Unexpectedly in Love by Jean Oram

Author:Jean Oram [Oram, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781989359082
Publisher: Oram Productions

Steve’s house was different than I’d expected. Instead of mismatched furniture placed haphazardly throughout the rooms, the mismatched furniture was arranged in cozy, welcoming groups. Houseplants shared space with coasters and magazines on side tables. On the walls were photographs of glaciers, but instead of their blues and whites making the place feel cool, they somehow made it feel spacious and open.

“That’s the Mendenhall Glacier up in Alaska,” Steve said, as Obi trotted from room to room, lifting his nose to take in all that each space had to offer on an olfactory level.

“It’s nice.”

“I just about fell out of the helicopter taking that one.” He pointed to another framed, blown-up photo.

“Are you serious?” I crossed my arms uncomfortably.

He grinned. “I was getting ready to ski, and I popped my camera out from under my coat to take a quick shot just as the pilot pitched the helicopter to bank and land. I wasn’t supposed to be leaning out like that.”

“Always up for an adventure, aren’t you?”

“I guess so.” He gazed at the picture for a second longer.

“Do you sell your photos?”

He shook his head.

“What made you want to become a helicopter pilot?” I figured it was probably the rush of adrenaline. The ability to lift off and go where nobody else could. The imminent and constant pull of death or something.

“My dad used to fly. It always seemed...” He paused as though searching for words, and Obi nudged his hand, earning an absentminded ruffling of his ears.

“Romantic? Adventurous?”

“It’s a shift in perspective. You lift above everything, and suddenly all that stuff weighing you down doesn’t matter anymore. It’s down there and you aren’t.”

I was silent for a moment, unsure what to say. What could possibly weigh down Mr. Freedom and Adventure?

“What do you run from?” I asked, my voice touched with uncertainty.

He gave me a funny look. “It’s all still there when you land.”

“Like what?” He was disrupting that entrenched view I had of him as someone with an easy-to-discard adventure addiction. Not some deep, wounded man with motivations that might possibly make my heart ache.

“The things you want but can’t have.”

We were staring at each other, and I was afraid to maintain the eye contact in case I began to read the subtext in his gaze, his words. This wasn’t the Steve I knew, and I was afraid to confirm the hunch that was developing within me, blaring like a horn, disturbing my thoughts. It felt as though he was giving me a clue to something I wasn’t sure I wanted to unearth, because knowing might mean change. Changing my thoughts and feelings.

I was the first to look away. “I heard you have food.”

He hesitated for a second, then led me to the kitchen, which was clean and tidy, with everything in its place. Just like Calvin’s kitchen. Although, granted, Calvin didn’t have much in his house beyond the necessities and what he did had been chosen for its masculine appeal. I was currently in a home.

Steve got out plates and opened the boxes of Chinese takeout on the counter.

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