LITMIR.BIZ

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      Since Chase’s implacable face showed no signs of alarm, Sydney took his words at face value. His very serenity was soothing, though she found herself wondering if the man was ever alarmed at anything.

      The rain began to pound them. Thunder boomed. Lightning flashed stronger and more often. It looked as though they’d flown right into the middle of the worst part of the storm.

      “I thought you said he’d take us around?”

      “I’m sure he’s trying. We’re climbing, can’t you feel it? This must be a large storm, so he’s probably trying to get above it instead of going around.”

      All logical and competent-sounding. Still, Sydney’s gut instinct was sounding multiple alarms. Her absolute fear of storms came roaring back, intensified by the fact she was being tossed around in a small jet.

      She took a deep, shaky breath. “It’s green outside.”

      For the first time, Chase frowned. “That’s not good.”

      Her stomach plummeted. Was that the understatement of the year? She gripped her seat, closed her eyes, and muttered a prayer. When she opened her eyes, she immediately looked to Chase. He watched her intently.

      “You’re absolutely terrified.” He sounded surprised.

      Wordless with fear, she jerked her head in a nod.

      “It’s going to be all right. Look.” He pointed out the window. “We’re still climbing. Soon we should be above the storm.”

      Even as he spoke, the first hail hit them. Small, round balls of ice began battering the wings. Next came what sounded like a series of pops in rapid succession. Outside, the ice balls grew larger, more numerous, pummeling the wings. The jet veered left, then right.

      “We’ve got to give Franco and Dell credit.” Admiration sounded in Chase’s clear tone. “They’re still climbing.”

      The air outside her window became all ice balls, so many it appeared to be a blizzard of ice.

      Bam. Sydney jumped, gripping the sides of her seat so tightly her hands ached. “That sounded like a small explosion.” She’d barely finished the words when the jet plummeted again. Muttering another quick prayer under her breath, she bit her lip to stifle a scream, unable to resist glancing at Chase for reassurance.

      Though expressionless, the tight set of his jaw told her he was worried, too.

      The dive lasted longer this time. It seemed, she thought, fighting the first edges of panic, to go on forever.

      Were they about to crash into the ocean? Or worse, into the mountainous edge of Silvershire? She had no idea where they were or what might be below them.

      Then again, if they crashed at this speed, what they hit wouldn’t really matter.

      Finally the plane leveled.

      Sydney exhaled in relief.

      “Despite his attempt to climb, I think we’ve lost a lot of altitude.” Chase sounded calm, matter-of-fact, as though none of this worried him. “I’d better go talk to Franco.” He pushed himself out of his seat and the plane lurched, then took another violent drop.

      He lost his balance and stumbled toward Sydney.

      Wide-eyed, she reacted instinctively, throwing up her arms. He stopped with his face inches from her breasts.

      God help her, she could feel her face heating.

      Slowly, he raised his head to meet her gaze. She could have sworn she saw a flicker of amusement in his hazel eyes before he climbed back to his feet. “My apologies.”

      Tongue-tied, she dipped her head in acknowledgment.

      “Wait here,” he ordered, making his way to the cockpit.

      As if she planned on going anywhere! She grimaced as the jet pitched and bobbed. If she had a parachute, she’d definitely consider jumping. She flexed her shoulders, feeling tension knots as she stared at the closed cockpit door.

      A moment later, Chase returned. His expression looked even grimmer, if such a thing was possible.

      She straightened, her aches forgotten. “What? What’s wrong?”

      “Not good. We’ve lost an engine. The hail must have damaged it.”

      Her heart stopped. “What now?”

      “Franco and Dell are good. They’re searching for a place to make an emergency landing. They’ll get us down safely.”

      “With one engine?”

      “Yes. We’ll be fine.”

      Swallowing, she pushed back her panic. She’d traveled a lot with the symphony, and knew this wasn’t great, but it wasn’t lethal.

      Thunder boomed again, so loudly the jet shook. A jagged bolt of lightning flashed so close she wondered how it had missed them. Though the hail had tapered off and was mixed with driving rain, the storm’s fury scared her almost as much as the possibility of crashing.

      “Talk to me.” Not caring that her desperation showed in her voice, she touched his arm. “I need a distraction.”

      Another man might have made light of her fear. But Chase took one look at her and nodded. “Tell me about your family.”

      She had no family. “I’d rather hear about yours. Do you have brothers and sisters?”

      “I have two brothers and two sisters.” He smiled fondly. “We’re a noisy, affectionate bunch. They’re all married now, and their spouses are part of the family, as well.”

      “But you’ve never been married?” Gripping her seat, she wondered why she’d asked, but as the plane did another hop-and-skip movement and she felt her stomach come up in her throat, she realized she didn’t care.

      “No,” he said, his expression closed. For a moment she could have sworn she saw a flash of anger and hurt in his eyes, and she wondered.

      Then she remembered. She’d read about him a few years back. Chase might work at keeping the royal family out of the news, but that meant his own life was up for public scrutiny, as well.

      “You were engaged,” she said slowly. “To the daughter of an earl. I remember now. And there was some sort of scandal, involving another—”

      “Yes.” His harsh voice cut at her like a knife. “I was engaged. It didn’t work out. No need to rehash all the details.”

      There had been a baby, Sydney remembered. Another man’s child, though the woman had tried to pass it off as his to get him to marry her. The wedding ceremony had actually started when the woman’s lover, a high-ranking duke from Gastonia, had interrupted, claiming both the woman and the baby as his rather than Chase’s. While flashbulbs popped and cameras whirled, Chase had learned the truth. In front of the entire world, he’d been jilted.

      The repercussions had nearly cost him his job. Though he’d presented a stone face to any and all questions, and had since cut a wide swath through Silvershire’s female population, Sydney knew how badly he must have been hurting.

      After all, she could certainly relate.

      “Did you love her?” she asked softly.

      Instead of answering, he narrowed his eyes. “Did you love Reginald? Did you truly believe he was the one you’d spend the rest of your life loving?”

      Throat tight, she nodded.

      Emotion flashed in his gaze. Rage or torment, she couldn’t tell which. “Then I think we’re about equal, aren’t we? We both know what it’s like to be played for a fool.”

      As she opened her mouth to apologize, a dark-haired man appeared in the doorway of the cockpit. The copilot, Dell. All the color seemed to have drained from his face.

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