as he stopped a couple of feet away, his lips stretching into a mischievous smile.
Skyler gave him a raised-eyebrow look before shifting her attention to the other three women. “Seriously, what is going on?”
Before they could answer, the guy laughed. “Don’t worry, I don’t dive in the boots.”
She glanced at him. “Just the hat?”
“Nah. I’d lose it as soon as we jumped.”
“Lucky for you, there won’t be any jumping today.”
“But we’ve already paid for it,” India said.
“Then I suggest you get your money back.” When Skyler glanced at Jesse, he had an apologetic look on his face.
“I’m sorry, but there’s a no-refund policy on the deposit unless canceled by inclement weather,” he said.
Skyler sighed heavily as she looked up into the bright blue sky devoid of clouds. You couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day, unless, of course, you were hoping to avoid plummeting to your death.
“Come on, Jesse,” the still-nameless cousin said. “You can allow the refund.”
Surprised by his siding with her, Skyler met his eyes. “Thank you.”
“Ah, come on,” Elissa said. “Everyone I know who has done this has loved it. Heck, Jesse jumped with McKenna Parks’s eighty-seven-year-old grandpa last week, and the old guy is ready to go again. Right, Jesse?”
Jesse, to his credit, looked uncomfortable being put in the middle of their disagreement. But he nodded. “He wanted to go back up as soon as we hit the ground.”
She knew Elissa was daring her, effectively taking away any nonchicken way of backing out of the dive. Skyler shifted her eyes to Jesse’s cousin. “Just how many dives have you done?”
He smiled. “Enough.”
For a moment she let herself appreciate how that smile only added to how good-looking he was. Good-looking, ha! The man was three-alarm fire, drop-dead gorgeous.
She snatched her gaze away from his. She did not need to be thinking about dropping dead, or about how Mr. No Name looked good enough to lick up one side and down the other. Her face flamed, and for once she was glad to have fair skin and red hair. It made blaming the flush on the sun totally believable.
The guy leaned close and used a faux whisper to say, “Don’t worry, beautiful. I promise you’re safe with me.”
She wondered how many times he’d used that line. Because the cowboy was a flirt and most likely a class A player.
The longer she stood there with everyone looking at her, the more she had to fight fidgeting. She closed her eyes for a moment and pulled together all the fragments of her courage. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
It was smart to face your fears, right? At the very least, she could stick her tongue out at Elissa after it was over.
“Just give me a few minutes to suit up, and I’ll give you the ride of your life,” her dive partner said.
Skyler glanced at him in time to see him wink. She’d never admit it out loud, but she felt that wink all the way to her toes. She shook her head and rolled her eyes as he walked away. When Jesse followed him, Skyler spun toward her friends.
“So, what do you think?” Verona asked.
“What do I—? This isn’t one of your matchmaking schemes, is it?”
Verona’s eyes widened. “How could it be? We didn’t find out about Jesse being sick until we got here.”
Skyler wasn’t buying it. She wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but she got the distinct feeling it was more than it appeared on the surface.
“For the record, I know you all are up to something.”
“But you’re going through with the dive, right?” India asked.
“Do I have a choice?”
“No,” Elissa said with a boatload more cheer in her voice than the occasion called for. “We’re giving you the experience of a lifetime.”
“I could have handled canoeing, maybe a wad of dollar bills and a strip club, but no, you all give me the skydiving cowboy and a potential coronary.”
“You’re in perfect health,” India said.
“And that skydiving cowboy is yum-my,” Elissa added.
“I don’t care what he looks like as long as he keeps me from going splat against the ground. And just so you know, if I die, I’m coming back and haunting all of you at the most inconvenient times.”
When skydiving cowboy came back outside, followed by his cousin, he looked more skydiver than cowboy. With the Stetson gone, she was able to see more of his short dark hair, angular jaw and dark eyes. If she’d met him somewhere else under different circumstances, he would have definitely caught her eye.
What was she doing? She had to concentrate on surviving the next hour, not lusting over this guy who probably got laid more than carpet. Reluctantly, she followed him toward the plane, her stomach churning.
“So what did they convince you to do?” she asked.
He glanced at her, genuine confusion in his expression. “Jump out of an airplane?”
She stopped walking halfway to the plane. “You met them before, right?”
“Yeah, yesterday at the café. Why?”
Skyler shook her head. “Never mind.” She glanced back in time to see her friends smiling ear to ear. “I am going to kill them.” She didn’t realize she’d said the words loud enough for anyone to hear until her diving partner laughed.
“Killing’s over too quickly,” he said. “Payback’s better.”
“You know, you’re right. And I can be very creative.”
His mouth quirked up at one edge. “That right?”
The innuendo caused her skin to tingle all over, and that only made her more determined to find the perfect payback for her friends. But first she evidently had to throw common sense to the wind and take a literal leap of faith.
The next few minutes went by in a blur as they boarded the plane, the pilot took off and they geared up for the dive. As they approached the designated point for the jump, Skyler felt as though she might throw up.
“It’s okay. Once you’re out there flying, you’ll forget all about the nerves.” He sounded so casual and relaxed, as if hurling one’s self from an airplane was no big deal.
“Somehow I doubt that.”
“Trust me.”
“Trust you? I don’t even
