Crazy for Cole by Willoughby Kate

Author:Willoughby, Kate
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kiwi Press
Published: 2017-10-06T04:00:00+00:00

9

“Are you sure we can’t drive?” Fedora asked.

Cole glanced at her as they got into his car to go to the airport. “To Seattle? Not if you want to get there in time for the competition. Why? Scared of flying?”

“I wouldn’t say scared. More like…nervous. It’s the takeoffs and landings that get me. Once we’re at cruising altitude, as long as there’s no turbulence, I’m fine. It’s stupid, but I read once that most plane crashes happen during takeoffs and landings, so ever since then, I’ve been anxious when I fly.”

“It’s not stupid,” he said. “I, ah, actually feel the same way.”

“You?” She looked at him, aghast. “Don’t pro hockey players fly all the time?”

“Half our games were on the road, yes, but hello, I’m on a plane teaming with macho men who, if they found out you were a nervous flier, they’d tease until you died.”

“Do Slater and Flynn know?”

He thought about it. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

The day was cloudy, but the marine layer would burn off later. Too bad they wouldn’t be there to see it. He’d looked at the weather and they were trading Southern California sun for full on rain. Which meant the plane would be touching down on wet tarmac.

He didn’t mention this to Fedora.

On the plane, she almost squealed when she found out they had first class seats.

“It’s a write off,” he said with a wave of his hand. “This way we can get a drink to calm our nerves.”

As they waited for clearance from the tower and for the rest of the passengers to board—the peasants, Fedora joked—Cole tried to distract her by reviewing the ingredients she needed for her dish. Together with Hardy, they’d decided on chicken wings marinated in soy sauce, ginger, tequila, jalapeno and then deep-fried, served with an achiote and avocado dipping sauce. He, Slater, Flynn and Hardy had tasted the wings and the Wrap Around Smoked Porter together and were, all four, blown away. Roasty and a little sweet, the Wrap Around really complemented the ginger and the heat, and the slight smoke enhanced the earthiness of the achiote.

“Cole, I’m going to buy everything I need and there’s not that much. Less than a dozen ingredients. It’ll be a piece of cake. Assuming all the chefs will cook without incident, the only thing in question is whether the other pairings are better than what we’ve got planned. What do you think our chances are?”

“I have no idea. I’ve never done this before. Oh, shit, here we go.”

The pilot had started accelerating and Cole felt his body press into the seat. He gritted his teeth as his hand found Fedora’s.

“We’re gonna be fine,” he said with a shaky smile. “Do you want to know what I used to do to get my mind off plane crashes? I used to put on noise-cancelling headphones and play the soundtrack from The Sound of Music. Listening to that annoyed me so much, it usually distracted me.”

“You hate the The

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