His Kind of Trouble by Samantha Hunter

hold back. You have that way about you. Like this—I asked you if you wanted to fly, and you lit up and jumped right in. I like that,” he said.
    Ana tried not to show how pleased she was by his words. She didn’t want, or need, any man’s approval, but his words filled her with pleasure nonetheless. She wondered what other adventures, and what other pleasures, Chance Berringer could offer.
    “My childhood was, in some ways, very traditional, but the Maya, and my family, never believed in holding children back. We were all allowed to explore the jungles, warned of the dangers, but allowed to find our own adventures from the time we were small.”
    “I read in your file that you have a sister. Are you close?”
    “We always were, but sadly, I don’t see her very often now. She studied to be a nurse and then started a local nonprofit that helps small villages build clinics for their people.”
    “That’s pretty admirable,” Chance said. “What’s her name?”
    “Lucia. She is a few years older than me.” Ana sighed, taking a moment to follow Chance’s instructions to bank the plane slightly left—lurching a bit, making them both laugh—and then leveling out even lower. The expanse of blue water shortened as the jungles appeared before them. They would head inland to the airport, over the treetops.
    Ana thought that as soon as they were over land she would hand over the controls to Chance.
    “She was always helping someone or bringing home strays. Lucia, I mean. Always so focused. I admire her and wish I was more like her.”
    “What do you mean? You’re hardly a slacker.”
    Ana smiled. “I work hard, and I try to do what I can, but I often wonder how much meaning my work has in the world. Lucia helps to save lives. I...cook. And yell at people on television,” she said with a rueful laugh.
    “Hardly that. Your work has really helped your village and many others in Mexico. It was also in your file, but it’s been in the news, in your interviews. Though I suppose I know what you mean. My brothers are all pretty accomplished, and now they are all getting married, moving on with their lives.”
    “And you are not?” Ana asked, curious.
    “I don’t want to,” Chance answered with a grin. “I like my life as it is and make no apologies for that.”
    Ana understood. She lived the same way.
    “I think maybe you should take the controls now,” Ana said as the trees spread out below them. She knew from what she’d heard how complicated flying over the jungles could be, with the heat that rose up, the sudden storms. But she felt safe with Chance flying, watching him adjust the controls and altitude effortlessly, as if he were part of the plane itself. While he was completely absorbed in what he was doing, talking to the airport, she was free to study him.
    He had great hands.
    She wanted to know what they would feel like on her skin, for real, not in her dreams. Ana thought that was a very real possibility.
    Perhaps...once she had cleared up her engagement to Marco, among other things, she and Chance could explore their options.
    The possibility distracted her for the rest of the trip.
    * * *
    C HANCE LANDED IN M EXICO a much more hopeful man than he had been back in the States. Here, the sun was shining, the breeze was warm. There was friendly chatter and other pleasant sounds everywhere around them as they made their way through the airport.
    He had barely held back from hauling Ana into his arms and kissing the life out of her when she had accepted his invitation to fly the plane. She’d been so...excited. Her eyes had sparkled with adventure, the air crackling between them. He’d never experienced anything quite like it with any woman.
    He’d actually never taken a woman up in his plane before, let alone offered to let them fly it. While taking Ana in the plane had been a necessity of protecting her, offering to let her fly had been spontaneous. A test of sorts, perhaps.
    Most of the women he knew