On the Shore (Cottonwood Cove, #3)(32)

“Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?” I asked. My gaze narrowed as I studied him.

He barked out a laugh. “Am I not usually nice to you? I thought we were past that.”

“Well, you’ve been a little weird since we were out at the cove last week.” My hands gripped the armchairs on each side of me as we left the runway and the ground behind us. My stomach dipped as we took off.

“Relax. We have the best pilots out there.” His eyes locked with mine. “How have I been weird? We’ve been working out every day, and I’ve answered your three questions each time you’ve asked them, haven’t I?”

Our flight attendant approached, handing us each a mimosa, but Lincoln requested a black coffee instead. I ordered a chai tea latte and then stared awkwardly at my lovely champagne flute, unsure if it would be unprofessional to drink it. This was work, after all. She set down two baskets of pastries in front of us and left to go get our hot drinks.

His lips turned up in the corners as he watched me. “Drink it. You’re fine. I just have a bunch of meetings and need to be on my game today.”

He was always on his game, wasn’t he?

I took a sip of the sweet citrus and bubbly. “Okay, then. It’s delicious.”

“Answer the question,” he demanded.

I paused when our hot drinks were set in front of us, and I thanked the flight attendant before she stepped away.

“Well, we were very chatty that night. You know, sharing things like normal friends do. But then the next day, you were all business again.”

“We have a working relationship.” He uncuffed his sleeves and rolled them up, exposing his muscled forearms. I’d never noticed a man’s forearms before, but Lincoln’s were—spectacular. Unfortunately, his voice was harsh, and it rubbed me wrong.

It was like a wrestling match with him. I’d go from being totally turned on to completely annoyed with him.

“Well, we also spend a lot of time together, and when you share things, there can be a friendship there. Or didn’t your alien leaders teach you that?” I raised a brow.

“You know, I think you forget that I’m the client. I’m doing you the favor.” His eyes landed on my mouth, and I quickly brushed my fingers there to make sure there was no powdered sugar lingering after taking an oversized bite of the pastry.

“Are you not going to eat these? They are so good,” I said over a mouthful of cake.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” He smirked.

I finished chewing. “Don’t be so work-focused all the time. We could be friends who also work together.”

“You want to be friends, sweetheart?” he asked as he continued to stare at my mouth.

I pulled out my phone and turned my camera around to see what he was looking at, but it was just my lips. I dropped my phone in the empty seat beside me and raised a brow. “I don’t see why not. We work out together. We spend hours a day together. We even eat several meals together. Now we’re traveling together. So, friendship is the natural thing to happen, right?”

“That’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” I huffed. “I shouldn’t have to beg for it. Everyone wants to be my friend. I’m a good time.”

He chuckled. “Has anyone ever told you about the number one rule in sales?”

“What are we talking about now?” I asked before leaning forward and digging in his basket for the other sugared donut. “I take it you aren’t going to eat this because your body is a national treasure or something?”

He smirked. “Go ahead and eat it.”

“So, what is this big sales tip you’re giving me?”

“You said that you wanted to be friends, and I agreed to your request. Stop arguing. You got what you wanted.”

“And that’s the number one rule in sales?”

“Yes. Stop talking when you get what you want. People talk themselves out of deals all the time.” He shrugged, reaching into the basket and taking out a blueberry muffin.

“Well, don’t make me sound desperate. I could take or leave this friendship,” I said, my voice all tease.

“Is that right?”

“Yep. But since you’re so willing, I’ll go with it.”

He popped part of the muffin into his mouth and brushed his hands together. “So, let’s talk about what you’ll be doing while we’re in New York.”

“I’ll be shadowing you, right?”

“Most of the time. You’ll meet my agent, Drew. We’ll be meeting with Coach Balboa and Jeff Robles alone, but you won’t sit in on that meeting. That’s not something that can be shared in the article.” His eyes were hard, and his shoulders were squared as if he were preparing for an argument.

Was I that difficult?

“Ah… the money talk. I get it. It’ll be public knowledge when it goes through, but I understand you want to protect your privacy for now.” I shrugged and reached for my tea and took a sip.

“I’ll tell you what happens after. But it’ll be off the record.”

“Wow. Thank you for trusting me.” I raised a brow.

“Well, we’re friends, right? That’s what friends do.”

“Do you need a lesson on that? It seems kind of foreign to you.” I used my hand to cover my mouth to keep from laughing.