When she opened the door, Sage lost her breath. Literally. It just whooshed right out of her. The same thing had happened last time she saw Spence in fancy clothes. And here he was in his black tux with his hair smoothed back, a single red rose in his hand, and a smile on his lips—male perfection personified. The added sparkle in his deep green eyes completed the look.
“I am one lucky man,” he murmured as he stepped over her threshold and pulled her into his arms. “The dress has come alive with you in it.” He bent down and kissed her, and she forgot the rest of the world existed, thought only of him and what they would do later tonight.
“What are the plans?” she asked when he finally pulled back. She’d half wanted that kiss to go on forever and couldn’t help feel a twinge of disappointment when it didn’t. But if they were ever going to get out of her apartment, his lips would have to detach from hers.
“That’s a surprise,” he said. “But don’t plan on an early night. As a matter of fact, don’t plan on being home until tomorrow night,” he said as he took her jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She’d much rather wear a pretty shawl or wrap, but the weather wasn’t going to allow that.
“What about work?” She’d gotten off a ten-hour shift a few hours ago, and she was scheduled again tomorrow.
“The boss gave you tomorrow off,” he said with a wink. She knew she should be upset that he hadn’t consulted her about that, but she was too excited to scold him.
“Well, then, I guess I’m in your hands until tomorrow,” she said, feeling a wonderful freedom at letting him take over. When she was the one always in control, it tended to get a little draining. This letting go could become addictive.
Spence led her to his truck, and soon they were traveling down the plowed roads. Snow was still threatening, but the night was clear for now. When they turned into the small airport, she looked over at him.
“What’s going on?”
“You just have to wait,” he said with a sly smile.
They pulled up to the terminal and he parked the truck. Walking through the one-room building, they came out on the other side, where a private jet was waiting.
“Okay, Spence, you have to tell me something,” she said, looking from the jet to him.
“I’m taking you to dinner,” was all he said before leading her to the stairs.
“Welcome back, Dr. Whitman,” a flight attendant said when they reached the top of the stairs and stepped inside.
The jet was decorated in creams and cherrywood. It had a sleek leather couch along one wall, and a couple of matching chairs along the other. A television console was on the wall with a small bar beneath holding snacks and drinks.
“We’ll sit in the chairs for takeoff,” Spence said. “If you’d like, we can then move to the couch.”
“That sounds fine,” she said, though she was out of her comfort zone in his jet. She knew the Whitman family had a lot of money, but she wasn’t used to seeing things like this. “Is this yours?”
“My family owns a couple of jets. They’ve come in handy with all the trips to Seattle. Plus, the nearest commercial airport is almost an hour away. That’s far too much commuting for me,” he said.
The flight attendant approached and asked them what they’d like to drink.
“I’ll take a red wine, Laura,” Spence said.
“I’ll have the same,” Sage said as she sat down.
After the plane had taken off and had reached cruising altitude, Sage turned to Spence and asked, “So, are you going to tell me yet where we’re going?”
“Nope. You’ll soon find out.”
“You’re just lucky that I’m finding this all very exciting. I normally need to know everything in advance.”
“I’m incredibly lucky that I get to spend the evening with you, Sage. You take my breath away—and I don’t mean just with your spectacular looks. I really enjoy our time together. I’ve just never been with a woman like you.”
She gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t know if that’s a great line or not, but I have to tell you, it’s working.” If the guy was playing games, he was clearly the winner.
“I wouldn’t do that to you, Sage. I’m falling hard.”
“I think this jet’s temperature just rose a few degrees, Spence.”
“Then I better stay where I’m seated, because if I come over there, I’ll mess up your glorious hair.”
“Grace would get more than a little upset with you. She worked hard on it,” Sage said, then winked. “I, on the other hand, wouldn’t mind at all.” He began to get up when Laura came back in to refill their wineglasses.
Spence’s eyes burned with hunger, but he remained where he was, and not long afterward, the jet started making its descent into Seattle. Their night was just beginning, and the need ripping through Sage’s stomach was rising degree by degree.
“Where are we?” Sage asked when the car finally stopped. They’d landed in Seattle over half an hour ago and were now somewhere downtown. She’d never been to Seattle—she’d only seen pictures of it, or images in some of her favorite movies, like Sleepless in Seattle.
“Dinner and dancing at the Vault Nightclub,” Spence told her.
“I haven’t heard of it,” she said, wondering whether she should try to act a bit more worldly. At her age and with her level of education, she should know more about culture and entertainment, but she’d studied just medicine so intensely and for so long that she simply didn’t know what the outside world was like—let alone what the dating world was like.