Chapter 12

I've always loved driving. Cars, trucks, planes, snowmobiles, you name it. This lousy rental van isn"t exactly comfortable, but it"s unexpectedly powerful.

Olivia is a fantastic copilot, alerting me to turns and highway changes well in advance and spacing the rest stops out according to the different kinds of food available. We spend the entire drive discussing everything under the sun, from how we"ll decorate the apartment to how she"s categorically forbidden to track the flights I"m on. I don"t want her to worry if there"s a slight delay or if things get rerouted.

I"m a guy who mostly keeps to himself, and making small talk at work is draining. Yet chatting away with Olivia is completely energizing. I"ve never talked with anyone so freely.

After a quick taco dinner, we hit the road again. "It looks like we"re only two hours away," she says, with that sparkling grin I"ve come to love already.

"Sounds about right. You can nap if you like."

"No way! I"m too excited."

Waiting for a semi to pass before we merge with the highway traffic, I"m in a similar state. Knowing that I"m finally going to have her alone, in my house, has kicked my lust for this incredible woman into overdrive. The gearshift isn"t the only hard stick that I"ve had to control the entire day, put it that way.

After staring out at the dark landscape whooshing by for a while in silence, Olivia turns to me with a worried expression that I don"t like. "Something wrong, gorgeous?"

Her fingers drum on her knee for a moment. "I guess…I"m concerned about you changing your entire life for me. I mean, we"re not even really together. It"s?—"

"We"re together."

I growl, making her spin around to stare at me as I grab her hand. "Baby, don"t you think for a single second that I"ll ever change my mind. This is it for me." Threading my fingers through hers, she softens. "If I don"t give you everything you need, you can leave, no problem. But me, I"m in this for keeps."

"I am too." She squeezes back. "But it"s a huge change for both of us. I know why I"m doing it. How about you?"

My back teeth grind. I don"t want to tell her, but if I don"t, she"ll think up something worse.

"It"s not a terrible story about my life falling apart or anything. Just a string of things. A cousin who stayed with her boyfriend who screamed at her, because she couldn"t imagine finding a nicer house. A friend who fixed up an apartment just the way he liked it, and then passed on a job opportunity because he didn"t want to relocate."

She nods for me to keep going.

"Dad was stuck in that horrible dead end job because there were no other options in town. I watched his soul being sucked out every single day, and he did it all for Mom."

Olivia"s bottom lip starts to wobble. "And now you"re doing the same thing for me."

"No. No way." I pull over to the side of the road and stop the truck, turning to face her and clasping her hands.

"Baby, this is nothing like that. First off, three years is not forever. And I"m going to be traveling all over the place." I kiss the backs of her hands. "We"re going to have our apartment, and my mountain house for weekends. After you"re finished school, we might relocate for whatever job you get. At that point I"ll stay with Benny, or move to another airline."

Leaning over, I kiss her forehead. "Nothing is set in stone, Olivia. We"re going to do what"s best for both of us. Got it?"

Her lovely eyes glow. "Are you happy with your new job?"

"Once I saw the salary, and the stunning new planes…" My chuckle makes her smile. "Yeah. I really am."

"Thank goodness," she sighs. "Moving really makes sense for both of us."

I kiss her gently and start the truck again. It"ll be hard not to speed to get her home. "Ready for your first look at my mountain, baby?"

"Definitely."