Slow and sweet. “I appreciate your flying Serena to Seattle.”
Of course she did, especially with his father picking up all the associated flight and fuel costs.
“Kane’s happy to do it,” Charlie answered. “Aren’t you, son?”
Kane nodded. He would be very happy once this trip was behind him and he’d be flying away for good.
“Well, we’d better get busy then.” Belle opened the van doors and pulled out a box. “We have boxes to load. Brochures, favor samples and portfolios. Plus linens, flower arrangements, a cake and gowns.”
Belle’s eagerness to help surprised Kane. “O-kay.”
“You still have to meet Serena James, our wedding dress designer,” Belle said. “She’s finishing up a phone call. No doubt talking to Rupert.”
Kane bit. “Rupert?”
“Her boyfriend.” Belle’s ever present smile widened. “The two are practically engaged.”
So much for a little romance in Seattle. Ring on the finger or not, Kane didn’t mess around with another man’s girl.
The passenger door opened. He focused on the woman exiting the van. She was, in a word, stunning. Long blond bangs fell over her forehead, but her hair didn’t touch the collar of the jacket in the back. The short cut looked hip and trendy, just like the woman herself.
She wasn’t tall, five-six if he was being generous and subtracted the heels on her brown leather boots. Even with her long wool coat, he could tell she had curves in all the right places.
He liked what he saw. She was exactly his type. Kane blew out a puff of breath that hung in the cold air. Old type, he corrected with a frown. He’d given up on blondes.
Her hair color coupled with the way she dressed reminded him of a former girlfriend, Amber Wallersby, who had been sexy as hell, but also a spoiled, pampered princess. She’d wanted him to stop flying his grandfather around on his private jet and take a boring desk job at one of her father’s companies so he could pamper her in the manner to which she’d become accustomed. Kane had almost agreed, almost been taken in, until he’d seen that she might have been gorgeous on the outside, but was all show and zero substance on the inside.
Was Serena James the same?
Not that he was in any position to find out. Or care. Still they would be spending several hours flying west together. No sense starting off on the wrong foot.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m your pilot. Kane.”
Serena didn’t extend her hand. She removed her sunglasses and glanced up at him. Clear, sharp eyes met his. He hadn’t expected such directness or such stunning blue eyes.
“You’re Kane Wiley?” Serena sounded surprised, almost as if she disapproved. “Charlie’s son?”
“In the flesh.”
“Do you see a family resemblance?” Charlie asked.
She glanced between the two men. “Not really.”
“Oh, I do,” Belle said. “Like father, like son. Both of you are quite handsome.”
Charlie beamed.
Kane rocked back on his heels. He wasn’t anything like his father. He didn’t need a woman in his life—not on a permanent basis, anyway. And unlike his father, Kane’s loyalty was hard to earn and his disapproval slow to fade.
“The eyes are the same,” Serena conceded. “Maybe the chins, too.”
The way she studied him made Kane uncomfortable. “We’re running late. Let’s get your stuff on board.”
Serena glanced at Belle.
“Is something wrong, darlin’?” the woman asked. “Did you get a chance to say goodbye to Rupert?”
“Um, no.”
Pink tinged Serena’s cheeks.
Interesting. Kane wouldn’t have thought her the blushing type. She seemed too cool and collected, but maybe leaving her “practically a fiancé” had rattled her.
“Would you mind if the gowns went in the cabin, Mr. Wiley?” she asked.
“It’s Kane, and no, I don’t mind.”
The relief in her eyes was almost palpable. “I’ll put them in the cabin.”
“I’ll load them.”
“I don’t mind doing it,” she said.
“That’s okay. I’d rather do it myself.”
Serena eyed him warily. He waited for her to say something to challenge him. He was surprised when she didn’t.
“You can put the food in the galley if you want,” he offered. “It’s in a box near the door.”
“Fine.”
Not fine if the tightness around her mouth was anything to go by. At least she didn’t pout like Amber. Though he’d bet Serena could work wonders with that full bottom lip of hers.
As he removed several long, bulky white dress bags from the van, he heard his father.
“Kane prefers doing things on his own,” Charlie explained.
“So does Serena,” Belle added. “She likes being in control.”
“Then the two of them should get along fine.”
Nope, Kane realized. The exact opposite. Flying with two captains in the cockpit was a recipe for disaster because neither wanted to give up control. And that meant one thing. It was going to be a really long flight to Seattle and back.
Serena had a checklist for her Mr. Right: polite, attentive, articulate, smartly tailored. All qualities her parents had taught her to value. All qualities Rupert had possessed in spades.
All qualities Kane Wiley lacked.
She unfastened her seat belt and moved back to where he’d secured the gowns.
What had Belle gotten her into?
Serena checked each of the dress bags. She repositioned three of them. Not much, but she felt better taking control. That is, taking care of her dresses. That was her job even if Kane didn’t seem to realize that.
The man was arrogant and rude, the polar opposite of his kind and generous father, who epitomized a true gentleman. If not for the price of the flight—free, thanks to Charlie—and the ability to personally oversee the transport of the gowns, Serena would have found another way to Seattle. But any extra money The Wedding Belles had was going into a fund to pay for their cherished assistant, Julie’s, wedding next June. They couldn’t afford to be too choosy after losing money on the Vandiver cancellation and the negative publicity that had followed.
