10. Cici
CICI
I climbed the aircraft stairs and stepped inside.
Mike was already in the cockpit running through his side of the preflight checks.
"Morning," he said as I entered.
"Morning."
I stowed my flight bag and started reviewing the flight plan one more time. Everything looked good. The weather between Chicago and Charlotte was favorable. A few areas of light turbulence expected over the Midwest, but nothing concerning.
Footsteps sounded on the aircraft stairs behind me.
I glanced up, expecting Todd.
Instead, Naomi stepped aboard.
"Good morning," she said brightly.
I smiled. "Morning."
She looked around the empty cabin. "Looks like I'm early."
"You're definitely early."
Naomi dropped into one of the club seats and crossed her legs. "Todd's taking a call. He'll be along eventually."
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been sitting in the back of my mind since yesterday.
"How's Justin doing?"
Naomi froze.
Not dramatically. Just enough.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Todd finally told you?"
I nodded.
A slow smile appeared on her face.
"Well," she said, "that explains a lot."
I laughed. "Does it?"
"A few things suddenly make more sense."
I leaned against the galley counter. "You mean the fact that I spent the last week thinking you were secretly engaged to Todd?"
Naomi laughed so hard she nearly snorted.
"Oh my God."
My cheeks warmed.
"Yeah. I know."
"No wonder you've been looking at me like you wanted to throw me out of the plane."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
"Maybe once."
"Twice," she insisted.
I shook my head.
Naomi was still smiling when her expression softened.
"I'm sorry, Cici."
The sincerity in her voice surprised me.
"Todd told me not to tell you about Justin and me," she said. "Actually, very few people know what's going on."
"I get it."
"And I wasn't allowed to tell anyone I was his cousin."
That explained a lot too.
I thought back to the hotel restaurant.
The airport.
The way Todd had looked amused every time I was around Naomi. Maybe I didn't have as good a poker face as I thought.
The jerk.
He'd known exactly what I'd been thinking.
He'd probably enjoyed every second of it.
My face grew warm all over again.
Naomi's grin widened.
"Oh."
"What?"
"You just figured something out."
"No, I didn't."
"You absolutely did."
I refused to answer.
That only made her laugh harder.
The cabin felt lighter than it had the first day we'd met. Easier.
I found myself liking her more every minute.
"Can I ask you something?" I said.
"Sure."
"Why does Todd call you Bunny?"
The smile slipped from her face.
Not completely.
Just enough.
For the first time, I noticed sadness behind her eyes.
Naomi looked toward one of the cabin windows.
"I used to show French Lops rabbits in 4-H."
"Bunnies?"
"Bunnies."
I smiled.
She smiled back.
"Todd's sister and I showed them together."
Something in her voice made me straighten.
The sadness hadn't disappeared. It had deepened.
"We were best friends."
I waited.
Naomi looked out the window for another second before turning back to me.
"Todd can fill in the rest."
The gentle finality in her tone told me not to push.
Whatever story existed there belonged to him.
Before I could respond, Naomi brightened again.
"So."
The subject change was obvious.
Deliberate.
I let her have it.
"So?"
She pointed at me.
"Todd likes you."
I nearly choked.
"What?"
"He does."
"Naomi."
"What?"
"Stop."
"I'm serious."
I folded my arms.
She grinned.
Then her expression softened.
"I haven't seen him laugh this much in years."
The teasing disappeared from her voice.
That got my attention.
Years.
Not weeks.
Not months.
Years.
Naomi looked toward the cabin door.
"I don't know exactly what's going on between you two."
Nothing, I almost said. The lie stuck in my throat. Because something was definitely happening. Whether I wanted it to or not.
"But he's different," she continued. "It's nice to see."
We both turned toward the cabin door when we heard heavy footsteps on the stairs.
As if summoned by the conversation itself.
Todd stepped aboard wearing faded jeans, an olive-green V-neck sweater with a crisp white t-shirt underneath. His signature camel coat somehow made him look even broader.
His gaze immediately found mine.
Not Naomi's.
Mine.
The corner of his mouth lifted.
Just slightly.
My stomach performed a ridiculous little flip.
Naomi saw it.
Unfortunately.
She looked between us and smiled like a woman who knew entirely too much.
I turned away before she could say another word.
As I made my way to the cockpit, I almost plowed into Julie as she flew through the cabin door. She was out of breath and apologizing for running late.
"Are you okay?" Todd's voice showed real concern.
"Yes... no. I don't know," she stammered. A few tears streaked down her cheek.
"Whoa." Todd stepped toward Julie, guiding her into one of the club seats. "Sit. What's going on?"
Naomi got up and was instantly by Julie's side.
"I'm sorry. I'll be fine."
"Julie, what happened?" Naomi asked.
Julie took a shaky breath. "I just witnessed a hit and run. Nothing life-threatening, I don't think, but there was a lot of blood. I don't do well with blood."
"Where?" I chimed in.
"Right in the parking lot. I guess someone was late for their flight and drove around the turn way too fast. He didn't see the man in time. Just clipped him enough where the guy fell backward and hit his head on the curb."
"Holy cow." Mike said from behind me.
"Did I mention there was blood?" Julie's face looked pale.
"Yes, you may have mentioned that." Todd stood up and went back to the galley. He came back with an apple juice, opened it and handed it to Julie. "Here, you look like you could use this."
"Huh, thank you Mr. Archer." She took a long gulp. "Thank you. I really needed that."
I watched the interaction between the two. Todd didn't hesitate to take care of Julie. Even if it was something as simple as getting her apple juice.
I've flown for some very prominent people, and most of them were so full of themselves it bordered on parody. Todd may look the part, but he was different. Very different.
The flight itself was uneventful.
Exactly the way I liked my flights.
Mike handled radio work while I flew. The weather cooperated.
Predictable and safe.
I caught myself wondering what he was doing back there.
Reading?
Working?
Sleeping?
Thinking about me?
That last one was particularly dangerous.
A few moments later, the intercom clicked on.
Todd's voice came through the speaker.
"Captain Connelly, I have a hankering for truffle fries."
My mouth flew open and I glanced over at Mike. His eyebrows shot up and a huge smile formed on his face.
I honestly didn't have a comeback. My mind was completely blank. Damn it!
"Captain? Did you hear me?"
"I... I heard you. Let me fly the plane, Mr Archer. We can discuss truffle fries once we land."
I heard Todd's deep laugh before clicking off.
I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. I should've known better than to glance toward Mike, but I couldn't help myself.
Mike shook his head and burst out laughing.
The intercom crackled again, "Is there a ruckus in the cockpit I should know about?"
I refused to participate. I kept my eyes forward, letting Mike handle this one.
"Um, no sir. No ruckus in the... cockpit." He could barely get the words out before losing it all over again.
I took a deep breath and focused on flying the Gulfstream.
Several hours later, Charlotte appeared beneath us.
Home.
I guided the aircraft onto the runway and completed the landing smoothly despite a few crosswinds.
Once we were parked and the engines shut down, I finished the post-flight checklist before gathering my things.
By the time I stepped into the cabin, everyone else should have been gone.
Instead, Todd was waiting.
My overnight bag sat beside him.
"You don't have to do that," I said.
He picked it up anyway.
"I know."
Before I could argue, he headed toward the exit.
The man was impossible, and there was no point trying to stop him. I followed him down the aircraft stairs.
The temperature in Charlotte was warmer. Or maybe it was just me.
But being here meant facing everything I'd been trying not to think about on the flight home. The memories of us together.
Will I see him before our next flight?
What happens now?
And no matter how much I told myself I was ready for whatever came next, my stomach still knotted the moment he fell into step beside me.
Halfway across the tarmac, his hand settled against the small of my back. The touch was light and casual, yet somehow possessive enough to make my pulse skip.
I looked up at him. He didn't seem to notice what he'd done. Or maybe he noticed exactly what he'd done. With Todd, it was hard to tell.
We walked through the terminal together. His hand remained there the entire time.
As we passed a woman pushing a stroller, my eyes locked with hers. Her expression changed immediately.
"You're them? The ones from that video!"
Todd didn't miss a beat. "Depends. Was it the one where we looked fabulous?"
The woman laughed and shook her head as we kept walking.
I laughed because, what else was I going to do?
The walls I'd been desperately trying to rebuild since Aspen started cracking all over again.
Sleeping with my client had been a mistake.
Getting emotionally involved with him was an even bigger one.
I should have been creating distance.
I should have been focusing on work.
I should have been remembering all the reasons this couldn't happen.
Instead, all I could think about was when I'd see him again.
And that was a problem.
Because I was starting to fall for him.