Chapter Forty-Four Partners in Crime
Adelina
I hate this. Not just the fact that I have to endure not one but two flights, but the clawing, cold emptiness in my chest. I already miss West terribly.
Strapped into my seat at the very back of the plane, I can’t help but replay our final moments together over and over again like some broken line of repeating code.
I should have kissed him longer, hugged him harder. Some small part of me had hoped that…I don’t know. That I would have been brave enough to ask him to come with me. That maybe he’d ask me to stay.
Sinking into my seat, I fiddle with his watch, staring at the delicate second hand as it ticks itself in a circle. He’s probably already left the airport and is bounding down the freeway with his brother and niece in the car. I understand why he can’t just up and leave. And I…
Actually, what is there to keep me in Vancouver?
I frown deeply at my own stupidity. “Holy shit.”
Lily glances my way. She’s ripped into a bag of salted nuts, popping a cashew into her mouth. “What’s wrong? If you need to go to the bathroom, you’ll have to wait until we’re up in the air. They already turned on the seat-belt sign.”
“No, it’s not that.” My heart thuds anxiously against my ribs, a sinking feeling gripping me by the throat. The jet engines on the wings whir to life as the flight attendants begin their final checks. “There’s nothing.”
My sister blinks at me. “What are you talking about?”
“There’s nothing to keep me in Vancouver,” I say, my head spinning. “You’re moving away. I don’t talk to Mom or the rest of the family. I don’t have any friends—”
“Loser,” Lily snorts, but it lacks any real heat.
“I’m being serious.” Tears sting my eyes. Getting on this plane was a colossal mistake. I’ve never been more aware of just how small the surrounding cabin is. “I want to be with West.”
Lily frowns. “Why didn’t you figure this out before we boarded?”
“I fucked up, okay?”
“Boy, I’ll say.”
“Not helpful, Lil.” I run a clammy hand through my hair. “Shit, am I being crazy about this?”
My sister shakes her head, smiling gently. “Adelina, I’ve never seen you look at anybody the way you look at West. I think you’re crazy for not realizing sooner.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Bitch, twin telepathy isn’t a thing. What was I supposed to do? Read your mind? I thought you had some reason for leaving.”
I suck in a sharp breath, undoing my seat belt to hastily vacate my seat. Lily stands so that I can stumble out into the aisle. “I have to get off this plane.”
“Ma’am,” snaps the flight attendant. She approaches me with a stern expression, blocking my view of the front of the plane—and my escape. “Ma’am, please sit down. We just closed the doors.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but this is important—”
“Sit down.”
People are well and truly staring now, but I don’t care. “You don’t understand, I—”
“What seems to be the problem here?”
The small hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end. I’d know that voice anywhere. I lean to get a glimpse of the tall blond man standing behind the attendant. He flashes his wallet but quickly puts it away before she gets a good look.
“Air marshal.” West lies with such brazen confidence that it’s difficult to question him. He turns to Lily and says, “I have a seat in first class. If you’d be so kind as to switch with me, I can keep a better eye on her. Make sure she doesn’t cause any more trouble.”
Lily’s shit-eating grin matches my own. “Oh my God, you two are disgustingly cute.”
The flight attendant frowns in understandable confusion. “What?”
“Nothing,” my sister says, hastily gathering her carry-on bag. She throws a thumbs-up at me before skedaddling down the aisle.
“I’ll take it from here,” West tells the attendant. “She won’t be an issue. It’s just a case of nerves. Isn’t that right, ma’am?”
I struggle not to burst into a fit of laughter. “Right. Sorry.”
The flight attendant nods, appeased by my answer and West’s bravado. We all return to our seats and strap in.
“You know, if you hate turbulence so much, you really shouldn’t sit this far back,” he says. “You’ll feel the wind a lot more because you’re further from the center of mass.”
A laugh builds in my chest, breathy and disbelieving. “It was the only seat available.”
“Knowledge for next time.”
“What are you doing here, West? I thought—”
“My brother knocked some sense into me,” he says as he takes my hand. “Adelina, you are brilliant in every sense of the word. Ever since you stumbled into my life—”
“Actually, you broke into my apartment.”
“Please, mon tournesol. I’m trying to have a moment.”
I grin. “Sorry. Go on.”
West strokes the pad of his thumb over my knuckles just as the plane begins to peel away from the gate.
“I never could have imagined finding a more perfect partner in crime. Come home with me. Whatever you need in Vancouver, I’ll take care of it.
I’ll take care of you. Just stay with me.
I love you, Adelina. Whatever mayhem you have planned next, I want to be a part of it. ”
“I love you too,” I reply with a giggle.
“Want to hold my hand during takeoff?”
I lean across the armrest and kiss him sweetly. “Yes, please.”