“Oh gosh, I’m not sure if I can do that,” she says brightly. “See, this is a full flight. Unless another passenger is willing to trade seats, I’m afraid that can’t happen. We’re about to take off, but if you want, I can ask around once we’re in the air.”

Deflated, I nod and tell her that would be great. After I thank her, she walks away, leaving Callum and me in our bubble of tension.

He finally twists his head to me. A hint of amusement rests behind his stare. “Is a screaming toddler or an obnoxiously chatty seatmate really preferable to me?” he says.

“Seeing as neither one is threatening to put me out of business like you are, I’d welcome them with open arms.”

I lean my head back and close my eyes, steeling myself for whatever comeback Callum has. But there’s no reply. Only the hum of the engines gearing up as we speed down the runway.

We glide into the air, and I wait. For a snide remark, a scoff, anything to signal Callum’s distaste for me. Still nothing. When I twist my head to look at him, he’s staring at the seat ahead of him again. But his face isn’t hard or smug anymore. Rather, something sorrowful taints his otherwise neutral expression. As we cut through the sky, I wonder what he’s thinking.

A minute later, he turns to me. “Can we try something?”

“What do you mean?”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Look, I know . . . Can we just call a truce for this flight? No talk about work or the festival or anything else that’s transpired between us.”

Red ignites his cheeks when he looks at me. For a moment, I’m puzzled at his sudden blushing, but then the crystal clear image of him on Little Beach in his birthday suit flashes to the front of my mind. Oh right. I’ve seen him naked. Deliciously, deliciously naked. I tuck away the image. He probably doesn’t want to talk about that either.

“Like a time-out?” I ask.

“Yes. Exactly.”

I rub my face as the heat makes its way up my neck, my gaze falling to my lap. “I can agree to that.”

“Shake on it?” He holds his hand out to me. “We’ll be pleasant to each other for the rest of this flight?”

I clasp his hand in mine and nod. A phantom spark identical to the one that hit me the first time we shook hands glides through me. And then I remember just how quickly Callum let go of me the day we made our Maui Food Festival wager, like I was on fire. Like he couldn’t bear to spend an extra second touching my skin.

This time, I’m the one who lets go first. “Deal.”

•   •   •