Chapter Four
Bailey and I are walking through the loud slot machine-filled airport to catch our new flight back to Phoenix. Yesterday, we should’ve arrived back home after working for three days, but our flight out of Las Vegas was canceled. We had to stay an extra night.
“You know how much I hate unexpected overnight layovers,” Bailey says as we walk through the airport. “But at least I get to deal with it with my best friend.”
Unexpected changes in travel plans have never bothered me. I roll with it because it’s part of the excitement of the job. I feel the most comfortable on the go, spending most of my time traveling. I put more flight time in than any other flight attendant I know. Lina takes a close second.
I link my arm through Bailey’s. “I do enjoy the unpredictability of it all. When you grow up in an unstable environment, I guess you get used to it.” I shrug. “What would my world be without chaos and unstructuredness?”
She flashes me a lopsided grin. “You have to admit, it’s so much better dealing with it with your three best friends.” She nudges her shoulder into me as we walk.
I smile. “True. I don’t know what I would do without you, Lina, and Avery. You ladies are like my sisters.”
“We are sisters, babe—” Her head quickly jerks in the opposite direction. “Jack?” Bailey stops and turns to a tall blond man briskly walking past us. It looks like he’s headed to the second floor of the airport.
“Bailey, hello.” The man in a black collared shirt and matching dress pants, with a strong jawline and windblown hair, pauses to greet my friend. Damn.
“How are you?” she asks.
“I’m doing well. You?”
“I’m great. Our flight was canceled last night, so we’re finally flying out this afternoon,” she tells him, then gestures toward me. “Oh, Jack, this is my friend Piper. Piper, this is Jack Bradley. He does restaurant concept marketing and works with Mason and my brother.”
He shifts his focus to me. “Hello, Piper.” When Jack’s eyes meet mine, I blink several times.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you,” I reply. My eyes locked with his, forcing me to hide a smile too wide. I get a flutter in my stomach.
His arm comes out to shake my sweaty palm, and thankfully, he doesn’t seem to notice the damp feel of it. “I believe we met at Harry’s wedding last spring.”
“That’s right,” Bailey interjects, bouncing her eyes between Jack and me.
“I was there, but I don’t believe we met.” I don’t look directly at him, trying to avoid embarrassing myself with my inability to keep a straight face.
Jack smiles. “I’m sure we did. You were one of the bridesmaids.”
“Yes, but I would’ve remembered if we met.”
“I remember you, Piper.”
I blush. We’re shaking hands longer than acceptable.
“Alright. Okay, so it was nice to run into you.” With her best effort, Bailey attempts to break the tension between Jack and me.
He nods, letting his hand slip from mine and back to the top of the extended handle on his suitcase. “Yes, it was. Tell Mason and Harry I said hello,” he tells her, but then his eyes end up back on me.
What the hell is going on?Why can’t I look this man in the face? He probably thinks I’m so awkward. Yes, he’s ridiculously attractive, but that does not explain the embarrassing physical reaction that I’m having.
Jack turns to me, grinning. “It was nice formally meeting you,” he says before walking away.
I nod. “You too.”
Bailey slowly turns to me with her eyes wide and a goofy smile. “Oh my god, Piper, you are so embarrassing.” She laughs. “And your cheeks are red!”
“What?” Bailey picked up on my momentary brain lapse. Which means Jack did, too. Great.
“You had such an obvious grin on your face the whole time.” She shoves my shoulder. With which that said grin comes right back. “See that one, and it’s a mile long!”
Opening my mouth to speak, I’m unable to form the words—a waterfall of giggles bubbles from my chest. “I know. I don’t know what came over me. The minute he looked at me, I froze. It was super weird.”
The effect it had on me is similar to the energy pulling you into someone’s gaze. The magnetism from a stare that almost feels as if there’s a chain linking you and another person—but this was nothing like that. Jack’s electric blue eyes have energy that could rival the sun. Where pulses emit with such intensity that looking directly at them is almost impossible.
“He’s incredibly good-looking too. That square jawline—like Mason’s. I want to bite it,” she teases.
“Your brother’s wedding was big, but how could I not remember someone that looks like that?” I tousle my hair in bewilderment.
“I have no idea.”
“Tell me about him?” I demand, eager to learn more about this mystery man who gave me thousands of butterflies when I met him.
“Oh, so you’re interested.” Bailey nods her head while her eyebrows raise. “Jack was part of my brother’s college fraternity and now works in marketing in Phoenix. I’ve only recently got to know him better after Harry and Mason asked him to partner with them on the restaurant concept and marketing for The Poppy.”
“Alright,” I say with a cheery voice, appreciating her spilling the tea about the tall, hot blond man who looks like he walked out of a 1990s Tiger Beat magazine. “B, he looks like a young Leo. I’m not going to lie. It made my knees weak.”
“I can totally see that!” Bailey agrees, grabbing my hand to brace herself, laughing while we walk past the airport restaurants and bars. I can’t shake the intense urge to head in the other direction. Hell, I always hook up with attractive guys, so why is my body itching to follow Jack? Maybe there’s something different about him? I’m not sure, but I’m going to find out.
I abruptly stop, shifting toward my friend with a Cheshire smile on my face. “Do you know if he’s single?”
She smiles with a large grin. “I believe so. I know which of Harry’s friends from college are married, and I’m positive Jack is not.”
My heart knocks on the back of my ribs. I nibble my bottom lip with excitement. “Should I go talk to him?”
Her eyes grow wide. “Yes! I saw the way you two had to pry your hands away from each other. I’d say he felt a little spark, too.”
I swallow hard, my eyes bouncing from the restaurant that Jack looked like he walked into and my best friend. “Okay, I think I’m going to.”
“I love how free-spirited you are. My stomach is literally flipping for you,” she says.
I giggle. “Do I look okay?”
“Are you seriously asking me that?” Bailey cocks her head and lowers her eyes. “You are fucking gorgeous, and your hair looks all fluffy,” she replies, leaning in to smell it. “And it smells good!
Chuckling, I bat her away. “Vegas was my last flight for the next few days. If we hit it off, I could jump on a later one tonight.”
“You better text or call me later when you get home to tell me how it went.”
My legs shake with excitement while I jump out of my skin. “I will. I promise!”
I lean in to give her a quick hug before turning on my heels to head into the restaurant. With my black carry-on wheeling behind me, I scan the small area until I see Jack’s black shirt and immaculate side profile. He’s sitting in the back corner with his face hidden behind a laptop. He looks deep in thought and typing away—presumably an email. After each step I take, I’m briefly hit with self-doubt but manage to push it away. My heart skips a few beats before I even fully enter the restaurant.
He sips from a glass of red wine when I approach the table. “Hello.”
Jack glances up at me with a smile from where he’s sitting. “Piper, hi.”
“I was walking by and saw you sitting over here—”
Jack gestures to the seat on the opposite side of the corner table. “Would you like to join me?”
The chair rattles when I pull it out to sit down. I hadn’t thought about what I would say to him or how I would explain why I followed him in here. “My flight doesn’t leave for another two hours, and I figured you might want some company.” Alright, that makes sense.
“I’d love some company.” He grins warmly, gently closing his laptop. “Can I get you a drink?”
I zip my necklace back and forth, the sound only buzzing inside my ears. I’m suddenly more nervous than I expected to be. “Yes, um, a glass of wine would be great. I like chardonnay.”
Jack waves the server over. “I know what to get you.”
When she appears at our table, Jack orders a glass of wine by a name I know I’ve heard before, but my mind glosses over it. I’m distracted by the feeling of familiarity between us. I know I haven’t met him before.
“I’m sure you’ll like it. It’s slightly buttery but still has those same elements that you”d find in a crisp, classic chardonnay,” he explains. This man knows his wine.
“Do you drink a lot of vino?” I arch an eyebrow.
“You could say that,” he says playfully. “So, you’re a flight attendant?”
I continue to avoid his controlled gaze while trying to keep myself together. “I am. How did you know?”
The server brings over my glass. Pinching the stem, I gulp in a heavy drink of liquid courage. Damn, I’m nervous.
“Mason’s girlfriend mentioned you were supposed to fly out last night, and I know she’s a flight attendant,” he says. “I assumed you were too.” Hearing him say that Bailey is Mason’s girlfriend is still a trip because she hasn’t dated anyone since I’ve known her. Then, going from completely hating Mason to that romantic mess she turns into every time someone brings him up is surreal.
“Yeah, we met in flight attendant school and our two other close friends. You may have met them at the wedding. They were bridesmaids as well.”
Jack crosses his arms on top of the table. “I don’t remember them.”
“But you remember me?”
“I do.” He takes a drink. There’s an awkward silence between us before he speaks. “You guys are flying home to Phoenix tonight?”
I set my glass on the table. “We are. We’ve been gone for the last two days.”
“I bet that’s a cool experience to travel so often.”
I smile, thinking about the freedom I get from Roxy and how lonely it can be. “It is. I’ve definitely gotten to know people from all over, which is pretty awesome.”
Jack’s eyebrow raises from over the rim of his wineglass as he takes a sip. “Like men in different states?” He smirks. He’s flirting with me.
“Not often.” I rub my lips together, biting back a smile again.
“Someone who looks like you and whose energy is as infectious as yours, I find that hard to believe.”
I melt under his unapologetic flattery. My cheeks reddening, I take another sip. “Are you trying to make me blush already?”
“I’m not trying to. But if I am, I wouldn’t be mad about it,” he replies.
I laugh nervously, tearing my paper napkin into shreds on the table.
“I’m kind of hurt you don’t remember me from the wedding.” He twists the stem of his glass.
“I don’t, I’m sorry. I guess you didn’t make much of an impression.” I tease.
His eyes pin me from across the table. “That’s fine. You can be sure I’m not going to let that happen again.”
I pull my mouth to one side. “Are you flirting with me?”
He rests back in his chair while folding his arms across his chest. “Absolutely not. I don’t flirt with women I’ve never met.”
“I thought you said we’ve already met?” I challenge him, finishing off the glass. Before the rim leaves my lips, he is already gesturing to our server to bring us another.
“We have. But you said we hadn’t, which means we’re still strangers,” he says, picking up one of the two drinks that were placed in front of us.
“Fair enough.” I sit straighter in my chair, feeling more confident after the two glasses of wine.
“Let’s not be strangers then.” Jack clasps his hands together and rests them with bent elbows on the table. “I already know your name and what you do for a living. The next logical thing for me is to ask what your favorite color is.”
I suck in air through my teeth. “I don’t know, I feel like my favorite color is a little too personal.”
His eyebrows raise. “Can I guess?”
“Sure.”
He bites his bottom lip before speaking. “Blue.”
I scrunch my nose. “Obvious choice, that’s everyone’s favorite color.”
“Red?”
“Nope.” I sit back against the chair, crossing my arms at my chest to match his. Just then, the waitress comes over. Jack and I decide to order dinner, then another glass of wine each.
When our waitress brought the check, we’d been talking about the most random things for the last few hours. If someone asks me what we spoke about tomorrow, I won”t be able to tell them because it’s been utter nonsense.
“What time is your flight out?” I ask, suddenly becoming aware of the time.
“It was at 6:05.”
I straighten in shock. “Oh my god, Jack, it’s 6:41! You missed your flight.”
“I’ll catch another one.” He calmly bends forward with a slight smirk. “What about your flight? What time was yours leaving?”
My ears burn. “My flight left two and a half hours ago,” I bashfully admit, folding my arms on the table in front of me and forcing us closer together.
“It looks like we’re both going to stay in Vegas for the night.” Jack loosens the thin silk tie that hangs tight around his neck. “What should we do?”
Fuck yes!I’m infused with a surge of adrenaline. I’ll enjoy a fun night with a tall, sexy man with blue eyes and an energy I feel in my bones.
My weekend just got a hell of a lot better. I can’t say that skipping my flight to spontaneously stay in a random city with a man I’ve just met—or, according to him, who I’ve already met isn’t out of character. But this is the most fun adventure I’ve had in a long time.
I polish off the rest of my drink. Dipping my head forward, I meet Jack’s eyes—which is much simpler now that I’ve had a few glasses of wine. “Let’s go have some fun, Jack Bradley.”
“Check!” He calls out to our server. A satisfied smile moves across the perfect bone structure of his chin and face.