Callie
Four days before Christmas
“And if you look over there—”
The rest of Mason’s words were drowned out in my screech as the seat underneath me lurched to the side.
“Doing okay over there?” Mason’s normally rich baritone sounded slightly tinny through the heavy headphones over my ears.
Willing myself to relax my muscles, I nodded. “You know, most people walk to see Christmas lights.”
I glanced at the man sitting next to me. Even in the dark, I could see the gleam in his eyes. “We’re going to do some of that later, but you’ve got to admit, you can see more from a helicopter.”
I nearly rolled my eyes in response. Once we’d left my place—which was only after I grilled the sitter he’d found for twenty minutes—I thought he’d been joking when he said we were going to have a sleigh’s-eye view of the Christmas lights.
Mason reached over and touched the sleeve of my coat, pointing at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the top floor of a building. In spite of myself, I leaned closer to the window, trying to take it all in. “It’s like a winter wonderland.” The entire floor was lit with sparkling lights outlining what looked to be an entire little village—or maybe it was supposed to be the North Pole? Whatever it was, there were benches and paths and dozens of Christmas trees. “Is that a carousel in the middle?”
Though he was strapped into his seat, he leaned a little closer to look where I was pointing. “I think so.”
“How’d you know about this place?”
“The building belongs to a media company I worked with last year.”
“How’d you know how to improve a media company?” I didn’t completely understand what he did, but what I’d seen online sounded pretty damn impressive.
Mason laughed, the sound echoing through the headset. “That’s my job.”
“But how can you know what’s right for so many different kinds of companies?” Already, he’d pointed out a half-dozen corporations he’d worked with ranging from a top investment firm to a software engineering firm.
“I know the principles of management. Most companies operate the same way no matter what they produce. I help them become more efficient at doing what they do best.”
It sounded worlds away from my jobs, but then again, we were flying over skyscrapers in Chicago, so we pretty much were worlds away from my daily life. In my world, one didn’t arrange for a helicopter tour with only one day’s notice. Or at all. “Do you do this often?”
“What?”
“Fly in helicopters.”
“When necessary,” he said with a shrug. “Which isn’t too often. But one of my clients owns a small private airport, and he pulled a few strings when I told him what I needed.
Wow. I hadn’t even been able to get an hour off in the afternoon to attend the holiday celebration at Parker’s school last week, but Mason could apparently requisition a helicopter whenever he felt like it.
“Look on our right,” he said.
On Mason’s side was a rooftop terrace filled with Christmas trees, each one lit up with different color lights. “Beautiful.”
It really was. Even without the Christmas lights, the skyline was gorgeous at night. I’d never seen the city from up above, and it was enchanting. But it was made more so by Mason’s knowledge of things probably ninety-nine percent of the population never got to see.
The helicopter tilted as it turned, and this time, I managed not to shriek. The river was below us, and I could see the bridges that crossed it at regular intervals. On our right was the vast swath of darkness that was Lake Michigan, so I knew we were going north. “Where are we headed?” There were still tall buildings around, but not as many as we left the Loop.
“Going to see a few neighborhoods before we land.”
There were fewer Christmas scenes on the streets below, but the normal city lights and the bird’s-eye view was fascinating enough. I saw Wrigley Field, but after that, I didn’t see many landmarks. I wasn’t very familiar with the area of north of downtown plus everything looked different from up here.
Soon, we were passing over neighborhoods peppered with decorated houses in between dark trees. Then the displays got more extravagant as the houses got bigger and bigger.
“Where are we?” The houses below us could more properly be described as mansions, and most were decked out with incredible style.
“Evanston,” Mason answered.
“Wow.” We passed over a house that seemed to have a working train meandering through an acre of lit-up trees, reindeer, and snowmen. Another house had a yard as big as a park and every single tree—real ones, not a temporary Christmas one—was wrapped in bright lights.
Another mansion had been somehow made up to look as if it were a gingerbread house. Every window, door, and every section of the roof and walls was outlined in lights. I wished Parker were here to see, though at the same time, I knew there was no way I’d let him ride in a helicopter. I wasn’t even sure it was safe for me, but Mason was right—it did provide incredible views.
“Look at this one,” Mason said. We were hovering above a large house on a corner plot that was done up entirely in twinkling gold lights. The curved drive was outlined and ropes of lights looped around the tall fence that surrounded the property. Every tree was wrapped in layers of gold lights, while other strands formed golden wreaths, stars, and presents on the roof.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed.
“It’s my mother’s house.”
My jaw dropped. “Really? It’s so gorgeous.”
Even in the dark, I could see the pride on his face. “Mom loves Christmas. She goes all out.”
“The lights, yes, but I meant the whole place.” The helicopter circled, and I could see the back of the house. Multiple decks flanked a large pool, and even more lights lit up a six-sided roof that I assumed was a gazebo. “I can’t even imagine what it must’ve been like growing up there. There are so many trees it’s practically a park. Did you like to climb trees you were a boy? Parker loves to.”
“Yeah, I used to climb trees.” Mason’s voice sounded a bit distant, but that wasn’t surprising given how it was filtered through the headsets.
The helicopter lurched again, but I was more used to its motions now as we headed back to the city. My mind couldn’t quite get past the house Mason had shown me. From the research I’d done online, I’d known he was incredibly successful and rich, but I hadn’t known he’d come from such a luxurious background. We really did live in different worlds.
When the helicopter settled on a rooftop landing site back in the city, my hands were shaky as I unstrapped the restraints. Mason jumped down first and then held his hand out to me. When I hopped out, I practically crashed into him—the ground still seemed to be moving underneath me.
Mason wrapped strong arms around me and steadied me. “Give yourself a second to get your balance.” I took a second and more. Being so close to a man like him was as much of a novelty as the helicopter ride. Taking a deep breath, I took in the crisp night air and a faint scent of some kind of spice that seemed to come from his skin. Aftershave? Body wash? Whatever it was, it was a smell that warmed and thrilled me.