Dive

Chapter Sixteen

"How sweet to be a Cloud. Floating in the Blue!" – A. A. Milne

True to his word, at nine a.m. on the dot, Knox is waiting for me in front of Amanda's building. Marcus is by my side in an instant, grabbing my suitcase and placing it in the trunk of the car. With a thank you and a smile, I open the back door and climb inside.

Knox looks up from his phone and gives me a smile. "Good morning."

"Morning," I say, crossing my legs on the cool leather seat. I'm wearing a flowy dress that reaches above my knees, and his eyes stray to my bare legs for the briefest of seconds. "You're very punctual."

"I've been accused of worse," he replies with humor.

Marcus gets in the driver's seat and pulls the sleek Porsche SUV into the slow traffic.

Knox excuses himself to reply to an e-mail, and I take the opportunity to watch him for a minute as he types out his answer with quick fingers. His black smartwatch catches my attention, and I realize something about him.

"Do you practice any sports?"

He tucks his phone away to give me his undivided attention once more. "Why do you ask?"

"I noticed the watch and then I realized that both of your cars are sports cars. That tells me you must have some sort of affinity toward physical activities."

His smile looks a bit surprised. "That's a very good observation. I like to swim, and I practice boxing. On occasion, I also play golf."

I expected the golfing and maybe the swimming, but not the boxing. "Huh."

"What?"

I shrug a shoulder, not wanting to tell him that. "When do you have the time?"

"You can always find time for the things you enjoy doing."

"That's true," I admit.

He angles his body toward me. "What about you? Any hobbies? Except writing, of course."

"Nothing as exciting as yours," I joke. "I used to play tennis in high school for a couple of years."

"The property in St. Augustine has a tennis field."

I laugh at his allusion. "I'm pretty sure I'm quite rusty by now. It's been a few years."

His expression tells me he doesn't believe that. "We'll see."

The words hang in the air between us, until I finally look away, unable to hide the way my lips curve with amusement.

By the time we make it to Teterboro, it's a little over ten in the morning. The pilot and a young flight attendant dressed in a light blue uniform greet us upon entering the private jet. Knox acknowledges them both by name before introducing me. The pilot gives him an update on the weather ahead and the approximate time of arrival.

Once we're seated and we're prepared for takeoff, Knox gives me a look across the small table separating our seats. "Nervous?"

"Yeah," I admit, trying to relax my hands on the armrests of my seat. "I don't really like flying."

"I'll tell you a secret." His eyes are warm as they hold mine. "Me neither."

"You look pretty relaxed."

"I'm just better at hiding it than you."

His admission surprises me as he doesn't seem like the type who would easily admit to any type of weakness.