Crashed into Love: Boxed Set (8 page)

His face was grey and dampness glistened on his
exposed skin like someone microwaved a corpse. Not pretty.

I had an incredible urge to crush the guy in a hug.
Without him, we wouldn’t have survived. He was the anchor in the crazy hellfire
we’d flown in. His orders kept my head from clunking like the broken fuselage,
and I borrowed his strength to fight through the shaky weakness of depleting
muscles.

We made it. All in one piece, minus a few scrapes.
Nothing but a playschool scuffle. We won. Not the Grim Reaper bully. And I
would be eternally thankful.

I didn’t care anymore about trying to find the
perfect moment. I was going to ask Nina out. I didn’t know when life would be
snatched away, and I wasn’t going to suffer regrets. If I had died today, I
would’ve cursed myself for not telling Nina how much I understand her. Ever
since overhearing her fight with her father on the phone about her career
choice, I wanted to tell her not to let others dictate her life. I’d let my
past suffocate who I really wanted to be, and she shouldn’t suffer the same.
Then again, the fire she’d shown when arguing, proved she was stronger than me
in that regard. She blew me away—no tears when her father yelled he was
disowning her—his voice so loud the entire staff room could hear. Luckily, she
thought she was alone and didn’t see me in the small kitchen.

I’d turned into a mushy, gushy idiot who was so
proud of her and hoped to God she hadn’t noticed.

Anderson sucked in a painful breath. “Yeah, I’ll be
fine. You go and deal with the disembarking passengers. I’ll radio operations
from here and explain what happened.”

I gave him a half-hearted salute and unlocked the
cockpit door.

My eyes widened as I took in the state of the cabin.
I expected smoke and carnage—the way we jerked and jumbled, surely things went
ricocheting—but apart from some twisted panels that had caused a few overhead
lockers to spring open, and the oxygen masks dangling like little orange
skeletons from the ceiling, it was surprisingly tidy.

“Liam!” Joslyn appeared from the galley and threw
her arms around me.

I stumbled a little, wincing as her hands pressed
against my sore shoulder blades. I’d never strained so much as I did to keep
the aircraft afloat, and I’d pay for it by the way my body protested.

“Are you okay?” I asked when she stopped hugging me
like I was her old stuffed koala.

She sniffed, nodding. “Yes, I’m okay. I’ve done a
quick scout; it doesn’t look as if too many people are injured. Just
superficial stuff.” She lowered her voice. “Nina suffered pretty bad whiplash
and Samantha has gone deathly white. But we’re alive. That’s the main thing.”

I grabbed her wrists. They were smeared with blood.
“What the hell happened to your hands?” I quickly surveyed the rest of her and
relaxed a little when I realized the only thing wrong was torn pantyhose and
scraped knees.

“Nothing. I was flung forward when we nosedived.”

I grunted, looking over her shoulder. My heart
interrupted its natural rhythm as Nina walked up the aisle toward us. She was
shoeless and her delicate feet sent a protective rush inside me. I wanted to
lie on the carpet and let her walk over me just in case there was something
sharp. 

God, I was such a sap.

Joslyn tugged her into a hug.

When Nina pulled away she shot me a brave smile.
“Are you and Captain Anderson okay?” Her voice sent my blood flowing faster,
and I rubbed the back of my neck.

“Yep. We’re good.” Why did I sound so flipping
mellow? I was anything but laid-back like my voice implied. I had trouble
looking her in the eye with the grateful look radiating from her.

“You saved us. Thank you.” She took a step toward me
but stopped at the last moment.

I cleared my throat, my arms cursing that she didn’t
give me a hug like Joslyn.

My stepsister watched me with her head tilted. I
shot her a scowl, rolling my shoulders. I better look professional and piloty
and crap. Nina mustn’t know my tangled feelings. Not this early on, or I’d
freak the living daylights out of her.

“I’ve got to talk to the ground staff and see where
we are with hospitals and things. Do you think you girls can handle activating
the emergency slide and get everyone off?” My voice sounded in control and
assertive. I deserved a freakin’ award. The more confidence I oozed, the more I
could show Nina that I could provide for her. Why she should look past the
rumours and trust me. I
needed
her to trust me.

Nina swallowed, smoothing her skirt. “Joslyn and
I’ll start right away.” Her sapphire eyes met mine. How did I not notice till
this moment she had such gorgeous eyes?

She opened her mouth to add something, but frowned
instead. Spinning on her heel, she strode down the aisle.

Do not look at her ass.
Dammit, but she had an amazing ass. Images of touching her, stroking her filled
my head, and my lungs stuck together.

“Jeez, Liam. If you want to keep your secret, you’d
better stop looking at her like she’s your favourite triple swirl caramel
ice-cream.” Joslyn poked me in the ribs.

“Shut up, Tree.” I deliberately used her childhood
nickname. I’d christened her Tree ‘cause that’s where she’d end up when she
suffered from insecurities about her parents breaking up. We’d sit in the
branches, legs dangling. We’d grown into siblings in those limbs, and she was
related to me in every sense of the word.

Including being butthole annoying.

 “You may have saved our lives today, big bro, but
you’re still just a pilot to her. I told you how she feels about the work
rumours.”

Yes, I did know and both hated and applauded Nina
for her standards. I knew it’d be hard to live up to her ideals. Wouldn’t stop
me from trying my hardest though.

“Go do your job before I talk to operations and have
them fire you.” I flashed her a smile and retreated into the cockpit where I
was marginally more of a man and less an infatuated fool.

W
e stood in the shadows
of the beached plane, gawking at the mangled undercarriage. The runway was a
scar amongst swaying palm trees, and the airport shimmered with mirage tendrils
in the smothering island air. After two hours of organising people to remove
their Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks so they wouldn’t puncture the emergency
slide, we managed to empty the plane.

There’d been panic and hysteria; people scrambling
to disembark in case we blew up, but once the fire engine commander confirmed
we weren’t in danger, we’d been able to keep them calm enough.

Something oily and slick still coated my stomach. It
started while I helped ferry passengers around the cabin and wouldn’t leave me
alone. For some reason something was off—most likely because we were
island-wrecked with no clue where we were staying, or what would happen.
We’re
alive. Just focus on that.

I left Samantha and Joslyn discussing the crash, and
skirted around the busted plane to the rear. My heart turned to lead as my eyes
widened. The back end was singed and gaping as if a bad dentist had a sudden
career change and went from butchering mouths to massacring aircrafts. Shards
of metal were bent and crooked while multi coloured wires spooled like some
strange mechanical blood. What the hell caused that?

“Pretty gnarly, huh?” Liam appeared from the other
side. His hands were shoved in his black trousers, his pilot hat crooked on his
head.

My heart squeezed then softened, taking in the
tiredness in his eyes and drained aura. He’d battled an aircraft and won. I
wanted to hug him in the cabin—to show him how much I appreciated him granting
me more years on earth, but I didn’t think it would be correct etiquette. I was
finding it harder and harder to remember why I was so hung up on boundaries. I was
a bit of a tool when it came to enjoying myself. My promise came back to mind.
Never again would I stop myself from living how I wanted. Starting now.

Shyness overcame me as I allowed my attraction
toward him to trump my hang-ups that he was a pilot and shouldn’t be
fraternized with. So what if Jos would be pissed at me for going after her
sibling… life was too short, and he was worth it.

I shook my head. “I’m extremely impressed you and
Anderson were able to keep us airborne.” I bit my lip, thinking of what
might’ve happened. The spools of wires trailing like intestines above us might
have been my own guts. I shivered.

Liam laughed, shrugging. “All in a day’s work.” He
moved closer. “I wouldn’t want to do it again, though.” He rolled his
shoulders, grimacing.

Perhaps I should offer to give him a back massage—it
was the least I could do for him keeping us all alive.

Liam smiled. “Nina, ever since Joslyn told me your
last name, I’ve been dying to say something. It’s idiotic but I think now fits
quite well.” He gave me a crooked smile. “You can call me a dork if you want.”

Every breath I took caught his cinnamon scent,
stronger from his exertion during landing. He was so close, and my body urged
to close the small distance between us. I should’ve hugged him in the cabin,
then he’d know my attitude toward him had changed.

I wrinkled my nose, pretending to be peeved. “If it
has something to do with my last name, I can assure you, I’ve heard them all.”

His face fell, but then he grinned. “Can I say it
anyway?”

Laughing, I pulled the elastic from my ponytail and
ruffled my hair. “Sure.

Knock yourself out.” I’d let him say anything at
this point. I was alive because of him. If that didn’t put things into
perspective, I didn’t know what would.

He took a deep breath and rushed,
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Chuckling, he added, “Go ahead. Call me a
douche. But it’s a much better word than the string of swear words that ran
through my head as we came into land.” 

“You’re not a douche.” I smiled, but then images of
him struggling with the plane made me weak-kneed with amazement. He’d had so
much responsibility resting on him. I froze, realizing I was in awe. “Thank you
again, Liam.” My voice shimmered with sincerity. “Thank you for saving our
lives today.”

His lips parted, and the soft muggy island air
thickened to a tension-laced bisque. “It wasn’t just me. Anderson did most of
the work.”

I loved that he let his superior have the credit.
And I had no doubt it was a joint effort, but it wasn’t like I wanted to kiss
walrus-moustached Anderson. Liam’s fuzz free lips were much more tempting.

I stepped forward, my fingers so close to touching
him. “I’m not thanking Anderson. I’m thanking you.” We survived a crash, and I
didn’t want to hold back anymore. I wanted to show my appreciation—and if it
led to more, then so be it. Life was full of mistakes: a castle full of
corridors with new adventures and heartaches, and I refused to stay in one room
and not explore.

Liam’s chest rose and fell; his gaze dropped to my
lips. “Nina, I—I have to tell you something.” His face dropped toward mine and
my eyelashes fluttered, just as they closed, I caught a glint of red.

I gasped and my hands flew to his head, diving into
the thick locks. His black hair gleamed with liquid rust. “You’re bleeding.” My
fingertips investigated the slippery wound, and he flinched. My stomach did a
stupid gymnastic move that didn’t end well.

“Am I? I hadn’t noticed.”

I frowned. He just lied about his injury. Why? I bit
my lip as I scaled a huge bump on the side of his head. “It doesn’t feel good.
I think you should see the hospital staff. A head injury is serious.” My
whiplash was nothing compared to a concussion. Is that why he seemed so… shy?
Was that a good word? It was as if he’d been stripped of his pilot swagger; his
aeronautical confidence. What had changed? 

He shrugged, brushing my hands away. “I’ll go later,
once the passengers have been dealt with.”

I looked down at my hands—bright crimson dewed on my
fingers. What should I do with his blood?

As if pre-empting my motion to wipe my hands on my
skirt, Liam pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket. “Here you go.”

I laughed. “You’re old school. Who still uses
handkerchiefs?”

Pride laced with embarrassment in his eyes. “I do I
guess.” Clearing his throat, he said, “What I wanted to say before—”

Heels clacked on the runway, and Joslyn appeared
just as Liam jerked away from me, his eyes shooting messages of heat and
annoyance.

“Ah, there you two are. Anderson needs to talk to
all of us. Staff meeting as it were.” She looked from me to Liam, but didn’t
remark on our closeness. Instead, she pirouetted, saying, “Come along. Can’t
keep him waiting.”

Awkwardness filled my limbs as Liam and I trudged
after Joslyn. I refused to make eye contact with him. I didn’t know what he
wanted to tell me, but I knew if he shot me that sexually charged look again,
I’d most likely kiss him.
Where have my inhibitions gone?

The terminal bustled with activity, and we were
absconded by smiling ambulance staff in crisp white uniforms and island brown
skin. I sat through a half hour exam, checking my vitals, enduring enquires if
I needed therapy to talk about the crash. I was beginning to think people
thought it was a lot worse than it was. Their worry conjured imagery flames,
smoke, and carnage. I shuddered, thanking my luck nothing like that happened.

After assuring them I was mentally stable and
glossing over my whiplash so as not to be detained longer, they released me to
the staff room where Anderson, Liam, and Samantha waited.

Joslyn appeared behind me. “Do I look mentally
unhinged? They wouldn’t take my ‘no, I’m fine thanks’ for an answer. They
translated it to ‘yes, please prod me some more and ask me the same question
twenty flipping times.’” She threw herself onto one of the sagging yellow
couches.

Liam chuckled. “I can tell them to take you away if
you want. You might be a danger to yourself. I’d certainly vouch for that.”

I eyed him. Did he do what I asked and let the
medics investigate him? They would’ve examined him, but did he downplay it? His
hair was damp and there wasn’t any glint of blood. I made a note to keep an eye
on him.

Joslyn threw a magazine at Liam that was on the arm
rest. “Ha ha.”

Smiling, I took a pew next to Samantha.

Anderson chortled, scooting forward on his chair.
“Right, hello everyone. We survived.” His tone flirted with amusement, but his
pallor wasn’t so hot.

We all grinned as Anderson continued, “You girls did
an amazing job. Liam and I are very proud and honoured to work with a team so
level-headed and capable. We don’t know what went wrong, but we’ll let you know
as more information comes to light.”

Joslyn blushed, and Samantha dropped her eyes. I
spoke for all of us. “It’s us who should be thanking you.”

Anderson nodded. “It was nothing.” He clapped his
hands and opened a manila folder. “We arrived here in one piece, not exactly as
planned mind you, but we’re here. I’ve heard from operations, and I have good
news and bad.”

Samantha asked, “What’s the bad news?”

He smiled. “The bad news is the plane isn’t
flyable.”

Liam snorted, rolling his eyes. “We don’t need Ops
to tell us that.”

Anderson chuckled. “The good news is. They’re
sending an engineer to assess the damage, and a new plane will be delivered soon.”
He leaned back, smiling. “In the meantime. We’re stuck in tropical Samoa.”