Page 48 of One Midnight Kiss

“It wasn’t bad,” I said, not wanting to get into that discussion. That was an old life.

He seemed to sense my lack of interest in discussing flying private or otherwise. We settled into a comfortable silence. The bar wasn’t too busy. Travelers waiting for their red eyes congregated around the place. I was hoping the wine would help me sleep on the flight.

We finished our drinks mostly in silence, both of us stealing glances but not saying much. I felt oddly relieved when the boarding call crackled over the loudspeaker.

“Finally,” I muttered, standing up. Fox tossed a few bills on the bar and gestured for me to lead the way. The butterflies in my stomach had nothing to do with the flight.

The plan was to sleep for the two-hour flight to California. I had even packed a neck pillow for once, hoping to knock myself out as soon as I found my seat. But of course, as soon as we settled in and taxied out, the captain announced we’d be stuck on the tarmac due to weather delays.

“Great,” I groaned, leaning my head back against the seat. “Fantastic.”

Fox glanced at me from the seat beside mine, one eyebrow raised. “You okay?”

“Yeah, when I said I didn’t like flying, I might have understated it a bit. I’m not a great flyer. I’m usually worse when I know I can’t get off the plane. I get a little claustrophobic. It’s silly, I know, but I just get in my head about stuff.”

He nodded sympathetically. “I get it. Just try to relax. It’s like ripping off a band-aid. Once we’re in the air, it’s usually fine.”

“Usually.”

“I’ll get us another drink,” he said.

“Will they offer drink service?”

“They will,” he said. “I’ll make sure of it.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but instead, I gave him a tight smile. “We’ll see.”

The rain battered against the ceiling as we sat there, waiting. Fortunately, he did manage to get us a drink. Only one. The flight attendants did not want to be trapped on the tarmac with a bunch of drunk passengers. That was a good thing because I didn’t want to be trapped in a tin can with a bunch of drunks either.

“Can we get a blanket?” Fox asked the attendant.

She smiled. “Of course.”

I assumed he was chilly. When the attendant brought it back, he unfolded it and covered me with it. “Lean back and try to get some rest,” he said. “When all these eggheads get together, it can get pretty wild.”

There was no way I was going to fall asleep with my nerves fried and continuing to fry even more. But eventually I dozed off, exhaustion and the wine finally taking over. I didn’t know how much time had passed when I woke up, but when I opened my eyes, the plane was in the air, and it was bouncing like a rubber ball in a dryer.

I grabbed the armrest with one hand and Fox’s hand with the other before I even realized what I was doing.

He opened one eye, peeking at me with a lazy smile. “You good?”

I didn’t let go of his hand, but I tried to cover the nerves with a sheepish laugh. “Sorry. Turbulence isn’t my thing.”

He smiled. “Mine either. What a night to fly.”

“So glad you insisted I come along with you,” I said dryly.

“I’ll tell you about the worst flight I’ve ever been on,” he said. “Unless it will just make things worse.”

“Go for it,” I said, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, focusing on the warmth of his hand.

“It was a business trip to Anchorage,” he said. “I had never been. I pictured this frozen wasteland, but it’s actually beautiful once you get past the mountains. There’s this one highway that connects all these tiny towns—it’s like strings of lights in the middle of nowhere.”

I could almost picture it, his voice painting the scene for me. “But the approach, I could have done without that.”

“What do you mean?”

“The plane had to turn in this almost perfect circle. We flew so close to the water I was sure we were about to plunge right in. It was the worst turbulence I’ve ever felt. I kept thinking we were going to have one of those water landings. I was trying to remember what they said about the floatation device. I was like was it my seat or was it under my seat. Since then, I always pay attention during the safety briefing before the flight.”