Chapter One
Reece turned the Embraer Phenom 300E in the direction of JAXEX, otherwise known as Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport. The fact that he’d stayed out longer than he intended would come as no surprise to his personal assistant Sylvie. After working together for five years, she could predict his actions with near-perfect accuracy.
For as long as he could remember, he’d wanted to be a pilot. Flying was in his blood. Like his father before him, he’d graduated from the Naval Academy and gone on to have a distinguished military career before joining the family business. Last year he took over the top spot at Diamond Jet Service when his father decided he’d rather spend his days on the golf course than run a billion-dollar charter company. Reece suspected his father’s second marriage to a woman he’d met on a singles’ cruise might also have played a role in his decision to retire early.
Neither Reece nor his sister Addison had a problem with their father marrying again. He’d been a widower for a long time. That wasn’t the case for other members of the Diamond clan. Among the more vocal was Aunt Leigh. In her opinion (completely unbiased, of course), her younger brother had been taken in by a gold digger. Reece didn’t share this opinion. He’d spent enough time with Maxine to know money hadn’t been her motivation, and what was more important, she made his father happy.
After getting clearance from the tower, Reece touched down on runway 5/23 and taxied to the Diamond Jet hangar. It was quiet now, as opposed to the hive of activity it had been earlier in the day. Only two planes were still out. They wouldn’t be returning until later tonight.
Sylvie was waiting for him in his office, the usual pencil stuck behind her left ear. She was efficient, cool under pressure, and could do everything at Diamond Jet except actually fly the aircraft.
“I thought you’d decided not to come back,” was her greeting.
He laughed as he sat down at his desk and quickly flipped through the phone messages she’d left for him. “It was tempting.”
His answer brought a dimpled smile to her face. “How’s the newest addition to our fleet?”
“She handles like a dream. Our pilots are going to love the updated avionics suite, and our passengers are going to enjoy the taller, wider cabin.”
“Sounds like a win-win for everyone. I spoke with our liaison in Orlando about your medical flight tomorrow. Ground transportation for the patient has been arranged. I also took care of the maintenance report for the FAA.”
“Is there anything left for me to do?”
“Nope. You can leave with a clear conscience. Contrary to what you seem to think, the owner of the company doesn’t have to work seven days a week.”
“Neither does his assistant, but that hasn’t stopped her yet.”
She started toward the door, and then turned around. The look on her face immediately raised his suspicions. “I almost forgot. A reporter called from Jacksonville Today. She’s doing an article about the growth of charter services. I told her to come by Tuesday afternoon at one.”
“That’s fine as long as you don’t expect me to talk to her. She can get all the information she needs from you.”
Sylvie’s smile widened. “Be reasonable, Reece. We can’t deprive the poor thing of the chance to meet Jacksonville’s most eligible billionaire.”
“I thought that honor belonged to your personal heartthrob: Hollis Davies.”
A dreamy expression settled on her pretty face. “Hollis is like no one else on earth.”
Reece rolled his eyes. “Speaking of someone who is of this world, when are you going to put my head mechanic out of his misery and marry him? It’s not nice to play around with a man’s emotions.”
She laughed. “This coming from the guy who has a three-date rule.”
He tilted back in his chair. “What’s wrong with that? Three dates is long enough to know if you want to take it further and short enough to part ways with no hard feelings.”
“It’s also the perfect length to get you the ‘player’ label.”
The ringing of her phone was a welcome interruption. Reece wasn’t in the mood to shine a spotlight on the one area in his life where he lagged so far behind the curve. By this point in time, he should have been married with kids. Instead he was thirty-five and still single. Why did his stubborn heart refuse to be touched? Addison teased him about being good at everything except love. He was starting to wonder