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Yes, in the bedroom. “You’re her ex-girlfriend.”
“Yes, I am. My apologies for helping myself here like I always do. I still have my key and occasionally drop by to pick something up or drop something off. Like now.” She opened the flap of her purse and pulled out a large lavender envelope. “This wedding invitation was sent to me but is mostly for Elle. I was going to leave it here and text her I had been by.” The letter was gently set on the island counter. “Suppose I should get out of the habit. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Everyone moves on.”
I hear you moved on quite quickly. Arianna would not say anything to antagonize this woman, though. “I’ll be more than happy to tell her you dropped by.”
“I appreciate that!” Pamela was not leaving. Instead, she studied Arianna in her summer blouse and skinny jeans. At least I automatically put my hair up when I got up from my nap. That habit finally came in handy even though she was now comfortable wearing it down around here.
This moment was only getting more awkward.
“You’re quite pretty.” Pamela straightened her neck and shoulders with a satisfied sigh. “I can see why Elle was attracted to you. She told me you were a flight attendant from Singapore. Is that true?”
What else have you told her, Elle? “Yes.” There was no point in lying. “I’m on vacation and visiting Seattle for a while.”
“Oh! I hope you’re enjoying it. The weather must be quite different from Singapore. I only went with her there once. Way too humid for my tastes. Well, different humid from Seattle.”
“I agree that it is.” Seattle was cold humid. Singapore? It often broke records for how much hot humidity a person could take. “You must be the ex-girlfriend, then.”
“Indeed I am. So, she has told you about me?”
“A bit. You know how Elle is.” Arianna knew how to play a game, even if it was her first time dealing with someone’s ex. “She doesn’t talk a lot about herself.”
“No. You know what she does, right?”
That question caught Arianna off guard. “She works in the aviation industry. C-suite.”
“But… has she told you which company?” Pamela immediately checked herself. “Oh, I shouldn’t get involved. I just know that Elle has a naughty habit of leaving out important information. She doesn’t like to rock the boat, you see. Wants every day to be the same, and it’s best if you don’t ask her to change too much. That includes her job. It was such a big deal when she accepted an offer to leave Delta and become a board member at…” Pamela closed her mouth. “Forgive me. I should get going. Enjoy your stay in Seattle, Arianna.”
Pamela showed herself out. Arianna waited a few seconds before racing to the door and gazing through the peephole to ensure the woman was gone. She then deadbolted the door and asked Elle to text her when she was heading back. Oh, and where did she keep the rice?
On the second shelf of the pantry, behind the flour. Elle expressed hope that Arianna was fine with brown rice because that was all her girlfriend used in her cooking.
Arianna sighed. “At least I know how to cook it.” She grabbed the brown rice from the pantry and found a wok in one of the cupboards. She might as well get started.
Chapter 25
Her infamy as a model had not died down on her return trip to Singapore. It was the only thing truly distracting her from the fact that her vacation was over and that the love of her life was no longer only a touch away. Two things that would have dragged down any young woman’s spirits, but especially made Arianna feel poignant as she attended the preflight meeting in LAX.
“We missed you,” Charmaine hissed when nobody was looking. “Can I go next?”
Arianna should have scolded her subordinate for not paying attention to the meeting, but she was too busy thinking back on her last night with Elle when they cuddled in a bubble bath and said “I love you” over and over until they swore it might go out of style.
This did not go unnoticed once they were on their plane.
“What’s gotten into you, huh?” Charmaine teased her coworker as they took inventory of the galley. “You’ve got this look to you ever since you went on vacation.” She switched to Hokkien, a language Arianna only half-understood but Charmaine was semi-fluent in. “Like a young schoolgirl fantasizing about a pretty boy.”
“We shouldn’t gossip.” Arianna couldn’t keep a straight face as she said that. I’m definitely fantasizing. About a pretty girl. “But I had a very nice vacation in Seattle. I am quite rested, thank you.”
“She’s in love.” Riley’s voice behind Arianna almost made her jump. The pilot leaned against the galley as both flight attendants acknowledged her, Charmaine with a cheesy grin and Arianna with two bulging eyes. “Aren’t you, Aria? There’s someone special in your life.”
“Is it true?” Charmaine asked with a trill to her voice. “Are you in love, Miss Song?”
Arianna almost dropped her clipboard as she hastily closed a cupboard. “What a silly question. Don’t we have work to do? The passengers will begin boarding any moment.”
Charmaine was soon distracted by making her rounds on the other side of the plane. Riley hung out near Arianna for an extra moment before retreating to the cockpit. “Did you enjoy my old stomping grounds?” she cheekily asked.
“Why are you making assumptions about me? I did not appreciate that.”
Riley pulled her hands out of her pockets and crossed her arms. “It’s a good look on you. She must be a very lucky woman.”
