Page 29 of Plane Passion

“What happened between Vera and me is none of your business. The more you go on about it, the more I think you’re jealous of Vera.” He met her gaze head-on, and one side of his mouth twitched up.

Oh, God. Could he be right?

“No, I’m not,” she sputtered. “I’m just trying to get you to see the error of your ways.”

“Liar.” His smirk widened to a grin.

She gazed into his mischievous brown eyes. Something electric passed between them. She couldn’t have looked away if she tried. The world was reduced to the two of them. They shared a connection so intense she thought they might burst into flame. She was hardly breathing, caught and paralyzed by a mere look.

Suddenly, he blinked and straightened, staring over her shoulder. “Don’t look now, but I think we have company. Walton and Andrews just walked in. Keep your head down. I don’t want them to think we’re here on a date and tell Mr. Dickson. If he hears about this, there will be hell to pay.”

“But this is not a date, as we’ve discussed.” She took another sip of her martini, ignoring the little voice inside her insisting that it was, no matter what she said.

He frowned. “You think Mr. Dickson is going to believe that?”

She let out a long, slow breath. “No. You’re right. I’ll keep my head down.”

“They just sat down in a booth. I think we’re safe now.”

Straightening, she took another sip of her martini. Mr. Dickson was the least of her problems. If word got back to Mr. Burleson of anything that sounded like fraternization, she was finished, and so were her dreams of opening the airmail to lady pilots. To calm her nerves, she turned the conversation to focus on Ernie. “When did you learn to fly? Was it during the war?”

“Yes. I volunteered for the Air Service immediately when I signed up. I’ve always been fascinated by airplanes, and when would I get another opportunity to learn to fly for free? It turned out I had a knack for it. I have a good memory for landscapes and directions, which served me well on the front. You wouldn’t believe how many pilots we lost because they couldn’t find their way back to base after a fight. And I was lucky.” He took another drink of his whiskey. “What about you?”

“I learned to fly almost as soon as I was big enough to work the controls. I was fourteen the first time I flew.”

“Fourteen?” His eyes widened. “With all that experience, what made you decide you wanted to fly the mail?”

She shrugged. “I needed a new challenge. I was tired of barnstorming and wanted to learn distance flying. The airmail seemed like a good way to do it.” That was as much as she could give away. Her deal with Mr. Burleson had to remain secret.

“A challenge.” He narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You think this is all a game? Something to do because you’re feeling bored? The rest of us are out there risking our necks to feed our families, and you’re doing it for a kick?”

“I’m doing it to become a better pilot and to prove that a woman can do this successfully.” That was the truth, if only part of it.

Ernie shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “You are unbelievable. You’re risking your neck in a whole new way just to prove a point?”

“Let me ask you this,” she said. “Would you question a man taking this job to prove a point?”

He laughed. “No man in his right mind would take this job if he didn’t need it.”

“Are you sure? Do you know for certain that all your colleagues are living paycheck to paycheck and not one of them has independent means?”

He pursed his lips. They were nice lips, very kissable, and she absolutely shouldn’t have been thinking about them or staring at them.

“Any man who takes this job out of anything other than necessity has a screw loose, and I would question whether he should be flying.”

The way he looked at her made her stomach flip. If she didn’t know better, she might have suspected him of caring what happened to her.

“At least you are consistent and think the same standard should apply to men and women,” she said after a deep sip of her martini. “So, if I needed this job to survive, you would feel differently about my flying?”

He shrugged. “I have nothing against women flying. I even think you’re an excellent pilot. I just don’t like women putting themselves at risk. If you needed this job to survive, I would still argue there were other options and that it’s too dangerous.”

That was rich! She laughed and laughed. “And that just goes to prove you know nothing about women at all.”

“I know more than enough about women,” he said, crossing his arms.

“Says the man who thinks the women he’s dating don’t mind being used and discarded like yesterday’s newspaper.”

He stiffened. “Look, I broke up with Vera so that I wouldn’t be misleading her about my intentions. And I’m here having drinks with you instead of enjoying a night out on the town because you asked me to treat you like one of the men. But if you’re waiting for me to say I’m supportive of you flying the mail, that day will never come. It’s not because you aren’t a good pilot. You are. And you have more flying experience than me. It’s because I don’t want to go to your funeral. It would wreck me to see you come to harm.”