Brian sighed and pinched his eyes. They felt gritty and dry and he was bone tired. It had felt like days since he’d slept and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. As if summoned by his empty stomach, Madeline knocked on his office door lightly before walking in and placing a wrapped sub on his desk. He looked up and thanked her with a tired smile. She was a good - no, great - assistant and knew him better than he knew himself most of the time. “There’s an email from the PR firm in Melbourne that I need you to look over and your mother is on line two.” “Thanks Madeline,” he replied. “Are our flights home booked for tomorrow?” She nodded and smiled. “Yes, the pilot has been notified and we are cleared to take off at five. Your last meeting is scheduled for three-thirty and a car will be waiting to take us straight to the airport as soon as it wraps up.” “Excellent,” he said, unwrapping the sandwich. “Thanks.” She nodded and left the office. Colleen Aviation had off
Five months later…Cassie drank her second vodka cranberry while relaxing in a cozy leather chair in the Colleen Aviation waiting area. She was an anxious flier to begin with, so the fact that she was attempting to disrupt Nathan's wedding one week before the big day added to her anxiety. She drank two vodkas—one to calm her worries about what she was about to do to Nathan and the other to prevent panic when she was thirty thousand feet in the air speeding through the ether in a tin can. She wasn't simply anxious when she flew; she actually detested flying and tried to avoid it at all costs. Driving the eight hundred miles to the wedding was not an option, but Colleen Aviation, a relatively new client, had offered her first-class seats on one of their brand-new domestic commercial flights. If she didn't feel like she was crammed in like livestock on the way to the slaughtered, perhaps she would like flying more. Her empty glass was removed from the little table in front
She gave him an anxious glance as her heart raced in her throat and her eyes blinked quickly. She greeted him with a gentle, husky "Hello, Irish," just as he recalled. It's been a while. He ought to be angry, but instead, he was simply so unbelievably happy to have found her once more. One night with her had not been sufficient, and in the months that had followed, he had failed to find it in himself to pursue anybody else. He was unable to hide his dismay as he replied, "You didn't call." She lowered her eyes from his and gave a sorry expression. She said, "I know, I'm sorry. He looked down at her empty glass and noticed the scarlet dregs at the bottom as she spoke a bit mumbled. How many had she had, he pondered. He didn't want to scare her away because he had just reconnected with her by asking, "So, what are you doing here?" He observed her watery eyes and dilated pupils as she raised her head to face him. In answer, he scowled, fearing that she was i
She clutched to his palm as the jet started to taxi, despite the heat in his fingers causing a visceral reaction in her rebellious body. You really dislike flying, do you? He questioned as he sent a worried gaze her way. She gave a headshake. "We as human beings were never meant to be flung through the air with such careless abandon," the guy said, referring to flying as "some kind of evil magic spawned by Satan." He laughed when his shocked lips fell open. A grin pulled at her lips as she watched him laugh so loudly at something she said. It wasn't simply a polite chuckle. He corrected her by saying, "First of all, it's physics, not magic, and I believe the Wright brothers would take offense to being called the spawn of Satan." She acquiesced, "Maybe, but I stand by the conviction that if we were meant to fly, we would've been born with wings." Do you view all modes of transportation with the same amount of disdain, or simply air travel? Just air travel, although I do h
As the flight attendant came back and set their food in front of them, she said, "Okay." "How about you, though? Don't you already have plans, and will you even be at the proper place? While she waited for his response, she took a bite out of her sandwich and groaned gratefully. She didn't notice how hungry she was since her anxiety made her focus only on the journey ahead of her. He inquired, "Where's the wedding?" After swallowing, she said, "On the Sunshine Coast." An hour away from the Coast in Brisbane, the plane they were aboard touched down. She would be picked up by Nathan, and they would continue driving. His eyes glowed as he grinned at her. What a coincidence, I'm going there too, he remarked. She questioned, "Business?" He gave a headshake. Long needed a getaway. "And you'd give up that for me?" It was her. He simply smiled and kept eating his sandwich. She gave a headshake. He was simply too nice to be true. She responded, "I'm not going to sleep with yo
Cassie was blue. He had been emailing back and forth with Cassie Smith, the goddamn PR account manager, for months. He had been losing his mind since he couldn't find her even though she had been there the entire time. Fuck. Would only he had known her name. However, wasn't that the purpose of that evening? Because his filthy stepbrother had hurt her, she had wanted to bury herself in anonymous sex. What a mess, by God. Before things became more difficult, he ought to have left at this point. To gaze at her, he turned his head. Her long, black lashes were resting on her lovely, flawless cheeks as she slept off on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed. The pulse in her throat beat steadily, reminding him of what it felt like to have his mouth there. Her mouth was slightly parted, and her full bottom lip begged to be kissed. Fuck. He could not possibly leave this woman alone. There was no way he could live the rest of his life without another taste of her because h
Before returning to her seat, she brushed her hair and sprayed herself with one of the available fragrances. Irish relaxed into her seat, closed her eyes, and began her breathing exercises in preparation for landing because the captain hadn't returned yet. Before confronting Nathan, she wanted to calm down, find her Zen, and get rid of any memories of Irish and what he had done to her body. He said, "Hey," in her ear, and she struggled to control another full-body tremble. It seems to be her go-to response to him. The 'fasten seatbelt' light dinged, and she responded, "Hey," opening her eyes as it did. He moved about in his seat while adjusting his suit coat and fastening his belt. When he felt comfortable, he asked her, "So, are you going to tell me your real name?" "Nope," she said, shaking her head after smiling, "not until I know whether I need your services this week or not." "Really Blue?" he scowled. He queried. "Are you going to abandon me?"
She followed him to a large, hefty Chrysler with dark-tinted windows and a dazzling chrome grill. Before unlocking the door for her, he opened the trunk and loaded her things. As soon as she climbed into the passenger seat, buttery leather engulfed her. Despite being an unattractive corporate car, it was really comfy. He turned to face her as he climbed into the driver's seat and grinned. He acknowledged that it was pompous, but the clients were impressed. That was understandable, of course, it was. She simply smiled and nodded as she watched him drive the tank of a car onto the freeway and out of the parking lot. She shakily said, "So, Nathan, what did you have to talk to me about?" Oh, okay, I almost forgot, he said. He gave her a fleeting glance. "I have a big favor to ask of you." She said, "Oh, sure," feeling let down that it wasn't the proclamation of love she had anticipated. "Anything." He said, "One of Ainsley's bridesmaids pulled out." "I don't recall the specifics, b