“Okay, will do.” The swinging of her ass caught his attention as she walked away. She may have lost way too much weight recently, but her tight curves were still the stuff of dreams for him.
He considered their discussion earlier. She wanted to set him up with one of her friends? Taking a deep breath, he still couldn’t believe it. Damn, that isn’t what he wanted at all. He wanted her and it was so much more than just a physical want. She obviously didn’t think about him romantically at all anymore. They were friends and he needed to get that through his thick skull, especially if she was thinking about setting him up with someone else. He groaned inwardly. It was just not what he wanted.
Julie came back into the room dragging a box filled with a variety of paper trays, cups, and other wire desktop paraphernalia. She pulled the various items out of the box and spread them out over the top of the huge table. Next she started unpacking the office supplies and filling everything up. Every time she stretched across the table, her shirt raised and he got a glimpse of the smooth expanse of her taut belly. Suddenly his mouth was dry and he was mesmerized. Even with the knowledge that he could never do anything about it, he could sit here and watch her happily all day long.
But that wasn’t meant to be. “Hey, is anyone here?” rang out over the expanse of the echoing hangar.
Chris bounded over to the front door of the office and peered out. Carter Simms, their back-up pilot, strode across the hangar floor coming toward them.
“Hey, Carter, how are you doing?” Chris stretched out his arm to shake the hand of the lanky, easy going guy.
“I’m good. I just wanted to drop by and check out the new office. I heard you guys finished painting today.” He glanced curiously through the office doorway, but more than curiosity shone in his eyes when he caught sight of Julie bent over a box. Pure male appreciation and interest glimmered as he watched her move.
A thread of hot green jealousy snaked up Chris’s spine. Oh God, he already had to sit back and watch her with another guy when she dated Aaron. He didn’t think he could do that again.
Julie swung around to the two guys, a smile on her face, a smile that once again didn’t reach her eyes. She dusted off her hands and came forward with her hand out. “Hi, I’m Julie.”
“I’m sorry.” Chris shook his head. “Carter, this is Julie, a friend who’s helping us get organized in here. Julie, this is our back-up pilot, Carter Simms.”
She frowned. “Back-up pilot?”
“Yeah, Carter works for one of the commuter airlines. His schedule allows him to contract with Mad Rob on the side and it helps to build his flight hours, while giving us an extra layer of personnel until I get re-qualified. Then after that we’ll continue to use him when there’s an emergency or someone’s sick. He’s a former Army warrant officer who flew while in the service. We’re lucky to have him on board.” Chris didn’t want them to have to rely on the new guy for the majority of their flights. That should be Chris’s job, but until he got re-qualified, the load would fall to Carter.
Her smile widened as she shook Carter’s hand and Chris tried to see the guy through Julie’s eyes. He was a couple years older than Chris, but single and very fit. He was as tall as Colton, but not near as bulked up with muscle. He had more of a runner’s body and an easy smile that most women would find attractive, even with the fact he was starting to bald.
There was a definite interest on Carter’s part as Chris watched him turn on the charm while chatting with Julie. She had offered to set Chris up and they were supposed to be friends now. Could he do the same for her? Watching her laugh at something Carter said, Chris realized something. If it meant that smile would actually reach into her eyes, the sacrifice would be worth it. Above all else, he wanted her to be happy again, no matter how that had to happen.
Chapter 8
He watched her and that man walk out of the hangar together, laughing and smiling. They’d been in there over an hour alone since the other man had left.