Читать книгу Lovers Premiere - Adrianne Byrd, Pamela Yaye - Страница 11

Forty minutes. Sofia just needed to keep her mouth shut for forty minutes. How hard could that be? Turns out, it was pretty hard. Given the fact that she had lost her parents in a plane crash, flying was never her favorite thing. But for the most part, she could deal with it because of all the travel that was needed for her job. But climbing into this plane, much smaller than anything she’d ever flown in, was another thing all together.

“How long did you say that you’ve been flying?” she asked, clutching her seatbelt.

Ram cut her a look.

“I mean…” She glanced around as they neared the runway. “You’re sure of what you’re doing, right?”

“It’s not too late for you to get out,” he said.

Sofia opened her mouth but Ram signaled for her to zip it. Now look who is being rude. She sulked down in her chair. But when the plane raced down the runway, she slammed her eyes closed and prayed. Five minutes later, she finally felt safe enough to pry her eyes open. By then they were coasting smoothly through the clouds. “Well…okay. This isn’t so bad.” She exhaled and tried to relax. “I can do this.”

Ram just sighed.

“What? Are you going to threaten to kick me out now?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Sofia pulled in a long breath while she stared at his strong profile. She tried to hold on to the years of anger that she’d felt for the Jordans. In her head, she could still hear her father yelling and accusing Emmett Jordan of being a backstabber. From that day on, she grouped father and son together. But was that really fair?

She jerked at the rogue question and then squirmed in her seat because she didn’t really want her subconscious to answer it.

Ram snuck another glance to his right and noticed how stiff Sofia looked in her seat. “Unbelievable,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he lied with a shrug.

“That was not nothing,” Sofia challenged. “What is it? Spit it out.”

After a couple of more shrugs, he decided to come clean. “I was just noting how…uptight you are.” He looked over at her again and shook his head. “You’ve changed so much.”

She raised her chin indignantly. “I have not.”

“Puh-lease. I’m willing to bet that this is the longest you’ve gone without talking on the phone.”

“No it’s not.”

“I’m not counting when you’re asleep, though I’m willing to bet that you don’t do that for very long, either.”

“That’s not true.” Even as she challenged his assessment, Sofia reached for her cell phone to check her Caller ID.

Ram laughed. “Look at you.”

“What?”

“If you don’t know then I’m not going to tell you.”

Suddenly self aware, Sofia shoved her phone back into her purse. “Whatever.”

“All I know is that the Sofia that I grew up with knew how to have fun,” he said with a note of sadness. “She used to let her hair down. Run. Laugh. Play in a field of wild daisies…and even sneak kisses beneath the big oak tree in her backyard.”

Sofia’s heart skipped a beat. The picture of that long lost girl sprung vividly into her mind and there was a twinge of longing that came swiftly and overwhelmed her. She pulled her face away and stared out at what seemed like an endless sky of white clouds.

“It’s like we’re floating in a dream,” she whispered.

Ram smiled. “That’s why I like flying. When you’re up here, the world and all its problems just fade away.”

Sofia sucked in a deep breath and listened to just the steady hum of the plane’s engine and single propeller. It did sort of have a calming effect and there was no denying the beauty surrounding her. “I see what you mean.”

He chanced another look at her and was pleased to see the tension in her face had disappeared and her posture had relaxed. Sofia turned her head, met Ram’s gaze and fluttered a smile before she remembered that she was supposed to be keeping her distance. Jerking her head away, she then looked at the time.

Twenty minutes.

“I should have known that that wasn’t going to last long,” Ram commented.

“What?”

“You keeping your guard down.” He let a wave of silence drift over them. “Do you really hate me that much?”

Sofia’s mouth sprang open, but then her words got caught up in her throat.

“I see.” Ram trained his eyes back onto the sky in front of him and pretended that he didn’t feel the slight pinch in his throat.

“I don’t hate you,” Sofia whispered and cleared her throat. “It’s just…” She struggled for the right words and then just ended with, “I don’t hate you.”

“That’s good to hear.” He shrugged his big shoulders. “Even though I don’t quite believe it.”