‘And you ignored every single one of them—’ he couldn’t help smiling when she did ‘—though I’m glad you did ’cos, between you and me, this has been the shortest Atlantic crossing I’ve ever had.’
After only a moment’s hesitation she leaned a little closer to whisper, ‘You’re welcome.’
He couldn’t stop looking into her eyes. Searching each of them closely, with the sense of intimacy rising as he felt the soft wisp of her warm breath against his face. And the urge to kiss her was so strong when the cabin lights dimmed and his vision blurred that it was as physical a need to him as the one for oxygen.
He’d only have to lean just a little bit closer…
There was a jolt as the large plane touched down, a ripple of applause working its way through the cabin and making Kerry laugh again as she moved back and arched up to look over the seat in front of her.
‘Okay—is it unusual for a pilot to actually land the plane safely here?’
When the cabin lights flickered back on Ronan eventually dragged his gaze upwards from where he’d been attempting to fill his eyes with the sight of her lithe body arched against her seat belt.
‘It was a smooth landing.’ He shrugged. ‘Sometimes folks just think that merits a thank- you.’
‘I’ll remember that for next time.’
She had dozens of next times ahead of her, didn’t she? With an unaccustomed wave of angry bitterness, Ronan thought he should make sure and clap whenever he touched down in Dublin again—a kind of ‘thanks for the memories’ to all the pilots who’d got him from one place to the other in the last decade.
Kerry settled back in her seat, took a deep breath and asked, ‘How long are you in New York for?’
‘Why?’
The words came out in a rush. ‘I don’t suppose I can persuade you to play tour guide for a day?’
It wasn’t going to take much persuasion.
CHAPTER TWO
KAREN had to be losing her tiny mind.
Since when did she run around asking men she’d only just met to spend a day with her? Since never—that was when. It wasn’t that she was stuck in some old-fashioned notion that a woman didn’t have as much a right to ask a man out as the other way round, but it wasn’t something she made a habit of. And what did she really know about this guy beyond the fact he was disgustingly good-looking, great company and more than a little fascinating to her?
She swiped her clammy palms along the sides of her crisp white shorts and pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, squinting as she looked around the crowded street. If he stood her up that would be one way of getting out of it, she supposed. But the truth was she didn’t want him to stand her up—the idea of another day in his company having been sending a flutter of anticipation through her stomach since before she’d gone to sleep the night before. And she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt that before seeing a man. Not that it was a date, because it wasn’t—she’d even offered to pay him for acting as her tour guide.
He’d laughed, mind you.
But it still wasn’t a date. It was a stolen day, a one-off, a way of marking her newfound freedom by doing something completely out of character…
Lord, but it was hot. She really hadn’t been prepared for how hot it was, or how heavy the air was, or how sticky and dishevelled she felt or how noisy and overwhelming New York was with the constant sound of car horns and the wail of sirens echoing from streets away or the number of people or—
Her breath catching when she saw him.
He was standing in the midst of all the people milling around in front of the Empire State Building and it was just plain daft that in that moment he was the only thing Kerry could see. It was simply that he was the only familiar face, was all. And, as much as she’d told herself she was fine with making such a large trip alone, the truth was some of the joy of her first night in New York had been tempered by the fact she had no one with her to turn to and share it with. Like the excitement of the first moment she saw the Manhattan skyline laid out in front of her, and it finally hit her that she was in New York!
She continued staring at Ronan, reasoning again that no one could really blame her—he was incredibly easy on the eyes. Standing with his feet spread, as if claiming the small piece of sidewalk underneath him, he had his hands on his lean hips while he slowly turned a circle, searching the crowd with a frown of concentration on his face. The bright sunlight made his short, spiking hair look lighter—a milk chocolate as opposed to the dark she’d thought it was on the plane—and he just looked so, so, well, he did.
Kerry raised a hand and waved it above her head.
But Ronan continued circling, so, feeling a little silly for waving like an idiot, she walked forwards, swiping her hands down her sides again as she got closer. ‘Hi there—do you by any chance know how to get to the Empire State Building?’
The lazy smile that slid onto his mouth brought an immediate answering smile to her lips. How pathetic was it she was glad to see him? And it didn’t bode too well for her conviction she could take her trip alone and still enjoy it just as much, did it?
‘You’re close, if it helps any.’
Stopping a foot away from him, she watched as his gaze travelled down her body all the way to her feet before rising faster than it had lowered. And she was surprised by how the simple glance suddenly made her feel warmer than she already was, every nerve ending tingling with awareness.
‘So are we starting the grand tour here?’
Ronan casually pushed his large hands into his jeans pockets, adopting the pose of a man extremely comfortable in his own skin. ‘Is there a queue all the way round the block?’
Kerry turned on her heel and surveyed the long line of people, sometimes three or four deep, stretching from the entrance until they disappeared around the corner; the thought of joining the end of a line that length in the sweltering heat was enough to draw a small groan from her lips.
‘Yes.’
‘Then no.’ He shot a glance at the bag resting on her hip, the strap slung diagonally across her body between her breasts. ‘I suppose you have the obligatory camera in there for pictures of all the sights?’
Kerry patted it with one hand, her chin rising with confidence. ‘And sun cream and a mini-fan and a bottle of water and a map and energy bars and a mobile phone and—’
Ronan smiled wryly, long fingers wrapping around her elbow to turn her before he started walking into the crowd. ‘Well at least if we get stranded in the desert we’ll survive.’
‘Are you making fun of the fact I like to be prepared for every eventuality, Mr O’Keefe?’
‘Possibly. But if I achieve nothing else today it’s my aim to sway you towards the merits of travelling light—I saw how much luggage you took off that carousel yesterday. And unless I’m very much mistaken, this is supposed to be a fun experience for you—not an endurance test.’
Kerry felt the skin on her elbow tingling beneath his hand, warmth travelling like an electric current up her arm, over her shoulder and downwards towards her breasts, disconcerting enough for her to feel the need to gently twist free of his touch before it worked its way anywhere else. Then she felt the need to lessen the small rejection with a sidewards glance and a pout of her lower lip.
‘I need all those clothes. It’s a trip through two seasons and half a dozen countries—and that involves a varied