Crushed (Crystal Brook Billionaires) (23 page)

“No,” I decided. “I don’t want to know.”

I smiled at him, and he grinned back, lighting up the whole tunnel with his smile.

A stewardess greeted us by calling Owen Mr. Burke and offering us two glasses of champagne on a silver tray. Tentatively, I took mine.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, then stepped forward into the plane.

The aircraft I found myself in was much smaller than I had expected. On top of that, it was unoccupied. Not a single passenger was in it. Nine black leather seats sat gratuitously spaced around it, some facing frontwards and some facing back. There were polished wooden tables next to a few of the chairs and a large flat screen TV right above my head.

I took a few steps farther in. Owen brushed by me, his shoulder tickling mine.

“Have a seat anywhere you like,” he said.

“Okay,” I dumbly answered, then teetered over to the closest one.

Owen sat opposite me.

The flight attendant appeared in the doorway. “Mr. Burke, is there anything you or Ms. Lawrence would like before we depart?”

Owen looked at me with a raised brow.

“Uh, n-no thanks,” I stammered. “Champagne is great.”

I set my glass down on the table next to me, way too light-headed already. The stewardess disappeared, drawing the blue curtain closed behind her.

I looked at Owen. “This is a private plane.”

“Yes,” he agreed.

I slowly shook my head. “I didn’t know we were getting on a private plane.”

He didn’t so much as smile. “If I’d told you it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”

I hooked my thumb in the direction of the cockpit. “How did she know my name?”

He lifted one shoulder then let it drop.

“Oh come on,” I said. “This game is fun, but really. I just got on a plane with you, with no idea whatsoever of where we’re going. I’d say that’s both adventurous and trusting.”

“I made a call. When I went inside to get my things.”

I shook my head. “Just like that? A one-minute phone call and the jet is here.”

“Yes.”

I stared at him, trying to figure it out.

Then I realized he must own the jet we sat in. Surely. There could be no other way it was ready for us so quickly.

I blinked, still sifting through the last bit of the details. “So the crew was just here waiting?”

He didn’t answer.

“Oh.” I fell back in my seat, my head hitting the soft cushion there. “You had them on call, didn’t you?”

Owen licked his lips, a smile playing at the corners. “Yes.”

“So you planned this yesterday.”

“Kind of. It wasn’t a sure go until you got to my house and I made the call.”

I slowly nodded. “Right. I see that now.”

“I feel like that just ruined a lot of the surprise.”

I guffawed. “No, trust me. It didn’t. I’m still thoroughly surprised by everything that’s happening.”

“You still don’t know where we’re going.”

“I don’t want to know.”

Something softened in his eyes. “You trust me that much?”

“There are witnesses,” I quickly spat back. “So if you’re planning on dumping my body in the middle of the Atlantic, you’ll have to think again.”

“Those witnesses get paid well.”

He smiled, satisfied with himself.

“Touché,” I smirked. “Well played.”

The stewardess’ voice came over the intercom, announcing the upcoming lift-off.

I buckled myself in and then grabbed my champagne so that it wouldn’t spill all over the place. The plane began to move, creeping its way to the runway.

“No one knows where I am,” I said, mostly to myself. “It’s odd.”

Owen didn’t say anything.

I looked over at him. “Except you.”

“Is that weird?”

“This whole thing is weird.”

The plane picked up a bit of speed and began to take off. I averted my eyes from the open windows, not wanting to see the shrinking ground outside, lest it make me sick. I smiled at Owen when he placed his palm over my glass, saving the bubbly liquid from spilling all over me.

Once we were smoothly in the air, I glanced back at Owen. He sipped his champagne and then set it down. His eyes lifted up and locked onto mine. An immediate blush burst across my face.

“I still don’t get it,” I said. “Why you’re doing all this.”

He ducked his head, and he looked down at his lap. “It’s nothing,” he said to his legs.

“No one else I know whisks me away to mysterious lands for… for…” An intense bout of lovemaking.

“I was thinking dinner.”

I laughed. “Right.”

There was a ding, and I looked up to see the seatbelt sign flashing, showing us it was all right to unbuckle. The appearance of such a normal looking feature in a lavish, private jet seemed funny to me. I smiled to myself as I undid my seatbelt.

“How’s your family?” Owen asked.

“They’re… good. Gwen is freaking out, but she always is.”

“That’s the impression I’ve gotten from her.”

“Danny is doing his thing, I guess. He still wants to be an actor.”

“Oh, really?”

I nodded. “Yeah, for years now. It’s kind of causing some conflict at home. Our parents want him to go to school — not drama school. He just doesn’t see the point.”

“And what about your parents?”

“They’re… doing well.” I shrugged, not knowing what else to say there.

“What about you?” he murmured.

I blinked heavily. “You know about me.”

Owen’s lashes fluttered, and he looked away.

“What about your family?” I asked.

“They just came to visit, actually.”

I perked up. “Really?”

“Mm-hmm. They left a few days ago.”

“How was that?”

He took a moment to think about it. “It was great… really great.” He grinned. “I think I really like being an only child.”

I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, what’s that like?”

“Sometimes I think my mom is still under the impression that I’m four, but other than that it’s pretty fantastic.”

“How long were they here?”

“Just a couple days. They had to get back to their vineyard.”

“Oh, cool.”

Something twitched in his face. “They, uh, asked me if I wanted to go and work there.”

Unexpectedly, a bit of panic rose in my chest. My throat got dry. My vision blurred.

Owen continued. “But I don’t know.”

I swallowed hard then attempted to speak. “You just got that house here. You’re still renovating it. You would leave it behind?”

You would leave Crystal Brook behind? You would leave… me behind?

It wasn’t my place to say any of that. After all, Owen and I weren’t even officially friends. Our relationship would probably be strained for the rest of the days we knew each other. I had no right to expect anything from him. I didn’t even allow myself to ask anything from him. So far, all I’d done was use him.

And yet I still freaked out over the idea of him disappearing from my life forever.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know what I would do. It’s just one option.”

I took a drink of champagne to hide my inability to have anything to say to that.

“Did you ever get the bridesmaids dress thing sorted out?”

I laughed into my drink. “Yeah. It wasn’t simple though.”

From there the talk turned to other innocuous things, the sky outside growing darker as we discussed the events around Crystal Brook and my job.

“Jason is selling the company,” I revealed.

Owen leaned forward in his seat. My body responded by jerking as if shocked by electricity, but I ignored it.

“Really? Will you stay there?”

I looked out the window beyond his head. Urban lights sparkled. We were flying closer to the ground than we had been just ten minutes before.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “He says my position is secure there, but I think… I think maybe it would be a good time to just leave New York.” I pressed my lips together. Thinking it was one thing. Saying it was another. For each rough side of the city, there was a good one. The memories I held there might have been painful, but they were — in essence — sweet ones. At least the times that had made them were good ones.

I cleared my throat. “It looks like we’re about to land. Are we?”

Owen turned to peek out his window. “Yep. Looks like it.”

“That was so quick.”

“Atlanta’s not that far away.”

As soon as he said it, his eyes snapped closed, and he winced. “Damn it.”

I laughed. “It’s all right. You couldn’t keep the destination a secret from me all night.”

“Is Atlanta all right?”

I rolled my eyes. “For dinner?” I sarcastically asked. “Oh, I suppose it’ll do. But if you’re taking me out for ice cream afterwards, it better be in Miami.”

Owen laughed, and I smiled back, some of the tension from a moment ago melting.

Would he really leave Crystal Brook? And just when I was starting to feel like we might get along…

Timing. It loved its sucker punches.

*

A car waited for us outside of Atlanta’s airport. Owen gave the driver an address but no name for where we were headed. Knowing the city we were in seemed information enough, so I sat back and didn’t ask any more questions, instead opting to just enjoy the sights going by the window.

By the time the car deposited us in front of a tall building that looked like it probably contained nothing other than offices, I was famished and ready to eat the first thing my eyes fell on.

Owen placed his hand lightly against my back, mimicking the action from months ago at the gala. Except this time the touch had so much more meaning than it had in May, thanks to everything that had taken place in the time since then.

I tried to suppress the tingle, but it was no good. It turned into a shudder, traveling down my body and, surely, into his palm.

He’s just being a gentleman, I reminded myself. Just because I was from a classless small town where men didn’t open doors or let women go first didn’t mean those kinds of things had died.

He led the way through the building’s front door, then across a demure looking lobby and into an elevator. I eyed him, biting back my questions but barely. If there was a restaurant anywhere upstairs, I would be thoroughly surprised.

I watched the floor numbers light up. They kept climbing and climbing, not stopping until they reached the top floor.

The elevator doors slid open, and we walked out into a large room with windows covering three walls. Beyond the windows sat the open rooftop, and, beyond that, the sparkling lights of surrounding towers.

The lighting in the glass room was low, most of it coming from candles. One table sat in the middle of the room, two place settings and an elaborate floral display on it.

A man in a black suit stepped forward.

“Good evening, Mr. Burke and Ms. Lawrence,” he smoothly said. “May I escort you to your table?”

I cocked an eyebrow at Owen, but he didn’t look at me, instead just walked to his seat.

Once we were both settled, with our host pulling out my chair for me, wine was served. The host assured us the appetizer would be out momentarily. With that he disappeared, going through a swinging door next to the elevator.

I swiveled my gaze on Owen, penetrating him with my eyes. “Dude.”

“What?”

I spread my hands out wide, gesturing at everything around us. “What do you mean ‘what?’ This. This whole thing! Now I know for sure you planned this.”

A dimple popped. “I already told you I called ahead for the jet yesterday.”

“But what about this… this private restaurant? Or whatever it is you would call it.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “It’s pretty cool, huh?”

I opened my mouth to agree, but he ducked his head and went on. “It’s a company that does it. I heard about it months ago, and I always wanted to try it. I called yesterday just on the chance that they would have an opening. It turned out someone had just canceled their appointment for tonight. Some guy booked it because he was going to propose to his girlfriend up here, but then she broke up with him.”

I laughed out loud. “I feel like I’m going to get proposed to up here.”

Owen blushed. Instantly, I wished I could take the words back. Trying to be friends was harder than I thought. It seemed every word needed to be watched, every touch monitored for appropriateness.

I cleared my throat. “Thank you, Owen. This is amazing. This is… wow. I don’t know what else to say.”

He peeked up at me. “You’re welcome. Thank you for coming with me.”

I shook my head. “There’s no way you should be this nice to me.”

“Stop saying that. Please.”

“I know we already talked about it…”

“And let’s put it behind us. You’re amazing, Claire. All right? You deserve all the best things in the world. Don’t question it when someone tries to give them to you.”

I stared back at him. He was breaking me. Damn it, the man was breaking me, and he probably wasn’t even trying. I was feeling things I hadn’t in months — warm, delicious things. More than lust. Sensations flowing through my veins like a warm stream.

I clenched my teeth together. No. I wouldn’t give in to those feelings. If I did, everything would end up just like it had before. We would both get hurt again.

“So,” I said, keeping my voice light. “What’s the menu for tonight?”

Owen

A
s soon as I saw her standing there in the grocery store, the same old wide brown eyes and soft lips, every other moment that had existed prior to that one slipped away.

No more anger. No more regrets. I saw a girl in front of me, and I wanted to make her happy.

Was that so wrong?

It couldn’t be. Despite the pain I went through after Claire disappeared from my house that one night, I couldn’t stop feeling certain things for her.

But maybe I could keep them in check. I could live with them, acknowledge their existence, but never act on them. The best and easiest thing I could do was just be there for her.

I could be her friend, someone to talk to, someone who could take her out and show her a good time so that she could cut loose every once in a while.