Two months later…

Danielle sat at her desk in her home office on the second floor of her mother’s house in Los Angeles. She had to give her mother credit. She’d accepted Danielle’s pregnancy without a hitch, and together, they had converted a guest room into a home office for Danielle to work. Danielle had an enviable view of the back yard – a manicured lawn with evergreen trees blocking the neighbors.

She was lost in the world of shape shifters. This was her biggest author yet. And the author’s release date was in just six months. And big name authors got their books out there for preorder early.

She glanced at the calendar next to her desk and noted the date.

February 14.

She’d gotten through Christmas and New Year’s without a boyfriend. She could get through Valentine’s Day without one.

As though to remind her that she wasn’t alone, the baby in her abdomen kicked. A little feathery kick, but a kick nonetheless. She smiled.

“Just you and me kiddo. We’ll get through this just fine.”

She ducked back into her work. A couple of minutes later, a movement at the door caught her attention.

She looked up and blinked.

Samuel.

Holding a bouquet of red roses.

She sat back and stared at him, then blinked again to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

“I have a delivery for Miss Danielle Worthington.”

A smile played at the corner of her lips. “Did my father send you?”

He smiled then. “No. As a matter of fact, these are from…” He shifted the bouquet. “Let me just check the card.” He looked at the attached envelope. “They’re from a mister Samuel Johnson. Do you know him?”

“Hmm.” Her lips curved into a slight smile. “I believe he’s a pilot from Dallas.”

“Oh no,” he said. “That’s not the same person. This is Samuel Johnson, flight instructor, of L.A.”

She frowned at him. “There must be a mistake. The only one I know works for my father.”

“Nope,” he said. “This one lives right here in L.A. Um. Can I come in?”

“Of course,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking.” She hit save on her computer and slid it aside. “Are those for me? Really?”

He looked wounded. “And who else would they be for?” He set them on the desk, the silver vase glittering in the sunlight streaming through the window. “They’re yours if you’ll have them.”

“It’s impolite to refuse a gift.” She leaned forward and sniffed one of the perfect rose buds. “Even if it is Valentine’s Day.”

“Is it Valentine’s Day? I wondered why there was such a long line to buy flowers today.”

“Ha. Ha.”

He shrugged. “It seems we have a tradition. Birthdays. Valentine’s Day.”

“You missed Christmas.” She pointed out.

“You weren’t in the office,” he said.

“And neither were you.” Nor did you answer your phone even after I found your number on my cell phone statement.

“I’ve been off the grid for a while.”

She decided to let his statement go. She wanted to see how he planned to play this out. “So how are you feeling?” She asked. “After the crash and all.”

“The doctors released me.”

“Both you and my father were very lucky. They said it was system failure.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. It was all due to your father’s skill and experience that we came out basically unscathed.”

“If you call a concussion unscathed.”

“Considering the circumstances, I do.”

She studied the red rose buds for a moment. They were high quality flowers. Her mother had taught her how to discern quality. “So, really, what brings you here? I’m not expecting my father.”

“Your father has nothing to do with my being here.”

“How did you get away? He drives a hard bargain with his pilots.”

“Right.” She wouldn’t tell him she’d asked her father about him and already knew that. “I have a mandatory one hundred twenty-day moratorium on flying.”

“For the concussion?”

“Yes. And I also quit my job.”

She scoffed. “You did not.”

“I most certainly did. Ask him.”

She glanced at her phone. “I’m not going to ask him.”

“Cause then you’d have to believe me.”

“Of course I believe you. You’ve never lied… to… me.” She said the last words slowly, realizing that those were the words she should have said to him three months ago.

“And I never will.”

She nodded. Trust. Something that he had earned, despite her reluctance to give it. “So, you’re visiting.” She wasn’t quite sure what he was telling her.

“I think we need to talk,” he said.

“Right,” She stood up and gestured to the day bed across the room. It was perfect for naps, but now it seemed, it was good for entertaining. Next to the day bed was a crib with pink blankets.

Samuel stopped halfway across the room and stared at the crib with a silly grin on his face. “It’s a girl,” he said.

Danielle smiled as she ran a hand along the now unmistakable baby bump. “Yes. I had to know.”

They sat on the day bed, and she wondered where to begin. He looked good. She’d stared at his photo enough to memorize every line on his face, but he was even more handsome in person. When he looked at her, his eyes twinkled with a light that couldn’t be captured in a photo.

It seemed he already knew what he wanted to say. “When I saw you in Alabama, I knew I had to do something. Whatever it took to be with you.”

His words were like a warm balm settling over her soul. “Samuel…”

“Even if you hadn’t left Houston, I didn’t want to live like that. I didn’t want to live apart and only see you on weekends. You deserve more than that.”

“Even that’s more than most people have.”

“Maybe so. But it isn’t for us.”

She knew exactly what he meant. They weren’t just a romantic couple. They were best friends. They wouldn’t be one of those couples who only saw each other in the evenings or weekends for dinner. They were part of each other’s daily lives. Or had been until she’d disappeared on him. “I guess I knew you would find me.”

“You knew I could.”

“And hoped you would.” Words she hadn’t even admitted to herself. Until now. Seeing him here, it was even more clear how much she’d missed him.

“So,” he continued. “I did quit my job with Skye Travels.”

“You really quit?”

He nodded. “I really did.”

“Wow. My father didn’t say anything.”

“I asked him not to. To let me tell you. And I didn’t tell him until two days ago. I waited because I wasn’t sure how long he could keep it from you.”

She waited for him to say more. He took her hand and wove his fingers through hers. “Danielle, I’ve moved to L.A.”

“But your home is in Houston. Your family. Houston is in your blood.”

“I’ll get a stronger plane.”

She thought about her father and how she hated that he lived so far away – in Alabama, but he worked in Fort Worth and visited her often here in California. There were perks to being a pilot, but not an unemployed pilot.

“What will you do?”

“I’m an instructor.”

“I know. You said. But I mean for a job?”

“It is a job. A job that will allow me to be home in the evenings in time to make dinner and take care of you.”

She stared at their hands linked together. A flight instructor. Still a pilot. She sighed. “I think I might have mentioned that I don’t date pilots.”

“Danielle. Seriously? Surely we’ve gotten past that. Give me a chance.”

How could she not? She nodded.

“Will you let me take you flying?”

She laughed. “Flying is all you pilots think about.”

“True. But there are some people I’d like you to meet.”