experienced many of the same outings as their friends, but somehow they’d always gotten more out of them and came away feeling higher and more in love than ever. She realized that not only hadn’t she thought about her to-do lists even once, but she hadn’t made a to-do list since Zev had come back into her life. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but the fact that she wasn’t stressed over it had her leaning toward pretty damn good.
Tessa stepped from her seat in the cockpit and stood at the front of the plane. She was taller than Randi, with dark blond hair and serious but friendly brown eyes. “We’ve got a long flight ahead, so make the best of it,” she said with a wink.
She slid the partition between the cockpit and the seats closed, and Zev and Carly’s eyes collided with the heat of a torch. Zev put his hand on her leg, brushing his fingers over her upper thigh, and her breathing quickened as the plane moved down the runway. She thought of a litany of dirty things they could do now that they were alone.
Zev held her gaze, squeezing her thigh as the plane took off and leveled out.
She didn’t want to level out.
She wanted to rock his world.
They took off their seat belts, and he lifted the armrest between them, leaning closer. They were so in sync: one heart, two bodies.
“Please tell me you haven’t joined the mile-high club in Tessa’s plane before.”
“I haven’t ever joined the mile-high club,” he said firmly. “But I sure as hell hope to with you.”
He slid his hand beneath her miniskirt, under which she wasn’t wearing any panties. He growled with the surprise. All of the filthy promises she’d seen in his eyes that morning were nothing compared to the hunger looking back at her now.
She grabbed his shirt, pulling him into a deep, penetrating kiss, and over the next several hours, he fulfilled every last one of those promises.
Twice.
Chapter Twenty-Two
THE DAY HAD started out perfect, waking up in Zev’s arms on Fortune’s Landing, joining the mile-high club, getting lost in fits of laughter and long, steamy kisses. But after their beautiful morning together, Carly had gone into the shop and thanked Birdie and Quinn profusely for holding down the fort and making the treats for the baby shower so she could go away with Zev. They asked Carly so many questions her head spun, and she poured her nervous energy into preparing inventory for the festival and making a dozen truffles to give Cutter as a thank-you for watching the animals. She gushed about the incredible time she’d had, telling them about Zev’s boat, their run-in with Roddy and Archer, what it was like to spend time with Randi and Ford, and how much she loved being part of Zev’s world again. She couldn’t stop thinking about the freedom of being on the water, the thrill of not knowing what their dive would turn up, and her elation at diving with Zev again. She told them about their discovery, the shark, the arresting of the vessel, and his call with his family. But as she relayed Zev’s plans for next week and the exciting possibilities of what he might find, reality crept in.
Zev was leaving tomorrow, and she wouldn’t be taking part in more dives anytime soon. She had a chocolate shop to run. She couldn’t have been more grateful for the constant flow of customers and the festival preparations, both of which helped to keep her mind off the longing that was burrowing deep inside her.
Carly carried a stack of gift bags out of the supply room, thinking about the million things she still had to do for the festival. “We need to package the pretzels for the festival,” she said as she caught up to Quinn, who was carrying a tray of brownies out to the front display. “I have to package the truffles, too, and price them.” She wondered what else she’d forgotten to do.
“You know you told me both of those things already, right?” Quinn said. She looked chic in a pair of skinny jeans, a cute pink top, and high heels, which she zipped around in like roller skates. “Are you okay? You’ve been a bit scattered today.”
“Huh? Yeah. Fine.” I just feel like my entire life is swirling above my head and I don’t know which pieces to hold on to.