Chapter Four

 

Roxie

 

First class? Am I seriously flying first class?

I was almost afraid to walk away from the curtains. I felt like if I took even a single step down the aisle, the flight attendants would swarm me and I'd be allocated to an overhead compartment for the rest of the flight. Luca, however, didn't seem to be fazed at all. He seemed right at home, actually. He started down the aisle, but paused after he passed by a few rows and noticed that I wasn't right behind him anymore. He adjusted his carry-on bag over his shoulder and turned around to look at me.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I held out my hands to indicate the luxurious cabin around us.

"What kind of connections do you have, exactly, Luca?"

He met my eyes and grinned mischievously, and I felt my heart beat faster in response. I chastised myself and forced my eyes away from his mesmerizing smile.

"It's not a big deal," he said. "Come on. Sit down and relax."

Did he really just say that us being in first class wasn't a big deal?

I scrutinized his bag as much as possible before he slipped into his seat and tucked it under his feet. I wondered how likely it was that it had a false lining and was packed with drugs he was smuggling. That would explain the arrangement for faster passage through security and the first-class tickets. Of course, it wouldn't explain why he would be running drugs to a resort in a tiny beach town that often had more tourists that it did actual citizens. Or how he managed to conveniently arrange to come as my date the exact time he needed to deliver the drugs.

OK, my imagination is active today.

I slipped into the seat beside him and rested my bag on my lap. I promptly secured my seatbelt and pulled it as tightly as I possibly could. I would gladly sacrifice some of my comfort if it meant I could feel confident about not being ejected from the plane. When I felt securely buckled into my seat, I dug through my bag for my gum.

"What are you looking for?"

"Gum."

"Why?"

I shot a look at Luca.

"Again… do you not fly? It's so my ears don't pop when the pressure changes."

"I've never had that problem."

"Because of your connections?"

I had to give him credit. The man laughed. We had been communicating over text for a couple of weeks now but had only been in each other's actual physical presence for less than two hours. Looking back, I hadn't been the most welcoming or endearing of companions in that time. It wasn't only my nerves about flying or even my dread at showing up at the wedding and trying to enjoy myself while focusing on Thea and her special day. It was Luca.

He was gorgeous. Like, couldn't catch my breath when I saw him for the first time gorgeous. I had seen a picture of him and knew he was attractive, but now I realized that picture really didn't do him justice. As sexy as I thought he was in that one little glimpse, it didn't prepare me at all for when I actually spotted Luca walking toward me with his luggage. He was tall and muscular, around six-foot-six, with tan skin, thick dark hair, and soulful brown eyes. He was wearing fitted jeans and an untucked light blue button-up shirt. It was casual, but the clothes hung on his body in a way that made him look both effortless and like I had cut him out of a magazine at the same time. His voice was so deep and silky that I wanted to strip down naked and roll around with it.

Oh, no.

The moment that thought popped into my head, another snapped in with it. The image of the two of us stripping down and rolling around on luxury bed sheets metamorphized into Kevin standing in the middle of my office. Kevin who I had asked to strip right after meeting him. Shit.

I grabbed my phone and called Terri.

"Hey!" she said when she answered. "I thought you couldn’t use your phone when you were in the air."

"We're haven’t taken off yet."

"Oh, good."

"Listen, did HR come down to my office?"

"HR?"

"Yeah, I was supposed to go up and talk to them a couple of days ago, but I forgot before I left for vacation."

"Why?"

"I think it probably has something to do with thinking that guy was auditioning for the Egyptian fundraiser."

"The one you asked to get naked and dance for you in your office?"

"I did not ask him to dance for me. But, yeah, that one."

"He stood in your office for two hours after you left."

"Oh, lord."

"That was months ago. Why is HR coming after you now?"

"I don't know. He seemed really happy with his new position. I thought it was all over, but then I got a note saying I was supposed to go talk to them. And I didn't."

"How in the world did you forget you were supposed to go talk to HR?"

I leaned forward and rested my forehead in my hand.

"I might be really bad at my job."

"No, you aren't. You're amazing at your job. You've completely turned things around here. Do you realize how much your fundraisers have made?"

"You've helped make it happen," I said.

"Listening to your ideas and nodding occasionally isn't exactly helping you. You have so much going on in your head, girl. It's no wonder you can't remember things sometimes. If I was you, I don't know if I would be able to remember to put my pants on in the morning. At least you've never come in bare-assed."

"I'll add that to my resume."

"You aren't going to need a resume anytime soon. HR did come down to see you. They said it wasn't a big deal you forgot to come up, and that they'll talk to you when you get back. It is about Kevin, but it's not a sexual harassment complaint. Apparently, he was intrigued by your interview and decided his true humanitarian calling is being a prop in your fundraisers."

"Seriously, Terri, you're going to have to stop that."

"Why? It's good for you. Keeps you on your toes. Keeps your brain moving."

"The brain that is already so full that I can't remember anything? Perfect." I sat up to let Luca step past me. I waited until he had disappeared through the curtains before I spoke again. "Oh, yeah, and speaking of not being able to remember anything, jot it down on my calendar to send your brother a fruit basket."

"For what?"

"To thank him for not coming."

"That's not very nice. Greg really is a good guy."

"I'm sure he is, Terri, but have you ever met Luca?"

I lowered my voice just in case he was lurking on the other side of the curtains.

"No. Why? Is he hot?"

"I am so flustered around him. He's got me alternating between rambling like an insane woman and acting like a raging bitch. This man is like nothing I've ever seen."

"Wait a minute. I thought you weren't in the market for a man. I thought all of this was totally no strings attached. You even offered to pay him. That puts you in a whole weird grey area."

"Pay that he turned down, just for the record. And just because I can't eat the pretty cupcake doesn't mean I can't enjoy standing at the bakery window."

"That good, huh?"

"Do you remember that tiramisu we had for dessert when we went out for Helen's birthday last month?"

"Oh my god, that was so good."

"It had that cream that was so sweet and luscious I said I wanted to just lick it up?"

"Yeah…"

Terri sounded intrigued, but at that moment I realized Luca was standing right beside me. I had been so caught up in trying to describe him I hadn't even realized he had come back. Oops.

"I really hope Thea has that on her dessert table. I think we're taking off soon, Terri. Gotta go. Bye."

I hung up the phone and flattened it to my lap as I leaned back to let him in, praying he hadn't been standing there long.

"Everything OK at work?"

"Hmm?"

"You were talking to Terri. That's Greg's sister, right? You know her from work."

"Oh," I could feel my face burning. "Yes. Yeah, that was Terri. I was just calling to check in on the office."

My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen.

"You got caught, didn't you?"

"Her again?" Luca asked. "They can't hold down the fort without you, huh?"

"We're a good team. You know what they say. There's no 'I' in intraoffice cooperation."

"Shut up." I typed back and hastily put my phone down again.

"Yes, there is. There's three actually."

"Send me a picture."

"I am not sending you a picture."

"Pics or it didn't happen."

"I'm not going to take a picture of him while we're sitting together on a plane for four hours."

"Picture or you're actually going with a troll."

"It's not going to happen, Terri."

"Picture or you are there by yourself."

I was positioned awkwardly in my seat, but I sighed, picked up my phone, and snapped a picture as fast as I could. I hoped that whatever Luca was doing on his own phone would distract him enough that he wouldn't notice, but he immediately looked up.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Did you just take a picture of me?"

"No. I wanted to send Thea a picture of the window. Let her know we're on the way."

He looked at the window beside him.

"It's closed."

"It's tradition."

"To send each other pictures of closed airplane windows before you take off?"

"Yes."

"I thought you said you didn’t like flying."

"Well, you know what they say. It's good luck to sit down in a seat on an airplane with a closed window."

What am I saying?

"Who is it you know that is saying these things?

Before I could come up with the next nonsensical lie, I heard a loud ding overhead. I gasped and grabbed onto the armrest. The voice of the flight attendant came over the loudspeaker, welcoming us aboard. I looked around.

"There's no one else on the plane," I whispered.

Luca glanced around and shrugged.

"I hear people back in coach. Maybe no one booked first class for this flight."

I nodded.

"Does that happen a lot?"

"I don’t know. Maybe."

I figured that made sense. The only way he would be able to snag us first class tickets through his connections with the airline was probably if there were plenty of seats available in the first place. And I think it’s safe to say that having no other passengers meant there were plenty of available seats. The flight attendant went over all the safety procedures and I listened with rapt attention. I had watched movies about planes landing in the ocean and all the passengers floating out on their seats. I could get behind that. But this flight wasn't going to be anywhere near the water until we got to the resort. I needed to know what to do if we went down on land. A few minutes later the plane started its taxi down the long runway.

"You're shaking," Luca said from beside me.

I realized I had pressed myself against the very back of the seat as I squeezed my eyes closed and gripped the armrest.

"I really don't like flying."

I said it under my breath, worrying that if I said it too loud it would somehow offend the plane.

"You've mentioned that," he said.

He didn't sound like he was mocking me. Instead, his voice was low and soft again, compassionate even, as if he was trying to reassure me without having to say a word. A moment later, I felt his hand stroke mine as his fingers slipped under to touch my palm. His touch sent a shiver through me and I hesitated, trying not to let it affect me. Like Terri had said, that wasn't the intention of this week. I wasn't supposed to be attracted to Luca, and I certainly wasn't going to act on it. I just wanted to be there for Thea and hoped that pulling off this charade would somehow make that easier. I had to stop thinking about Luca that way. I had to ignore how sexy he was. I needed to maintain distance between us unless it was absolutely necessary.

I felt the pressure of the wheels beneath the plane release as we left the ground and I clasped onto his hand. The heat of his skin seemed to sear into mine.

I'd get right on that just as soon as my feet were on solid ground again.