Encore Echoes

Chapter 1

Tori stared at her reflection in the glass at the airport as the night darkened outside. She hardly recognized herself. But then, that was the point, wasn’t it? She glanced around nervously, but so far no one had recognized her.

Her normally vibrant red hair was now a subdued gray. She never imagined she’d ever let herself go gray, but now, here she was. Simple makeup barely highlighted her features. But that, too, was the point.

She glanced at the screen behind the gate agent. Her plane was set for an on-time departure. She pulled out her phone, checking her ticket she’d purchased that clearly showed general boarding, not her normal first class. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d flown anything but first class. But she wanted to blend in with the crowd. There hadn’t been time to replace her obviously ridiculously expensive luggage or her designer handbag. At least she’d tried to pick out the least conspicuous one in her closet.

She found a simple pair of black slacks and a white blouse in the back of her closet, along with a wool blazer. Nothing like she would have worn before, always acting her part. Flamboyant, expensive outfits. Shoes that cost more than most people made in a week… or a month.

But not anymore. She’d closed the door on her Fifth Avenue apartment and walked away from all of that. And maybe once she left New York, she’d feel even more comfortable and less recognizable.

At least that was the plan.

She glanced at the boarding pass on her phone. Passenger: Victoria Duran. Destination: Sarasota, Florida. Soon she’d board the plane, and about three and a half hours later, she planned on leaving Victoria behind. She would simply be Tori. The childhood name that her grandmother called her.

The ticket agent called for first-class passengers to board, and she glanced over at them, trying to shove away her jealousy. She waited for her section to be called and slowly wound her way up to the gate agent. The agent smiled mechanically at her as she scanned her ticket. “Enjoy your flight, ma’am.”

Victoria—no, Tori, she reminded herself—nodded in reply, matching the gate attendant’s automatic smile with one of her own.

She slowly followed the line of passengers down the jetway, each step taking her further away from her problems. At least that’s what she hoped.

As she entered the plane, she tried to ignore the first-class passengers and their roomy seats. Why had she never appreciated the perks of first class when she’d flown before? When she found her row, the gentleman in the aisle seat stood and helped her swing her bag into the overhead bin, then let her slip into the middle row seat. There, sandwiched between two broad-shouldered men, she settled back for the flight.

The flight attendants walked through the aisle, closing the overhead bins. The speaker crackled, and soon a perky attendant was explaining all the safety procedures.

She closed her eyes, hoping that neither man would try to strike up a conversation. The engines rumbled to life, and the plane shook as it pulled away from the gate. They taxied out onto the runway and she gripped the armrests as they soared off into the sky. Leaving Victoria Duran firmly in her past.

ToriDuran flew into her new life. Whatever that life turned out to be.