AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Right.” Xander regained his polite smile, once again looking eerily like Niko, and they continued to the jet. On the steps leading into the plane, they paused and turned back to the crowd for a few posed photos. Luckily, Xander seemed to know the poses she and Niko had rehearsed, because it went smoothly. Finally, they stepped into the plane, and the flight attendant closed the doors behind them.
Immediately, Maisy dropped Xander’s hand like it was a snake and stalked to one of the chairs. She sank into it and buckled the belt over her wedding dress, which now felt silly and too bulky instead of magical and royal as it had before.
“Maisy.” Xander hurried across the plane and sat in the seat across the aisle from her. “I am so sorry. I really had no idea the marriage would be legally binding or that things would turn out this way.”
“Sir, please buckle your seat belt,” the attendant said.
“Right, sorry.” Xander quickly pulled his belt across his lap. “Maisy, please. I know you’re furious, and you have every right to be, but?—”
“I don’t want to hear this.” Maisy shook her head. “Not right now. It’s enough that I have to spend the next… I don’t know how long… with you. I don’t want to hear your excuses, too.”
“I understand.” Xander sat back in his seat. “Although we probably will have to talk at some point.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” To underscore her point, Maisy withdrew the small bag she’d packed for the flight. From it, she took her headphones, which she put into her ears. Then, she pressed play on the first song that came up on her phone. Immediately, the sweet tones of one of her favorite love songs began, drowning out everything else. For good measure, Maisy also pulled out a magazine and opened it on her lap.
Was it childish and petty to give Xander the silent treatment? Probably. But it sure felt good to ignore him. Maybe later she’d be ready to talk. Maybe not. But Maisy knew that right now she deserved a few hours of peace and quiet.
As the plane shot down the runway and lifted lightly into the air, Maisy gazed out the window at the Aenicean islands below. The irony of flying from one island nation to another for her honeymoon wasn’t lost on her, but Maisy had been looking forward to a week on the Pacific island of Kanalea. She’d never been, and it was supposed to be gorgeous. Of course, all that was ruined now, too.
When the plane reached cruising altitude, she extracted herself from her seat, grabbed her bag, and headed to the plane’s bathroom. She’d packed a change of clothes for the flight, thank goodness. Maisy carefully unpinned her hair and removed the tiara, feeling a weight lift as she did so. Then she washed most of the makeup off her face with a wet cloth. Finally, she reached for the zipper of her wedding dress. She reached… and reached… and twisted her arms into various different positions to try to get the top of the zipper, but nothing worked. Even in the relatively large bathroom, there was nothing she could do to get the dress off.
Oh, no. Only now did Maisy realize she’d only put the dress on and taken it off with help. She was now facing a very long flight wearing a very uncomfortable dress. Unless she could get the flight attendant to help…
Maisy opened the door and peeked into the cabin of the plane. Xander was sitting in his chair, looking quizzically at the reading materials Niko must have packed, which looked like some thick government treatise. The flight attendant was nowhere to be found.
Maisy very much didn’t want to ask for Xander’s help, but she couldn’t fly like this, either. She wasn’t sure she could even eat or use the restroom in this dress.
“Xander!” she hissed. Xander started and looked around. Then he turned to her.
“Maisy?”
“I need your help.”
“Interesting. I thought you weren’t speaking to me.” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“I wasn’t, but now I need your help. Come on!” Maisy was feeling more and more like a petulant child, but there was nothing to be done about it.
“I don’t know…”
“Xander!”
“Okay, okay. I’m coming.” He got up and crossed to the back of the plane, then stopped outside the bathroom. “What’s going on?”
“It’s, um, my dress.” Maisy felt her face heat up. “I can’t undo the zipper.”
“Oh. Oh! Right. Well, let me try.” Xander seemed surprisingly flustered for someone who was meant to be such a ladies’ man.
“But just to be clear, this doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.” Maisy gave Xander a stern look. He saluted her.
“Aye, aye. I will remain in the doghouse until further notice. Now, turn around.”
Maisy opened the door to the bathroom the rest of the way and stepped out. Then she turned her back to Xander and lifted her hair. A moment later, she felt his fingertips brush her upper back as he grasped the zipper, which he slowly slid down. Shivers spun down her spine at his touch. Maisy felt cool air on her back as the dress opened. Quickly, she turned back around, holding up the front of the dress with her hands.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.” Xander still looked a little flustered. Maisy backed hurriedly into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, all the while holding up the dress. This day just kept going badly.
And worse, despite her intense anger at Xander, Maisy had felt a little flutter of butterflies when his fingers brushed her back. Maisy knew it was just because of the intensity of the moment — it wasn’t often that men saw her partially naked, and it wasn’t often that she was in such a highly charged situation. It didn’t have anything to do with Xander himself, or with his annoying smile or his frustrating little jokes.
