Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: Romance
Year: 2014
SUMMARY
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn’t think it’s love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.
Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.
They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.
Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.
Chapter one
TATE
‘‘Somebody stabbed you in the neck, young lady.’‘
My eyes widen, and I slowly turn toward the elderly gentleman standing at my side. He presses the up button on the elevator and faces me. He smiles and points to my neck.
‘‘Your birthmark,’‘ he says.
My hand instinctively goes up to my neck, and I touch the dime-sized mark just below my ear.
‘‘My grandfather used to say the placement of a birthmark was the story of how a person lost the battle in their past life. I guess you got stabbed in the neck. Bet it was a quick death, though.’‘
I smile, but I can’t tell if I should be afraid or entertained. Despite his somewhat morbid opening conversation, he can’t be that dangerous. His curved posture and shaky stance give away that he isn’t a day less than eighty years old. He takes a few slow steps toward one of two velvet red chairs that are positioned against the wall next to the elevator. He grunts as he sinks into the chair and then looks up at me again.
‘‘You going up to floor eighteen?’‘
My eyes narrow as I process his question. He somehow knows what floor I’m going to, even though this is the first time I’ve ever set foot in this apartment complex, and it’s definitely the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on this man.
‘‘Yes, sir,’‘ I say cautiously. ‘‘Do you work here?’‘
‘‘I do indeed.’‘
He nods his head toward the elevator, and my eyes move to the illuminated numbers overhead. Eleven floors to go before it arrives. I pray it gets here quickly.
‘‘I push the button for the elevator,’‘ he says. ‘‘I don’t think there’s an official title for my position, but I like to refer to myself as a flight captain, considering I do send people as high as twenty stories up in the air.’‘
I smile at his words, since my brother and father are both pilots. ‘‘How long have you been flight captain of this elevator?’‘ I ask as I wait. I swear this is the slowest damn elevator I’ve ever encountered.