“You must be my newest co-pilot.”

The sharp, disdainful words startle me out of my thoughts. Keeping one hand wrapped around the cheap paper cup that’s half full of fowl- tasting coffee, I lean back in my chair and glance up.

My gaze connects with gorgeous brown eyes. Unable to help myself, my own eyes slide lower, taking in the unpainted, Cupid’s bow lips, long, elegant neck, dark hair scraped back into a severe bun, and some of the most mouthwatering curves I’ve ever seen, each one covered in a navy-blue uniform that fits them just right.

I lick my lips and swallow the instinctive wolf whistle. Damn! I’ve never been the kind of guy who gets turned on by a woman wearing a uniform, but in this case, I’m willing to make an exception.

I don’t know who this woman is, but she’s built like a 1940’s pinup girl, not at all like the stick- thin models I’ve spent the better part of my life dating.

Finally, a woman I could really wrap my hands around without worrying she’s going to break apart. It’s like a one-two punch to my heart. Like my entire world has been turned upside down. It’s both terrifying and exhilarating.

One of the woman’s dark brows drifts towards her hairline. “Well?” she demands. “Are you?”

My mind goes blank, probably because all the blood has drained from it and pooled in my cock, which presses painfully against my fly. “Am I what?”

She sucks in a deep breath. “Are you,” she carefully enunciates each word, “my new co-pilot?” She glances at the smartphone in her hand, reading something off the screen. “Ronan Smith?”

I swallow and struggle to remember how to form sensible words. “That’s me. And you’re?” Okay, so not the suavest of responses, certainly not up to my normal performance, but it could have been worse. I think.

“Cassie Mayers,” she snaps.

“Cassie, can I ask you a question?”

Cassie slides the phone into her uniform’s breast pocket and studies me with cool eyes. Since she hasn’t actually said the word no, I decide to assume it means she doesn’t mind answering questions.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” My insides clench nervously while I wait for her answer.

For the first time since I’ve laid eyes on her, Cassie’s icy expression melts away, replaced by one of shock. “Excuse me?”

“Love at first sight,” I repeat. “Do you think it’s a real thing? Or just something that happens in fairytales?”

“Are you insane?”

“Not at all.” I shake my head and grin up at her. It’s the same grin that has caused at least a thousand different women to swoon at my feet, but Cassie doesn’t react.

I’ve heard of ice princesses before, but this is the first one I’ve met. A challenge. Another one. I’m liking her more and more by the second. Which is strange. I’ve always hooked up with women who say yes to every little suggestion I make, which was great back when I was in high school and only interested in sex, but lately, I’ve wanted something, I don’t know, different. And Cassie fits that bill. She has my engine revving faster and harder than any of the supermodels, celebrities, and spoiled heiresses I’ve encountered throughout my life.

I slap a hand over my heart and keep my gaze locked with hers. “’Truthfully, I’ve always thought the whole love at first sight thing was a myth, something only found in fairytales and bad chick flicks.” My grin widens. “But now that I’m looking at you, I’m beginning to think that it’s a real thing.”

“Listen, buddy.” Cassie leans forward and slaps both her hands flat on the table. Her deep dark brown eyes bore straight into mine. It’s like looking at a basilisk. I can’t break eye contact, I can’t even move. My heart slams into my sternum and my palms sweat. One way or another, I’ve got to have this woman. “If you think you can come in here and be all flirty and good looking and that I’ll just lap it up, you can think again. I’m fed up with cocky pilots who seem to think that every single woman who flies a plane is desperate to be laid. The only thing I’m interested in is flying. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes.” No one has ever spoken to me like that. It’s hot. I wait a beat before continuing. “You think I’m good looking?”

I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Cassie’s expression becomes even more pinched and withdrawn. “Please tell me you know something about flying? That you’re familiar with passenger jets?”

This catches me off guard. “I’m fully qualified to fly anything with wings.” Maybe, there are a few military aircrafts my pilot’s license doesn’t cover, but there’s no need to tell this woman that. Flying has been my passion, my one true love so to speak, for as long as I can remember. There’s not a single aspect of airplanes, from flying them to repairing them, I’m not capable of handling. “If I wasn’t, Northwest wouldn’t have hired me.”

Of course, the company thinks they hired just an average, run-of-the-mill pilot in need of a job. They don’t have the faintest idea who I really am.

Cassie rolls her eyes. “This company would happily hire an untrained chimp if the opportunity presented itself.” She turns away. “C’mon. I’ll show you the plane.”

Because I’ve always been a glutton for punishment, particularly when it’s being doled out by a beautiful woman with a sultry voice, I follow, even though I have the distinct impression that what she really meant to say was that she’d stuff me into the nearest suitcase before throwing it over the nearest cliff.