CHAPTER 19 #2
“So sorry I’m late. I spilled Coke on my blouse and had to change. The ladies’ room was occupied forever, so I ended up having to use the men’s.” Her pert nose wrinkled in distaste.
She pressed a lingering kiss to Ian’s cheek, and something in Claire’s chest twisted. There was no mistaking the look that briefly passed between them: those two were much more than acquaintances. Ian had slept with her, Claire was convinced.
He gave the flight attendant his winning smile, and Claire’s stomach lurched. The woman placed her hands on his forearms and looked as if she were about to say something else, but Ian motioned with his chin toward the cabin, and she finally turned her head and noticed Claire.
“Oh! Good morning!” Her red lips curved into that genial smile flight attendants seemed to have down pat. “Welcome aboard LarsAir. I’m Angie.”
No way. The Angelina Jolie look-alike’s name was Angie?
Claire suppressed a hysterical laugh. This day was becoming more and more bizarre. “Hello, Angie. I’m Claire.”
“Time to buckle up. Angie will give you a safety briefing. I have to—” Ian motioned behind him with his thumb.
“Yes, please go fly the plane,” Angie said. “Make Adam even happier. He’s been in an unusually stellar mood since talking to you this morning.”
Claire watched Ian ease his tall frame into the cockpit’s right seat, her mind still reeling from the knowledge that he could actually fly this jet.
Angie quickly went through the safety procedures and showed Claire where the toilet was, or as they called it, the lav. “Any questions?”
The turbines whined as the engines suddenly came to life.
“No.” Claire swallowed hard.
“Great!” Angie’s smile was textbook perfect. “Can I get you anything real quick before we take off? Water, juice, Coke?”
“Thank you, I’m fine.”
Angie’s gaze drifted to the cockpit, where Adam said something that made him grin and Ian smirk. Then, Adam swept his hand in an inviting gesture.
“Oh God, just look at them,” Angie murmured. “I’ve been looking forward to that view all day. You look a little pale, hon. Are you OK?”
Claire forced a smile. “I’ve never been on a small plane before.”
“Ah.” Angie gave her a sympathetic look. “Once we’re above the clouds, you won’t be able to tell the difference between this and a commercial jet.” She winked. “You might even like it better.”
Claire’s phone chimed again.
Jake: Can’t wait to see you. Dinner tonight?
Claire nervously eyed Ian, who sat upright, his left hand on the throttles as the plane commenced its slow taxi to the runway.
This was surreal.
And she felt queasy.
She didn’t know how much of it was caused by the impending takeoff and how much by the knowledge that Ian was suddenly moving to Las Vegas. Who knew when she would see him again? God, but he looked handsome in that uniform.
The plane came to a slightly lurching halt.
“Here we go, hon,” Angie said with a wink.
Gaze trained on Ian, Claire watched him move the throttles forward, and the plane immediately surged ahead, then hurtled down the runway, quickly reaching a dizzying speed.
Claire clenched her hands in her lap and held her breath.
Too soon, she felt that terrible off-kilter, stomach-dropping sensation as the jet’s nose went up and the wheels left the ground.
Below, the endless turquoise sea shimmered in the bright Caribbean sun.
Claire took in the spectacular bird’s-eye view of the beachside resorts and quickly spotted the one where they had spent the weekend.
It looked smaller and smaller as they climbed until they entered the clouds, and all she could see outside the window was an endless expanse of white.
It was as if the entire weekend had been erased. A hollow opened in the pit of her belly as the full impact of what was happening struck her.
Ian was leaving. And he would be around countless women like Angie, who would jump in his bed in a heartbeat if he allowed it. No, Claire didn’t want a relationship. Why, then, did the mere thought of him with other women make her sick?
Claire heard a chime again. Another text. She snatched up her phone in annoyance.
Jake: Let me know about dinner.
Claire thumbed the phone into airplane mode and shoved it back into her purse.
·
“You did better this time,” Angie said.
“I guess I got used to it.” Claire looked at the puffy clouds outside the plane’s oval window.
They had cleared customs in Opa-locka and were now well on their way to Kissimmee.
“See? It’s not as scary the second time around. Believe it or not, I was exactly like you once. Worst white-knuckled flier you’ve ever seen.”
“You?”
“Yup.”
“How did you get over it?”
Angie’s full red lips curved into a smile. “Ian.”
Claire looked at her questioningly, not sure she was ready to hear the answer to that one.
“He explained to me how air traffic works. Planes don’t just fly randomly; they are passed from controller to controller on specific routes. And the bumps you feel are exactly like what you have on a boat: waves.”
“Wouldn’t you learn about air traffic in flight attendant school?”
“They told us some. But Ian explained it better.” Angie smiled secretively as she pulled open a drawer that Claire saw contained snacks. “Would you like some nuts or pretzels?”
Claire shook her head. “No, thank you.” She couldn’t help looking up the aisle at Ian, who was in deep conversation with his brother. Adam paused what he was saying to cue the mic and speak into it.
“I’m sorry for being nosy, but are you guys, um … together?” Angie tipped her head with a little smile.
“No, no, we’re just …” Claire felt her cheeks flush and shrugged.
“Oh, OK.” Angie exhaled a sigh that looked like relief. “Word had it he was taken.”
Her gaze flicked to Ian, who was studying his iPad intently. Claire gazed at his beautiful profile, his blond hair feathering over his forehead. Flashback to the image of him behind her in the mirror, and butterflies flitted through her middle.
“Glad to hear he’s still on the shelf,” Angie said, taking out a lipstick and reapplying the candy-red shade.
Claire felt a twist in her gut. “I take it you’ll be working together?”
Angie’s big blue eyes sparkled. “Yes. Very often, hopefully. We rotate and go where we are needed, but Adam is good at granting requests.”
If all the LarsAir flight attendants were anywhere near as good-looking, and Claire had every reason to believe they were, Ian would soon have panties thrown at him from all directions.
Angie snapped her lipstick shut. “We’ve started our descent.” She eyed Claire’s lap. “Still buckled up securely, I see. I wish all passengers were as disciplined as you.”
Claire found a way to smile through her apprehension and dismay at the thought of Ian and all those flight attendants on their layover. Layover. A fitting name, she thought darkly. She looked at Angie’s perfectly painted lips and wondered where they’d been on Ian.
A rumbling noise paired with a slight shaking of the plane made her start until she remembered it was the landing gear.