Kate Hoffmann - Who Needs Mistletoe?

“How do I get this off?”

“It never comes off,” she teased. “Your toes will be pink for the next year.”

“Pink toes would definitely scare my mother,” he said.

Sophie put the top back on the bottle, then handed it to him. “For touch-ups,” she teased. “And you’ll have to get some polish remover and some-” She stopped, a distant sound catching her attention. “The plane is coming.”

Trey swung his feet off her lap and stood, then held out his hand and helped her up. Sophie pointed across the lagoon. “They’ll come in from that way,” she said.

“How do you know?”

“The wind. They’ll land into the wind.”

They stood on the step and waited. Just as Sophie had predicted, ten minutes later, they saw the plane circle twice before lining up for a landing. Sophie smiled as she recognized Gabriel Aubert’s plane from Tiare Air. Both Gabriel and Franc were excellent pilots and Sophie wasn’t surprised that her father had called on them both to lead the search. Besides, Gabe and Sophie had also dated for a time three or four years ago and Sophie suspected he still harbored a small crush.

Gabriel made a perfect landing with the amphibious plane, maneuvering so it glided slowly up toward the beach. He cut the engine and the propeller stopped. A moment later, the plane came to a halt about twenty feet from the shore. Sophie strolled down to the lagoon, Trey walking a few feet behind her.

Gabriel hopped out of the plane and waded through the water, a wide smile on his handsome face. “Sophie Madigan, you have caused a lot of worry,” he scolded, his French accent thick. “Your father was frantic when you didn’t return last night.”

Sophie threw her arms around Gabe’s neck and gave him a hug. “Thank you for coming for us. We had a problem with the plane and I had to put it down.”

“She put it down without the engine,” Trey said.

Gabe glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Really? This is true?”

“It was nothing,” Sophie said.

“It was something,” Trey contradicted. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“ Alors , let’s get you home,” Gabe said, draping his arm over Sophie’s shoulders. “You can tell me all about it on the way. Your papa is anxious to see you, Sophie.” He looked over at Trey. “And so is yours, Mr. Shelton.”

“My father?”

Gabe nodded. “He’s waiting at the Madigan hangar at Faaa. He came in on a Learjet. Nice plane. I’ve always wanted to fly one of those.” He glanced around. “Do you have your belongings?”

Trey held up his bag and Sophie nodded. “We’re ready to go.” It was obvious from Gabe’s attitude toward her that he didn’t suspect anything had gone on between Trey and her. And it was obvious from Trey’s expression that he didn’t like Gabe touching her. But Sophie wasn’t ready to explain to anyone what had happened on Suaneva.

They waded out into the water. Gabe grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the plane. Sophie crawled into the copilot’s seat, then turned to watch Trey and Gabe spin the plane around. When they were finished, Trey took the spot behind the pilot’s seat while Gabe strapped himself in. Sophie sent Trey a smile, but he didn’t return it.

She turned back to the controls, wondering what was going through Trey’s mind. Though she and Gabe had dated, they’d realized early on they were much better off as friends. And now, they were more like siblings, sharing their interest in flying and their frustrations with working for their fathers. Trey really had no cause to be jealous.

Maybe he was just sad to leave the island, she mused. Sophie sat silently as Gabe started the engine and when they were ready to take off, Sophie fastened her seat belt and glanced back at Trey. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, staring at her with an enigmatic smile.

Gabe pushed the throttle forward and the plane began to skim over the lagoon. Her father had been right. Though landing was always tricky on Suaneva, taking off required a very steep bank at the end of the lagoon to avoid the tops of the coconut palms. When they were in the air, Gabe grabbed the radio and flipped to the channel that her father used for Madigan Air.

“Madigan Air, this is Tiare Air 2269. I have both passengers on board and we’re on our way to Faaa. Estimated flying time, ninety minutes. Over.”

Sophie heard her father’s voice crackling over the distance between them. “Let me talk to my daughter. Over.”

Gabe handed her the radio and she pushed the transmit button. “Hello, Papa. I’m so sorry to have worried you.”

“You don’t know how frantic I was,” he said. She could hear it in his voice, the same emotion that she heard whenever he talked about her mother. “I didn’t know what to think. What went wrong? Over.”

“I think there was moisture in the fuel line. The engine cut out and I couldn’t get it started again. I’m pretty sure the belt on the alternator broke. That’s why the radio didn’t work. Over.”

“You made a dead-stick landing?”

“Yes, Papa. Just like you taught me.”

“Good girl, Sophie.”

She could hear how upset he was, so Sophie decided to cut the conversation short. “Papa, I’ll see you when we land. Tell Trey’s-I mean, Mr. Shelton’s father that he’s fine. I love you, Papa.”

“Love you, too, Sophie.”

She handed the radio back to Gabe, then brushed a tear from her cheek. Drawing a ragged breath, she fixed her gaze out on the horizon. Sophie had to believe everything would be fine when they got back.

But as Gabe chatted about his plans to buy a new plane for his father’s business, Sophie realized that she really wasn’t interested. She longed to hear Trey’s voice, even if he was reciting the alphabet or reading the phone book.

In fact, she was starting to seriously regret they’d ever left the island at all.

T REY KNEW IT WAS GOINGto be bad as they taxied up to the Madigan Air hangar. He could see a group of photographers hurrying toward the plane, their cameras flashing. Cursing softly, he wondered if Sophie was prepared to handle this.

He’d been wading through the celebrity cesspool his entire adult life. The press had finally begun to back off now that he was keeping a lower profile, but a story like this was too juicy to resist. Plane crash, castaway on a tropical island and a beautiful woman. All elements the tabloids could exploit.

“Look at that,” Gabe said. “ Les Nouvelles has sent out reporters. Sophie, you must be famous.”

“No,” Trey muttered. “I think they’re looking for me.”

Sophie glanced back at him, their gazes meeting for the first time since the flight began. Trey sent her a weak smile. “When you get out of the plane, go right to your father,” he said. “Lock yourself in the hangar until the press leaves. Do you understand?”

She nodded, then turned back to stare at the growing mob outside. Sophie had spent the past hour chatting with her handsome pilot while Trey had pretended to work, scribbling illegible notes on his legal pad as he tried to figure out the true nature of the relationship between Sophie and Gabe.

It had become so easy to think of Sophie as his own. But after just a few minutes off the island, Trey was forced to admit there were other people who cared about her, too. Her father. And obviously this Gabe character.

Trey had known men like him, Frenchmen, who were well schooled in the art of charm. Even with his faded T-shirt and battered cap, Trey could see through the act. This guy was smooth. And from what Trey could tell, he’d set his sights on Sophie.

“Look,” Gabe said, “there is your father.” He took Sophie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Trey bristled at the gesture and he bit back a curse. For the first time in his life, he was jealous and he didn’t like the way that felt.