“Hi, Robert. How are you doing?”
“Fine.” He straightened his shoulders and hooded his eyes, trying to hide what he still felt for her. It was like this every time they ran into each other since their breakup last fall. Though Tern had tried to let him down easy, easy hadn’t worked, and she’d been forced to be brutal in order to make it clear that she was no longer interested in anything more than friendship. Since then they had stuck to ‘fine’ and ‘okay’, still feeling around for a more comfortable footing.
And then there was Gage.
Tern’s heart hurt just knowing he breathed the same air. It had the added benefit of pissing her off too. She had no business caring about a guy who wasn’t man enough to pick up a phone.
From the moment he’d walked into her shop—looking for a gift for his mother—they had ignited. She’d glanced up from her cash register ready with her welcoming spiel, but the words had died on her tongue as everything in her body shivered with awareness. He’d felt the same. Or so she’d thought. She’d sold him a gift for his mother, had dinner with him that night, and made breakfast for him the next morning. They’d been inseparable after that. She’d fallen in love so hard and so fast that when he’d taken off with no word, she’d been devastated.
It still bothered the hell out of her that she didn’t know what had gone wrong. One night they couldn’t get enough of each other and the next day Gage had vanished from her universe. She’d even gone so far as to contact his employer when days had passed and she couldn’t reach him, thinking he’d fallen prey to foul play. But the Director of the Geophysical Institute at the UAF, where Gage taught and studied Space Physics and Aeronomy, had assured her Gage was fine. Fine? She’d been going out of her mind with worry and the bastard was fine?
While she refused to look at Gage as she greeted the other men and introduced them to Nadia, she’d felt his eyes burn through her. An answering heat rippled under her skin. She did her best to ignore it and failed.
When she finally turned to face him, heat exploded inside her, and it was all she could do not to lick him like an ice cream cone, all six feet and three inches of him. He’d changed in the long months since she’d seen him. He was leaner, with an edgy danger to him that somehow made him even more attractive. That shouldn’t cause her blood to race and her heart to thump harder. His green eyes were colder, his dark hair longer, and it looked as though he hadn’t laughed in a long, long time. The biting remark hanging on her tongue died.
“Tern,” he said, in that same husky, deep baritone that had her insides clenching. “Seems you know all the players. Are you the one who sent the invite?”
Like she was a masochist. “No. I’m just as surprised to see you as you are to see me.” She met his gaze and tried not to flinch. He didn’t look happy to see her at all. She’d bet he wouldn’t be here if he’d known she’d been invited on this excursion. It hurt knowing he hadn’t missed her the tiniest bit.
Deadbeat. He wasn’t worth her heartache.
Nadia bumped into her, and she grabbed a deep breath to introduce her to Gage, but Nadia greeted Gage with a hug. Then Tern remembered. They were both employed by the University. Nadia had been the one to suggest Gage check out her shop when he needed to do his Christmas shopping.
Tern didn’t like seeing Nadia in Gage’s arms. He smiled at her friend, his eyes crinkling up at the corners as they caught up with each other. Why couldn’t he have greeted her like that? She turned away before she gave in and kicked Gage in the shins or fell into a blubbering puddle at his feet.
Through the door of the hangar sat her white Jeep, beckoning like a rocketship. She even took a few steps toward it, before realizing what she was doing and stopped. She couldn’t back out now. Not with Gage’s eyes boring into her back. If she walked off, he would know how much he’d hurt her. But then, how did she spend a whole week with him in the wilderness and refrain from killing him, or worse, sleeping with him again?
A sandy-haired man, who looked as though he preferred spending more time in the air than on the ground, entered the hangar. “Folks, my name is Hugh, and I’ll be ready to take off in about five minutes,” their pilot announced. “We’ll be taking the DeHavilland Beaver tied up next to the dock. If you’ll carry your bags down there, I’ll get them loaded, while you take your seats.”
“Do we know where we’re going?” Robert asked, grabbing his pack and following the pilot.
“Everything will be made clear to you once we’re in the air.” The pilot shrugged. “Those are the instructions I’ve been given. Can’t have one of you with an advantage.”