Epilogue

Two Days Later

 

The line to fly out of Vegas was long. They sat quietly waiting their turn for take-off. Savannah had run out of small talk, and Noah didn’t seem particularly chatty. Two days had passed since the wedding, and Savannah still glowed when she looked in Noah’s direction. If she had thought they were close before, they were even closer now. Bonded in every way.

After sitting quietly for a few minutes, she asked, “When did you first know you wanted to be a pilot?”

“The minute my father sat me in the captain’s chair of his private plane.”

“Really? How old were you?”

“Four.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. Four years old?”

“No kidding.” He looked around. “It was at night sort of like this,” he said. “Crowded.”

“What was he thinking?”

“I don’t know. Bored maybe.”

“Are you? Bored?”

“Me? Never when I’m flying. But being a passenger can definitely get to be boring. Are you?”

She shook her head. Not bored. Concerned about Noah’s suddenly quiet mood.

“You know what?” he said, unbuckling his seat belt. “You fly.”

“What? No. I don’t know what to do.”

“I’ll help you.”

“I can’t, Noah. It’s not safe.”

“Of course it is. I have my own set of controls.” He nodded toward the controls in front of her.

He reached over and unbuckled her belt.

They changed places and got buckled back in. Savannah’s heart raced. Noah had indeed gone insane.

She was still holding her handbag. Looking around for a place to put it, she saw a side pocket. Her slim handbag slipped right in. She grabbed the wheel and held on.

Noah laughed. “You don’t have to hold it yet.”

“Come on, Noah, you get us in the air first.”

He must have seen the panic in her face because he acquiesced and got them safely in the air. After the plane leveled out, he switched the control over to her. “Your turn,” he said.

Savannah’s eyes widened.

“Put your hands on the wheel and turn ever so slightly.”

She did. And the plane responded. “Oh no!”

“You did that. Now turn it back.”

She gently eased it back on course. “Wow. Now what?”

“Now you just sit back and hope nothing weird happens.”

“Noah!”

“If anything weird happens, I’m right here.”

“Did your daddy let you fly?”

“Oh no. I was back in the back before take off.”

She cut her eyes at him.

“That was different,” he said.

“Should we be watching for other planes in the. . . air?”

“An alarm will go off if radar picks anything up.”

“Cars should have that.”

“Agreed. But it wouldn’t take long to be become desensitized.”

“Hmm. And it would be annoying.”

Savannah’s lips felt a little dry, so she reached with one hand for her handbag to get out her lip gloss. Instead, her hand felt a little flat box.

Keeping her eyes on the air in front of them – from driving habit probably, she pulled out it out. It was a blue Tiffany box tied with a white ribbon. She stared at the box and then looked at Noah, who was watching her.

“Noah?”

“I told you I was thinking about taking a wife.”

She examined her hand. “I think you already did that.”

He winked at her.

“So, what, the first girl who comes along. . . you’ll be ready?”

He smiled into her eyes. “It’s for my beautiful wife. Merry Christmas, ma chérie.”

“Wait,” she said. “When did you buy this?”

“In Atlanta, Saturday. While you were getting dressed.”

Only a pilot.

“When did you buy this ring?”

“I bought it in New York on the day of your presentation. While you were out shopping, I

went shopping, too.”

“How do you know I was shopping?”

“I know you, remember?”

She opened the box revealing a silver bangle similar to the ones he had given her family and his daughter, but this one was actually two, perpetually interconnected.

“I’ve been thinking. . . I might have a condition about marrying you,” she said.

“You already said yes.”

“You didn’t give me time to think.”

“All right. What’s your condition?”

“That you not disappear on me again.”

“I vow right here, right now, to never again go anywhere without letting you know.”

She smiled. “That might be a little bit excessive. We’ll have to figure that part out.”

“I love you, Savannah Skye,” he said, putting his arms around her in an embrace, nestling her head beneath his chin. “I have from the very first day we met. You’ve always been the only one for me.”

And he had always been the one for her. She’d been waiting for him her entire adult life. And flying high above the world, with no one there but the two of them, she had a glimpse into their future. That life with Noah Worthington would never be dull. It would be exciting and comfortable all at once. Her heart had found its home. And this time around…

This time it was forever.