Love In Alaska (The Love In 50 States Series Book 2) (3 page)

“You aren't from around here, Jess.” He said this as a statement, not a question, and I wondered if I really was that easy to peg as a tourist.

“How'd you guess?”

“I'm pretty sure no one on this boat is from around here,” he said, his eyes flitting around the room before settling back on me. “But you're a little too tan and your boots are brand new. Probably bought just for this trip.” He smiled again and I noticed one of his front teeth was just slightly turned to the left. “It's what gives my sister away, too. She's from Florida.”

“I'm from Vermont, actually.”

He raised an eyebrow. “People tan in Vermont?”

“Well, the sun does shine there most months. And it sometimes even manages to put out enough heat for people to tan,” I added dryly.

He pressed his lips together, hiding a sheepish smile. “Sorry. It's sort of the same reaction we usually get up here.”

I took a sip of my soda. “Well, I did just finish a week-long trip to the beach,” I admitted.

“And now you're here?” he asked. “Wow. Culture shock.”

“Yeah, but I like it.”

He laced his hands together and propped his elbows on the table. “So you're just visiting?” he asked. “Alone or do you have family nearby?”

“Nope,” I said. He was staring at me intently and I had to resist the urge to run my hand through my windblown hair. I hoped it wasn't as much of a wreck as I thought it might be. “I'm here for a week, playing the proverbial tourist, doing touristy things. And apparently failing at blending in.”

He laughed and laid his hands flat on the table, leaning back in the booth. “The only folks who blend in around here are the ones that live here. You aren't the only one.”

“So I take it you live here?”

“How'd you guess?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

I glanced toward the floor. “Your shoes are filthy.”

“You noticed?”

“When I thought you were a weasel for looking at me while you were on a date, yes.”

His mouth twisted into a grin. “Fair enough.”

We sat there for a moment, not speaking. The silence wasn't awkward or uncomfortable and I felt myself relax. Evan had nice hands. An even nicer smile. And unfuckingbelievable eyes.

“Your sister is probably really pissed right now,” I said, breaking the silence and pointing at the soda.

“Eh, she can wait another minute,” he said dismissively. “Where are you headed after this? What are you going to see?”

I shrugged. “I don't really know yet. I'm staying in Anchorage.” He wrinkled his nose and I quickly added, “But a guy on the plane suggested I get out of the city if I really wanted to see the state. That's why I did this.”

He nodded in agreement. “He's right. Anchorage is cool, but there's a lot more to Alaska. About seven hundred thousand square miles more to see.”

“Okay,” I said, reaching into the bag of trail mix and pulling out a handful. “Give me a recommendation.”

He half-stood and dug into his pocket. He slid a small white business card across the table and I picked it up. “ETA Piloting Services” was embossed in the middle with the name “Evan Anderson” and a phone number in the bottom left corner.

“Piloting?” I asked, holding up the card. “Like a tour guide?”

He shook his head. “Like a bush pilot.”

“What's that?”

“It's basically a fancy term for a guy who flies a small plane into really remote, kind of crappy areas,” he said, grinning. “Pretty areas, but crappy because the terrain isn't terribly friendly to planes. I'm really just a delivery guy in a plane. A sort of independent UPS guy. With a personal plane, not a truck

“Wow,” I said. “That sounds...interesting. And kind of cool.”

“It is,” he said, nodding. “So I could give you lots of recommendations.”

“Okay.”

“But I'm just going to give you one.”

“Only one? That seems kind of unfair.”

“More selfish than unfair.” He smiled. “My one recommendation is that you let me take you up to see some of the backcountry.”

I laid the card down on the table. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he said. He drummed his fingers on the table. “My sister's been with me for the last two weeks and I've gotten used to the company. I'm dropping her off tonight and I have to fly out in the morning. I can offer you a heavily duct-taped co-pilot seat, a nifty pair of headphones and free passage to just about anywhere in the state.” He hesitated for a minute. “Though I guess it's not totally free. You'll have to help me load and unload the plane.”

“That's a nice offer,” I said. But Paige's words came rushing back to me.

“My sister will vouch for me,” he said, holding a hand up like a Boy Scout. “I'm a decent guy. I shower regularly, I hold doors open for people I don't know and I always laugh at bad jokes.”

“I don't know...”

“I get it,” he said, nodding. “There are a lot of half-cracked people these days. We just met a few minutes ago and you've spent the better part of this cruise thinking I was some asshole boyfriend checking out other women while on a date.”

I hesitated. A pretty good offer was staring me in the face. A good-looking pilot offering to fly me all around the state for free in his personal plane? I wasn't going to beat that. But those nagging seeds of doubt had crept in. Like he'd pointed out, I'd only known him for all of fifteen minutes. He seemed like a good guy – very nice, charming in a self-deprecating sort of way. And he was definitely attractive. But I didn't know him.

You didn't know Adam, either
, I reminded myself.
And you're only getting one week in each state.

I needed to focus on why I was on this trip to begin with. To experience sex, yes, but also to see the country. Sleeping with him wasn't a guarantee – nor did I know if I wanted it to be – but seeing Alaska if I went out with him? That was a sure thing.

“Tell me again what I'd have to do,” I said. “If I go.”

“Just help load and unload stuff,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling. “I won't hand you the controls. Promise.”

I pressed my lips together and made my decision. “I could probably manage that,” I told him. “That seems like a tough deal to pass up.”

“I'd like to think so,” he said, smiling at me. “It's not every day you get to pretend to be a delivery man. Just ask my sister.”

“Speaking of your sister, you better get her soda to her.”

He stared at me for a moment with those amazing blue eyes of his. “So is that a yes? You'll go?

“One question,” I said. My hand was in the bag of trail mix and I picked up a handful, sifting the pieces between my fingers. “How many times have you done this?”

He slid out of the booth and stood, picking the cans of soda up. “Done what?”

“Picked up a tourist and taken her out on your plane to see the state?”

He set the sodas down and his face took on a sobering look. “You want me to be honest, right?”

A twinge of disappointment stung me. “Yeah.”

He thought hard for a moment, his lips pursed together as he stared out the window of the boat. He looked down at his hands, counting off his fingers silently. His eyes came back to mine.

Then he smiled. “One.”

One more than me. I swallowed, thinking his answer wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be.

“I should clarify,” he continued, a smile spreading across his face. “One time means this time. Because you're the first.”

FOUR

The alarm chimed on my phone and I forced my eyes open, then shut them again.

Mornings were brutal in Alaska.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and punched off the alarm that was telling me it was six in the morning. Time to get up. I had an hour until Evan would be there.

I laid there for a few minutes, letting the fog clear from my head. By the time I'd gotten back from the boat cruise the previous day, I'd grabbed dinner from a local diner, brought it back to my room and, polishing off the burger, had managed to muster enough energy to pack for my outing with Evan before promptly passing out.

I was still a little surprised that I'd said yes. It was completely different than agreeing to a date with Adam. With him, we could have walked to the restaurant we'd gone to. Our date could have ended at any time, simply by me deciding I'd had enough and getting up from the table. I'd been in control...or at least there had been the illusion of control.

But Evan? I was getting on a plane and flying somewhere with him. Probably somewhere remote. The only way I'd be coming back to Anchorage and my hotel room was if he brought me—and
when
he brought me.

My stomach twisted a little and, on impulse, I reached for my phone again. I needed a cheerleader.

“Jess?” Mimi's warm, friendly voice filled me with homesickness. “How's Alaska?”

“Beautiful,” I told her. I gave her a quick rundown on the boat cruise.

“That sounds amazing,” she said. I could hear a twinge of envy in her voice. “Better than my day yesterday.” I waited for her to elaborate. “I cleaned up vomit. All day long. Some stupid stomach bug I'm hoping doesn't find me.”

I made a face. “I'm sorry.”

“Me, too,” she said, chuckling.

There was a pause in our conversation and I knew she was waiting for me to tell her why I was calling. I'd already checked in with Paige; they knew I'd made it safely to my destination.

“So I have this opportunity,” I began. “To go on a mini-trip here.”

“Okay,” she said. “And...?”

“It's with a guy,” I said. “A guy I just met.”

“So what's wrong with that?”

“We'd be going in his plane,” I told her. “His private plane. Just me and him. Overnight.”

There was another pause. “Where did you meet him?”

I told her about the cruise and everything I knew about Evan which, admittedly, wasn't much.

“Okay,” she said again.

“Is it?” I asked, sitting up in bed. “Is it okay that I'm leaving in forty-five minutes to get on a plane with a guy I barely know? To go into the wilds of Alaska? Or am I insane? You can tell me, Mimi. Be honest.”

She giggled. “No, Jess, you aren't insane.”

“No?” I closed my eyes. “Because I sorta feel like I am.” I told her about my conversations with Paige and the guy on the plane.

“What does your intuition tell you?” she asked.

I took a deep breath. I didn't know if I could trust my intuition. It never seemed to be right. It had certainly failed me when I'd gotten involved with Brian...and then stayed married to him for almost five years. And I wasn't sure it had led me in the right direction with Adam, either.

“I don't know,” I said.

“What do you think of Evan? How does he make you feel?”

“I haven't slept with him yet!”

“Not what I meant,” she said. “Does he make you feel scared? Apprehensive? On edge?”

I thought back to our conversation on the boat and then later, when I'd joined him and his sister on the upper deck to whale watch. His sister had been nice, too and we'd spent the better part of the cruise back to Anchorage in easy conversation.

“He's nice,” I began, but that sounded wholly inadequate and lame. “Kind. Funny. Sincere.”

“Let me ask you this,” Mimi said. “And you need to answer right away. No thinking about it.” She paused. “Would you feel safe with him?”

“Yes.” The word was out of my mouth instantaneously.

I could hear the smile in her voice. “I think you have your answer, then.”

I knew she was right. I was overanalyzing things, which I was an expert at doing.

“Bring your phone,” she said. “And be honest about what you want. If you're just in it for sightseeing, make sure he knows that. Don't lead him on and make sure you're not going under false pretenses.”

Her words made sense. I hadn't given him any indication that I was interested in anything other than a trip to the Alaskan bush.

We said goodbye and I hustled out of bed and into the shower. I didn't bother with shaving my legs. I dried my hair with the hotel hair dryer, pulled on a pair of jeans, a long sleeve T-shirt and the one zip-up fleece I'd brought with me. I laced up my new hiking boots, double-checked the room to make sure I'd grabbed everything, then headed downstairs. I found a yogurt and a banana, along with a cup of coffee, and sat down by the window to watch for Evan as I ate.

We'd exchanged contact info before we left the boat. He told me his flight plan for the next day included a trip to Kodiak. I'd smiled and nodded, pretending I knew where that was. I'd made a mental note to check a map when I got back to the hotel, but exhaustion had prevented me from doing so. He'd asked when I needed to be back and I told him I was flexible. Armed with that information, we'd said goodbye and he'd told me he'd pick me up at seven the next morning.

I finished my banana and reached into my backpack for my phone. I copied and pasted some information and sent a text to Mimi.