Jackson was right in saying the night was the most beautiful, the most peaceful. She’d taken this plane out a few times when she’d needed to think or when she just wanted to get away. Her time alone in the plane was limited considering she didn’t get her pilot’s license until she was sixteen, but she’d fallen in love even more once she got behind the controls.
“I wasn’t aware you’d brought an entourage when you came to town.”
Jackson’s words sliced through her thoughts. “Jade and Melanie are hardly an entourage. They’re my best friends.”
“I remember you and Jade were always together. How did you meet Melanie?”
Olivia focused on the town below and not the way Jackson’s aftershave or cologne seemed to mess with her senses. Couldn’t he just smell like grease and sweat? That would make this so much easier. But no. She was enclosed in this tiny space with a man who smelled sexy and had charm dripping off nearly every word.
“We actually met at a marathon a couple years ago,” she replied. Melanie’s history was her story to tell, so Olivia wasn’t getting into all of that. “She twisted her ankle right before the finish line and Jade and I ended up carrying her over it so she could finish. We’ve been friends since.”
“Impressive,” he muttered. He turned the plane toward Savannah. “So what is it you do in Atlanta?”
Olivia adjusted the mic on her headset. “I’m an accountant for a marketing firm, but I’ve been doing some work in PR as well.”
“Sounds boring.”
Olivia clasped her hands in her lap. “It’s not boring. I stay busy and I have a very important position.”
“Staying busy and being needed isn’t the same thing as doing something you love,” he retorted.
“I enjoy nice things, so I like my income.” That may have been a vast understatement. “And I enjoy working somewhere that recognizes my talents.”
“So you need material things and praise with your job?” he asked.
Olivia gritted her teeth. She wasn’t shallow. She wasn’t. Couldn’t she be proud of the hard work she’d done? Why did he have to make her feel remorseful for having goals and reaching them?
“You won’t make me feel guilty for my lifestyle.”
When his whiskey-smooth tone didn’t come back through the headset, Olivia glanced back out the window. She couldn’t deny that she missed this. Flying was ingrained in her blood and no matter the person she was now, she was still the daughter of Paul Daniels.
“You remember Cash and Tanner?”
His abrupt question had her turning in her seat. “Of course. Tanner was in my grade, but Cash was a couple years younger. How are they doing?”
The lights from the panel illuminated Jackson’s face. That hard-set jaw with just enough scruff to make her wonder what it would feel like beneath her palm . . . No. She wasn’t wondering. She didn’t want to reach out and see how he reacted. What in the world was she thinking?
Maybe being confined in this small space was a bad idea. There was nowhere to go and she was literally at his mercy.
“Pretty good,” he replied. “They have a plane in one of the other hangars. They went in on a Beechcraft Piston a few years ago. It’s pretty nice.”
She’d had no idea anyone else occupied the other hangars on the property. Her father had rented the space to recreational fliers, but Olivia never thought about Jackson doing the same.
“Do you have other renters?” she asked.
“A few. I have one guy who was going to leave town, but he ended up falling in love and is staying.” Jax’s laughter came through the headset. “I admit, I’m the one who set them up. But I’ve since learned they knew each other years ago. She was his late wife’s nurse or something. It was an interesting story. Still, if I hadn’t reconnected them—”
“You’re a regular Cupid,” she stated dryly. “What about other renters?”
“I still have space for two more, but aviation is a dying sport. I have a few teenagers who are interested in getting their license. They’ve talked to me about getting hours in and already started their online training. We’ll see if they stick with it.”
Olivia knew some people loved to fly, but once all that power was in their hands, they froze up. Some people scared themselves on landings or even takeoffs. She’d loved every minute of all the rush, the freedom. But the push-pull relationship with her father had tainted her love of the sport.
This entire airport had left a bad taste in her mouth when she’d left, and she hated to admit it, but the longer she was here, the more she was remembering the reasons why she loved it as a child.
She pushed aside the sentimental thoughts and returned her focus to the conversation. “Sounds like you’re not doing too bad.”
She hadn’t meant to let that slip out. She didn’t want to start getting invested emotionally into this situation. That wasn’t smart business sense and she definitely knew better.
“I do all right.” That low, rich voice filled her headset. “As long as I can provide for my daughter and do what I love, I don’t care about extra.”
Guilt slithered through her. Had he purposely thrown his daughter into the conversation to make her second-guess selling?
Olivia couldn’t bear other people’s crosses. She had her own issues and her own life to get on with, and she planned to get on with that life as soon as she put this portion of her past behind her once and for all.
“So you have your teaching license?” she asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t necessarily have the urge to teach, but I’m always looking to learn more and better my skill. Things just fell into place, plus the extra money is nice. I
