He knew full well that predictable nickname grated on her very last nerve, which was why he always insisted on using it. It was like he got off on irritating her.
Well, he’d have to get in line, because her family took that spot for the next few days.
“What did you do to your eye?” she repeated.
He shrugged as he hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. O-kay. Clearly he wasn’t going to enlighten her. Fine. She wasn’t really in the mood for chitchat.
“Is Jax here?” she asked, glancing around, hoping to see her best friend’s husband ready to save her. “I need to get to Nashville on time so I can relax before the show.”
“I thought you were going to a wedding?” Cash replied, his brows drawn in.
“Show, wedding; same thing with my family. Everything is over-the-top.” She pulled in a deep breath and prayed for patience. “Is he here or not?”
“Didn’t he text you?” Cash asked. “Piper is sick, so he’s home with her.”
Jade looked toward the ceiling and attempted to count backward from one hundred. She made it to ninety-eight before turning her focus back to Cash and forcing herself not to scream. This did not bode well for her sanity today.
“No, he didn’t text me.” She shoved the tall handle on her suitcase down and crossed her arms. “I have to get to Nashville before five o’clock at the latest.”
Cash spread his taut arms wide and assaulted her with that high-voltage smile once again. “I’ll be your pilot for today. Welcome aboard.”
* * *
Oh, he knew that announcement would go over about as well as a steak dinner at a vegan convention. When Jax had called because Livie was busy in a town meeting regarding the updated airport renovations and Piper had a fever, Cash had jumped at the chance to take Jade to her destination.
There was something about her that he simply couldn’t resist. Perhaps it was how easy she was to goad, maybe it was the challenge she continually presented, or it could be the fact that nobody had intrigued him quite like her in a very long time.
She shook her head, waves of red hair shifted against her bare shoulders. “Hell no.”
Cash couldn’t suppress his smile. “You hurt me.”
“Oh, please,” she scoffed, rolling those striking green eyes. “Your ego needs to be knocked down a peg or three. Where’s Tanner? He can take me.”
“Working and keeping Haven safe.” Okay, now he really was irritated. “Do you want to get to this wedding or not? Because I’m it and you’re wasting time.”
Jade shoved her hands through the mass of red hair and closed her eyes. He wasn’t sure if she was praying or thinking of ways to drive him out of his mind even further. Regardless, he didn’t care. They may constantly rub each other the wrong way, but Jade McKenzie was drop-dead gorgeous and it was definitely no hardship spending time with her.
Besides, considering his two cousins were in committed relationships with her two best friends, Jade and Cash couldn’t exactly dodge each other.
Livie had married Jax and they were fixing up this airport once owned by Livie’s father, all while raising Jax’s daughter. Melanie and Tanner were planning a Christmas wedding and expecting a baby shortly thereafter.
They were all just one big, happy family—present company excluded, because she looked ready to shoot steam out of her ears and throttle him. So five out of the six were happy family members, so to speak.
“I’ll take your bag.”
He stepped forward but stopped cold when those emerald eyes snapped to him. Wow. Did she rehearse that look in the mirror?
“You fly me there and keep your snarky comments to yourself,” she demanded. “Got it?”
Cash reached for the handle and stepped just close enough to see the faint sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Since when did he find freckles sexy?
“No snarky comments? Then what should we talk about?” he asked, pleased when her eyes widened and her lips thinned.
With the most unladylike growl, she marched around him and headed for the Skycatcher. He and Tanner shared this beauty, but they were both saving for something just a little larger. With the airport expansion coming right along, they were going to need something that carried more than three other passengers.
Cash spun around and followed those swaying hips and that mass of red hair. She’d questioned his eye, but there was no way in hell he’d be getting into that conversation. Because as much as he loved to get under her skin, he knew she’d be humiliated if he told her what really happened. He had no intention of ever purposely hurting her, so he let her draw her own conclusions.
Cash didn’t even attempt to help her climb inside because he fully enjoyed keeping all of his limbs intact. He quickly stowed her suitcase and went to retrieve the winch. He’d just completed the preflight check when she’d burst through the door with her h