“Go get your shoes,” Megan instructed.

As Mason raced back into the living room, Megan stood up. “You really don’t have to do this.”

“Honestly, I don’t mind. We can go have lunch with Mason, and then we can start our date. I’m sure he’ll be worn out and ready for a nap when we get back, right?”

“Yes, he will.”

“Good. Then he won’t have any reason to miss you if he’s asleep.”

She smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you. I really mean that.”

“You’re welcome.” He reached out and brushed her cheek. When he started to lean in to kiss her, Mason ran back into the foyer with his shoes. Pesh quickly jerked back.

To combat the awkwardness, Megan busied herself with getting Mason’s shoes on. When she finished, Mason bounded over to Pesh and grabbed his hand. “Go! Go!”

Pesh laughed at Mason’s enthusiasm. He held his other hand out for Megan. She slid her hand into his and then they started to the car.

* * *

As Megan walked through the doors of their local Chuck E. Cheese, she recoiled slightly at both the ear- splintering noise and the stomach-turning smells. She also fought her embarrassment at the looks she and Pesh were getting for their more formal outfits. “I think we’re a little overdressed,” she said.

He held up his index finger and thumb before pinching them close together. “Just a little bit.”

Tugging on Pesh’s hand, Mason dragged him over to the toddler area of games. Megan quickly dug in her purse for some money for tickets. After she bought them, she went over to Pesh. “I’ll go grab us some pizza.” She waved the tickets at him. “Once these are gone, he’s done.”

“I don’t mind getting him more.”

She shook her head. “Trust me. He’s done.”

“Okay then,” he replied good-naturedly.

Megan felt completely at ease leaving Pesh to watch Mason. She got them a couple of slices of Mason’s favorite, pepperoni, along with some drinks and then made her way over to a table close to the toddler area. When she caught Pesh’s eye, she waved them over. After several tense moments, he was finally able to convince Mason to leave the play area to come and eat.

As Mason bounced around in his seat, Megan knew she would be doing good to get four bites of pizza down him before he was raring to go play again. She also had a fear that she, Pesh, or the both of them were going to be wearing tomato sauce before it was all said and done.

“This place is very interesting,” Pesh remarked, as he gazed around.

Megan laughed. “Have you never had the pleasure?”

“Sadly no. My brother, Arjan’s, and his children live in Florida, so I’ve really never had a reason to come.”

“You’ve dodged a bullet there. That’s for sure.”

He smiled before taking a bite of his pizza. His expression turned so sour that Megan couldn’t help giggling. “This is terrible,” he muttered.

“I should have warned you not to bother eating. It only seems appetizing to small children who are hyped up on adrenaline.”

He took a long swig from his Coke and swished the liquid around like he was trying to rid himself of the taste. When he caught Mason looking at him, he put on a fake smile. “Mmm, that’s good pizza. You better eat yours before I do.”

“Nice save,” she murmured.

He winked at her as he threw his napkin on his plate. She couldn’t believe when her heart fluttered at his gesture. It was almost impossible to believe that she could be getting feelings for him in the middle of Chuck E. Cheese.

“Done. Go play,” Mason announced, bringing her out of her thoughts.

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. You need to eat more.”

Mason scowled at her before grabbing another bite and shoveling it into his mouth. He managed to clean his plate with a little coaxing from Pesh. Then the two of them went back over to the play area. As Megan watched them, the small ache in her chest began to grow. Pesh was completely hands on, hoisting Mason up where he could reach things and then catching him when he came off the slide. He seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time with Mason. Some guys would have played with Mason only to get on her good side. But Pesh didn’t have an agenda when it came to her, unless it was to have her embrace the idea of a relationship with him.

When the last ticket was spent, she rose off her chair. “Okay, time to go.”

Mason’s face scrunched up, and he looked like at any minute he might throw a tantrum to stay. But Pesh took his hand. “We’ll come back another time.”

His reply seemed to pacify Mason, and he happily slung his and Pesh’s arm back and forth as they walked to the car. When they got buckled up, Megan turned back to Mason. “What do you say to Pesh for bringing you?”

“Tank you, Esh,” Mason said.

His words sent a broad grin stretching across Pesh’s face. “You’re welcome, buddy. I had a good time.”

When he glanced over at Megan, she gave him a genuine smile. “I had a good time, too.”

Taking one of his hands off the steering wheel, he reached over to take her hand in his. While the gesture was a little too lovey-dovey for her liking, she didn’t argue with him. Instead, she just enjoyed his touch.

* * *

Once they had deposited a sleepy Mason back home at Megan’s, they abandoned her SUV and gotten into Pesh’s Jaguar. “So where exactly are we going?” Megan asked, as she buckled her seat belt.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Seriously? You’re still playing coy about it?”

“For just a little while longer.”

She shifted in her seat where she could look at him better. “Can I try to guess?”

“I suppose. I’m not sure I’d tell you even if you guess,” he teased.

“Are we going to Atlanta?”

He cut his gaze from the road over to her. “Have patience.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she huffed, “I don’t have patience for games.”

“Okay, I’ll give you a little hint. Actually, it’s more of a question than it is a hint.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have a fear of heights?”

She snorted. “No, I don’t. Why?”

He gave her a sly grin. “I told you. It’s a hint.”

“I went skydiving when I turned twenty-one, so I’m totally fine with heights. Of course, I seriously doubt we’re going sky diving in these clothes.”

“No, we’re not.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Please tell me it’s not box seats at the opera or something like that.”

His face fell. “You don’t like the opera?”

“Never been and never want to.”

Pesh appeared almost personally insulted. “I’m going to have to change your mind on that one.”

“Why am I not surprised you like opera?”

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”

“A bunch of screeching men and women singing in a language I don’t understand? Not my idea of a good time.”

“But there is such love and passion in their delivery,” he argued.

“Um, I’m just going to have to agree to disagree with you.”

“For now at least,” he said, with a wink.

When the car started slowing down, Megan peered out the windshield before turning to Pesh. “We’re at McCollum?”

“Yes.”

“You’re taking me flying?”

He smiled. “Yes, I am.”

Even though she had known he had a plane from how he’d helped get Aidan to Noah’s delivery, she couldn’t believe their date included something as unique as flying.

“So let me get this straight. I’m dressed like this,” she did a little hand motion over her dress, “to go flying?”

An amused look twinkled in his dark eyes. “You have absolutely no patience, do you?”

“No, I don’t.”

As he put the car in park outside the hanger, he turned to her. “By your lack of being able to withhold gratification, I’m assuming you’ve never partaken in any Tantric sex?”

She couldn’t stop her mouth from dropping to her chest. “W-What?” she stammered.

Turning in his seat, he pinned her with a hard stare. “Have I managed to shock you again?”

Unable to speak, she merely bobbed her head. Pesh only chuckled at her response. “Come on. Let’s get going.”

Still in shock, she remained rooted to her seat. When he came around to open her door, she peered up at him. “Tantric sex? Like Sting, Trudie Styler, and Tantric sex?”

“Yes, I suppose so,” he replied, as he offered her his hand. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t have taken it, but at the declaration that Pesh was actually into something outside the sexual norms, she was too floored to argue with him. “I didn’t think you’d like anything…kinky.”

Pesh’s dark eyes widened. “Tantric isn’t kinky. It’s about connecting with your lover on a more intimate level. It’s about breathing them in and truly being one.”

“So it’s not about marathon sex that lasts for days?”

He chuckled. “You’ve gotten the more salacious side confused with what it actually is.”

Megan pursed her lips at him as her mind whirled with the possibilities. After all, if Tantric sex with Pesh was anywhere as good as his efforts in going down on her, she was one very lucky lady. “I guess you’ll just have to educate me.”

They were interrupted by an air traffic controller with a headset. “Hey, Dr. Nadeen, how goes it?”

“Good. Thank you. Everything ready to go, Lewis?” Pesh asked, as he pumped the man’s hand.

“Gassed up and checked out. We just need your flight plan.”

Pesh’s gaze went to Megan before he said, “We’ll be flying into Savannah/Hilton Head airport.”

“Great. Thanks,” Lewis replied, before he started back inside the hanger.

“You’re taking me to Savannah?” she asked.

“For dinner and dancing. I had originally intended on more, but we got a later start.”

“This is crazy. You’re crazy.”

He gave her a puzzled look. “You don’t like Savannah?”

“No, I love it. I just meant taking me four hours away for dinner.”

“It’s not that long by plane.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she tilted her head at him. “You couldn’t just take me somewhere fancy in Atlanta? You have to fly me in your private plane to another city?”

He shrugged. “Why not?”

Although it was probably unattractive, she couldn’t help snorting with contempt. “I’m probably going to sound a little like the line from Pretty Woman when she says she appreciates the seduction scene, but she’s a sure thing.” She patted her chest. “I am a sure thing. You don’t have to go to all this trouble.”

His dark eyes narrowed. “Your way of thinking is precisely why I’m doing what I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve only been with men who wanted a sure thing—men who didn’t even bother trying to imagine a future with you past when they came at the end of the night.” She sucked in a breath at his words. With his expression softening, he closed the gap between them. “While you may only want sex from me, I want far more from you. I want your time, but I also want you to understand that you’re worthy of something special. And if it takes planes and fancy meals to prove it to you, then I’m going to do it.”

After his argument, Megan sat frozen in dumbfounded silence. How was it possible that he knew so much about her? He was right in the fact that she settled for being the ‘sure thing’ for the guys she dated in the past. She knew she didn’t want to make those mistakes again, so why shouldn’t she let him try to wine and dine her? “Fine. Take me to Savannah.”

He opened the passenger side door. “Here you go. Make sure you buckle your seat belt.”

She nodded before she dipped inside the plane. Pesh waited for her to adjust her dress before he closed the door. As he walked around the front of the plane, she got busy finding the seat belt and buckling up. Once he climbed inside, he handed her a headset. “This will help with the cabin noise.”

“It’s going to mess my hair up,” she complained.

He laughed. “I never took you as the type of woman who worried about her hair.”

She grinned as she eased the headset on. “Now you know. I worry about my hair, and you get your freak on in the bedroom.”

He rolled his eyes at her and turned in his seat. After placing his headset on, he started flipping switches and turning knobs. The propeller on the front of the plane started whirling.

“So what kind of plane is this?” she asked over the noise.

Holding up a finger, he spoke into the mic on the headset. “Ground to Tower, this is Cessna 172 requesting to taxi for takeoff.”

Suddenly the sound of the tower came over her headset. “Clearance for taxi and takeoff, Cessna 172.”