Read Online Grizzly Flying Free (Air Bear Shifters Book 2) by Sloane Meyers - Free Book Online
Authors: Sloane Meyers
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between them. Silver, oblivious, continued to color.
“The boats,” Anderson said, locking his eyes with Lexi’s. “I’ve always loved the water. The air is my first love, but if I wasn’t a pilot I’d be a fisherman.”
Lexi nodded, unable to speak. She could see the heat in Anderson’s eyes growing into a full flame, and the warmth seemed to jump directly from his eyes to the very center of her core. She racked her brain for something clever to say, but all she could manage to get out was a simple, “That’s interesting.”
Luckily, or not so luckily, depending on how you looked at it, their server arrived with their drinks and broke the moment. Silver looked up from her coloring just long enough to thank the server for her chocolate milk, content to let her father order her food for her. After the server had left with their food orders, Lexi turned back to Anderson, intending to ask him whether he had grown up in Alaska. But he spoke before she could get the question out.
“Why’d you move to Alaska?” he asked.
Lexi shrugged. “I wanted to get away from New York. And I love nature, so I thought this would be a nice change.”
“You wanted to get away because you were tired of the party scene?” Anderson asked. Lexi tensed up a bit at the question, but there was no animosity in his voice. Only genuine curiosity. She decided to take a chance on answering him.
“I didn’t party. Really. I was too busy with practices and performances. When Greg and I broke up, he fed tons of lies to the paparazzi to get them to harass me. They would take pictures of me holding a bottle of wine in a grocery store and Photoshop it into a nightclub scene. Sounds crazy, I know, but those people will go to any lengths to stir up drama.”
Anderson nodded, slowly. “I’m sorry I went off on you at the reception yesterday. I read too much into the situation. I should know better than to believe what the media says about people. Trust me. I understand all too well that people are often judged for things that aren’t exactly what they seem.”
Lexi took a sip of her cocktail and waited for Anderson to explain further, but he merely shook his head suddenly and looked up at her.
“Cheers,” he said, holding up his drink to hers. “Can we start this friendship over?”
Lexi smiled. “Sure,” she said. “Cheers.”
Silver looked up and noticed they were toasting, so she added her chocolate milk glass to the toast. The rest of the evening was filled with friendly, lighthearted conversation. Lexi learned that Anderson had indeed grown up in Alaska, and that he came from a family that had been in Alaska for generations. He told her he worked as a pilot for a tour company, and that he was very involved in the local government in his city. He briefly mentioned that Silver’s mother had died in childbirth, but he seemed unwilling to say anything more about that, or about whether he would ever date again. Lexi let it go, and didn’t push him. She loved the idea of a romance with a hardy Alaskan man, but she realized the logistics weren’t likely to work out, since Anderson lived so far away. Not to mention the fact that the brief moment where he seemed to be looking at her with desire had passed. Everything about his tone and manner now was purely friendly.
And Lexi felt okay about that. She had been so busy escaping New York and then setting up her dance studio that she hadn’t realized how much she missed just having a night out with a friend. If nothing else, at least after tonight she had one person in Alaska whom she could call friend.
Chapter Eight
“But, daddy, you said you were going to let me take more ballet classes here,” Silver’s sad voice wailed out. Frustrated, Anderson ran his fingers through his hair and tried to find the best words to appease his inconsolable six-year-old.
“I know, baby, but we haven’t been able to find a place that’s quite right. I promise I haven’t given up on the
“The boats,” Anderson said, locking his eyes with Lexi’s. “I’ve always loved the water. The air is my first love, but if I wasn’t a pilot I’d be a fisherman.”
Lexi nodded, unable to speak. She could see the heat in Anderson’s eyes growing into a full flame, and the warmth seemed to jump directly from his eyes to the very center of her core. She racked her brain for something clever to say, but all she could manage to get out was a simple, “That’s interesting.”
Luckily, or not so luckily, depending on how you looked at it, their server arrived with their drinks and broke the moment. Silver looked up from her coloring just long enough to thank the server for her chocolate milk, content to let her father order her food for her. After the server had left with their food orders, Lexi turned back to Anderson, intending to ask him whether he had grown up in Alaska. But he spoke before she could get the question out.
“Why’d you move to Alaska?” he asked.
Lexi shrugged. “I wanted to get away from New York. And I love nature, so I thought this would be a nice change.”
“You wanted to get away because you were tired of the party scene?” Anderson asked. Lexi tensed up a bit at the question, but there was no animosity in his voice. Only genuine curiosity. She decided to take a chance on answering him.
“I didn’t party. Really. I was too busy with practices and performances. When Greg and I broke up, he fed tons of lies to the paparazzi to get them to harass me. They would take pictures of me holding a bottle of wine in a grocery store and Photoshop it into a nightclub scene. Sounds crazy, I know, but those people will go to any lengths to stir up drama.”
Anderson nodded, slowly. “I’m sorry I went off on you at the reception yesterday. I read too much into the situation. I should know better than to believe what the media says about people. Trust me. I understand all too well that people are often judged for things that aren’t exactly what they seem.”
Lexi took a sip of her cocktail and waited for Anderson to explain further, but he merely shook his head suddenly and looked up at her.
“Cheers,” he said, holding up his drink to hers. “Can we start this friendship over?”
Lexi smiled. “Sure,” she said. “Cheers.”
Silver looked up and noticed they were toasting, so she added her chocolate milk glass to the toast. The rest of the evening was filled with friendly, lighthearted conversation. Lexi learned that Anderson had indeed grown up in Alaska, and that he came from a family that had been in Alaska for generations. He told her he worked as a pilot for a tour company, and that he was very involved in the local government in his city. He briefly mentioned that Silver’s mother had died in childbirth, but he seemed unwilling to say anything more about that, or about whether he would ever date again. Lexi let it go, and didn’t push him. She loved the idea of a romance with a hardy Alaskan man, but she realized the logistics weren’t likely to work out, since Anderson lived so far away. Not to mention the fact that the brief moment where he seemed to be looking at her with desire had passed. Everything about his tone and manner now was purely friendly.
And Lexi felt okay about that. She had been so busy escaping New York and then setting up her dance studio that she hadn’t realized how much she missed just having a night out with a friend. If nothing else, at least after tonight she had one person in Alaska whom she could call friend.
Chapter Eight
“But, daddy, you said you were going to let me take more ballet classes here,” Silver’s sad voice wailed out. Frustrated, Anderson ran his fingers through his hair and tried to find the best words to appease his inconsolable six-year-old.
“I know, baby, but we haven’t been able to find a place that’s quite right. I promise I haven’t given up on the
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