Her gaze grew misty. “Thank you. I feel the same.”
He smiled. “You’d do anything for you?”
She laughed. “No, you goof. I’d do anything for you. Have you decided what you want to do?”
At the end of January, he’d gone through with the eye surgery, and it was a success. He had 20/40 vision in his left eye now, which was sufficient for a Navy aviator.
“Yes, and I hope you don’t mind, but I sort of started the ball rolling.” His chest squeezed, hoping she wouldn’t be mad. She’d been so busy with preparations for the opening that he hadn’t wanted to add anything else to her plate.
Her eyes rounded, but she didn’t push away, so he took that as a good sign. “What direction is this ball taking?”
He grinned. “A local one.”
“Oh? So, no Navy?” She held his gaze with no relief or disappointment showing in her eyes.
Ty nodded.
Now she frowned. “Are you sure? I know you loved being an aviator. I hope you aren’t choosing me over flying, because you’ll only end up resenting me. I don’t want that for you or us.”
He lifted a hand to cup her face. “Piper, I’d choose you over everything, but my decision not to pursue the Navy again had more to do with me than you. I didn’t want to be away at sea for months at a time, because that meant months away from you. Yeah, there are also base assignments but in this world, there are also unexpected deployments. That was all exhilarating in the past, but not what I seek and enjoy now. You are my exhilaration. You are my life. I love you, Piper.”
She inhaled, and the tears she’d blinked away before returned to spill down her face. “I love you too, Ty. So much.”
A thrill like only Piper could create shot through Ty, upping his pulse and spreading warmth through his chest. Still cupping her face, he leaned in and brushed his lips to hers, first one corner, then the other, before covering her mouth with his. He kissed her slow and thoroughly, savoring the moment, tasting hope and the salt of her tears as she clung to him and returned the kiss.
When he drew back, he stared into a pair of gorgeous gray eyes full of hope and love, and he knew he’d made the rightdecision. There was no way he could leave this woman, not even for his love for the sky.
But he didn’t actually have to.
“I have two surprises for you,” he said, releasing her to take her hand and lead her to the couch where he removed a half-emptied box and two pillows.
“You do? What?” She settled onto the cushion and smiled.
“I told Kade I’d pick up ten rescues from Phoenix on Sunday. Will you come with me?”
“Of course, but I’m assuming it’ll take a couple of days to drive there to rescue them and then come back. I’ll have to find someone to at least be here to answer phones. Mac’s aunt said she’d be happy to help in any way. I suppose I can ask her.”
He shook his head and smiled. “No need. We’ll be back on Sunday.”
She blinked. “But aren’t we leaving Sunday?”
“Yes.”
“Then how…” She paused then her eyes widened. “Are we flying?”
He grinned. “Yes, in the plane I own.”
His vision was now sufficient for him to use his pilot’s license again.
“Own?”
“Yes, I purchased a very special kind of plane with a very special name. A Piper.”
It had drained most of his savings, but it was well worth it.
The waterworks started again. She blinked and brushed the tears from her face. “A Piper Cub?”
“No.” He reached out to wipe away a tear she’d missed. “It’s a bigger one. It has more room for animal crates.”
