What a nightmare , he thought, resting his arm on his forehead.
    Once the shock of the night's events
lifted, the numb-ness wore off and Michael began to hurt. They'd had their
problems, but he did love her, and suddenly all he could think about was just
how much he had once loved her.

    ***

    The Sunday after they met, he went to
Annapolis for brunch with her parents. Afterward, they walked through the
Academy campus and along the waterfront in down-town Annapolis. On the way
back, Michael stopped her on a quiet sidewalk near the state capital.
    “What time did I get here?”
    “At eleven. Why?”
    He looked at his watch. “Three hours
ago.”
    “Yes,” she said, confused. “Do you need
to leave?”
    “No, but I can't wait one more minute
for this.” Bringing her into his arms, he kissed her with abandon. He had done
more kissing in public with her than in his whole life before her.
    She shuddered. “ Michael .”
    “I love that shudder,” he whispered in
her ear. “I love knowing I can do that to you.”
    “That's not all you do to me.”
    Michael's mouth went dry. “What else?”
    “My stomach flips, my hands sweat, and
I—”
    He tightened his hold on her. “What?”
    “I ache for you,” she