Chapter 21

 

Kenzie gripped the armrests on the leather chair, her knuckles white. Camden had convinced her it was no big deal, but she was having a panic attack and they hadn’t even taken off yet. Camden leaned closer to her. “They’re almost ready for takeoff. Once we’re in the air, you can lie down and take a nap. It’s late. You’ll need sleep anyway; it’s a long flight.”

She was clenched so tight, no part of her was going to relax enough to fall asleep. “Unlikely,” she said through her teeth.

The engines roared and the plane began to move. Kenzie closed her eyes and tried not to think about being thousands of feet in the air. Or falling from thousands of feet in the air. Her stomach rolled.

“Hey,” Camden said, his voice soothing. “Don’t think about the plane. Think about something that you like. Jewelry. Camping. Walking on the beach.” He pried her fingers loose and took her hand in his.

His voice helped a little. And when she thought about walking on the beach, she thought about last weekend, with Camden. Her mind raced to when they walked in the moonlight, and to his kiss.

The plane suddenly picked up speed and she gripped his hand tight. “That’s right. Squeeze all the blood out of my hand and you’ll be fine.”

She smiled and opened her eyes. “Sorry.”

The plane continued to rocket forward and Kenzie had a hard time breathing. The plane lifted, and she closed her eyes again. Her stomach did that thing it always did when she was in an elevator or on a fair ride.

“Now, think about your favorite things.” Camden’s voice cut through her fear. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Not a good idea to talk about food right now.”

“Okay, point taken. What’s your favorite band?”

She ground her teeth as they gained altitude. She tried not to think about all the space under her seat. How far down she’d have to fall if the bottom dropped out from under her. The plane leveled out a bit. Camden had shut all the windows, which was good, because seeing the city lights below would only freak her out. She opened her eyes and forced herself to look at his face. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Why would I laugh? Unless it’s . . . no, wait, don’t tell me . . . is it One Direction?”

She giggled, then noticed his hand was turning purple. She let go and smiled at him. “No.”

“Backstreet Boys?”

She snorted, then slapped her hand over her mouth. Had she really snorted? How embarrassing. “No. R.E.M.”

“Really? They’re a good band. Why would I have laughed at that?”

“Not everyone likes my taste in music.”

Camden grinned at her. “Not everyone is me. Now, what’s your favorite color?”

“Sunset orange.”

“What? That’s not a color.”

“Yes, it is. It’s the color of the sky during a sunset.”

“That’s totally cheating.”

The look on his face made her laugh. “Why? That’s the color I like the best.”

“But sunset orange has pinks and purples in it. It’s a gradient, not a solid color.”

“My favorite color is a gradient. Get over it. Just because your favorite color isn’t as cool as mine—”

“Hey, who said mine wasn’t as cool?”

“What’s your favorite color, then?”

He tapped his chin. “Sea blue.”

“Talk about cheating! You just changed your favorite color so yours is a gradient too.” Kenzie tried to keep a straight face but failed.

“You’re impossible to please.” He scoffed, but she saw the smile in his eyes. “Okay, on to another favorite. What’s your favorite movie?”

“That’s easy. Better Off Dead.”

“Seriously? I love that movie. There’s nothing funnier than the kid on his bike screaming, ‘I want my two dollars.’”

She whacked his leg. “Get out. I can’t believe you’ve seen that. Most people just look at me funny.”

“What? It’s a classic.”

“I think so. I guess everyone else isn’t as sophisticated as we are.”

He grinned at her. “True. What’s one movie where you would change the ending if you could?”

“Titanic. Worst. Ending. Ever. I mean, Rose, you idiot, why didn’t you take turns on the floating wooden thing? Really. How stupid to have him die. That was an epic love story. There was no reason for him to die.”

“I’m going to disagree with you there. The movie is so memorable because he died.”

Was he crazy? “What? There are plenty of epic love stories that are memorable even though neither one of them die.”

He slowly pried her fingers off the armrest. She hadn’t noticed she’d gone back to gripping them with all her might. His warm hands enclosed hers. “But the ending was so poignant. It took a decent film and made it epic.”

She scoffed. “Whatever. Share the floaty thing and live. That’s what I say.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one. If you could go back to school to learn anything, what would it be?”

“Web design.”

One eyebrow lifted. “Why?”

“Because I’ve been trying to get a website up and running for months, but it baffles me. I need some help figuring it out.”

“I’m no expert, but I could help you get one up and going.”

“I’d need an online shopping cart.”

He nodded. “I’m pretty sure I could help you figure that out.”

“Thank you. That would be wonderful.” She pulled out her phone and glanced at the clock, suddenly feeling tired. One in the morning.

“Do you want to lie down? These seats recline.”

“Maybe for a little while.”

He showed her how to adjust the chair, and they both reclined. He took her hand again. “How are you doing?”

She realized she wasn’t as tense. She still didn’t love the idea that they were so high in the air, but Camden had successfully gotten her mind off it, and she’d relaxed a little. “I’m alright.”

“Good. Close your eyes and focus on the pressure of my hand.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll tell you about the time I accidentally locked myself out of my hotel room.”

She opened one eye. “And I imagine you were naked.”

“Why would you imagine that?” He gave her a fake shocked look. “Do you often imagine me naked? Because that’s not right.”

She elbowed him in the ribs. “Funny.”

He chuckled. “I thought it was.”

“So, what happened?” She closed her eyes and settled back into the seat.

“I had gone out to get ice, but I forgot my key. I got back to my room and could hear my cell phone ringing, but I couldn’t answer it. I was expecting an important call.”

“That’s not good.”

“I finally found someone to let me into my room, but it was too late. I’d missed the call. Had to call them back with a lame excuse.”

He was speaking softer now, and the drowsiness took over. “Mmmm.”

He shifted in his chair, and for a second she thought she felt him press his lips to her forehead, but the feeling was gone so quickly, she must have imagined it. “Goodnight,” he whispered.

She felt herself slip into sleep. At one point she became aware that she was snuggled up against Camden, her head on his shoulder. She decided not to worry about it. He knew they were nothing more than friends. She allowed herself to drift back to sleep.

The plane dipping woke her with a start. She sat up, her heart hammering. Was this it? Was the plane going down? “It’s okay,” Camden said, his voice calm. He raised the back of her seat, then took her hand. “We’re about to land.”

Relief flooded through her and she swallowed. “Thank goodness, it’s almost over. I’ll feel a lot better once I’m on the ground.”

He squeezed her hand. “If you could time travel, where would you go?”

The plane jolted again and she sucked in a breath. “Eighteen hundreds. Before airplanes.”

He didn’t laugh at her, he just continued to hold her hand as the plane touched down and put on the brakes. They came to a stop, and Kenzie looked down to see his poor fingertips were purple again. She let go of him. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said, flexing his hand. “We made it.”

A rush of feelings enveloped her. Camden had not made fun of her for being afraid to fly. He’d spoken to her to calm her, and he had stayed right by her the entire nine-hour flight. He hadn’t complained when she’s squeezed the life out of his hand. He’d successfully taken her mind off her fear and relaxed her so she could sleep. She wanted to tell him thank you, but that seemed inadequate somehow. The words wouldn’t come out.

She rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Ten after six in the morning, local time.”

“Plenty of time to get to the hotel and get checked in. Mason gave me the schedule, and there’s nothing planned before ten.”

Camden grabbed their luggage and helped her down the stairs. She refrained from getting down on all fours and kissing the cement. They rented a car, and Camden drove them to the hotel where the family reunion was taking place.

When they got to the front desk, Kenzie felt like curling up on the tile and taking a nap, but she put her elbow on the counter and rested her cheek on her hand. It wasn’t until the lady behind the desk said there was only one room left that her head snapped up, her eyes wide. “What did you say?”

“I’m sorry, we’re booked solid. All I have left is one suite on the third floor.”

Kenzie groaned and buried her face in her hands. “That’s great.”

“We’ll take it,” Camden said to the lady. He turned to Kenzie. “We’ll make it work.”

She forced a smile. Camden was right. They’d figure it out. The lady at the desk typed on her keyboard. “The room won’t be ready until noon. You can come and get the key cards after that.”

“Sure. Can you hold our luggage for us?”

“We’ll lock it in the back room.” He followed the employee around the desk, then disappeared into the back. Had he gotten more handsome overnight? He had a day’s stubble on his jaw, and his hair was a bit tousled, but that just made him sexier. Kenzie tried to keep her heart from hammering in her chest, but she was having a difficult time. She repeated the mantra in her head: just friends . . . just friends.

He came back from the room; with one look, she knew she was in trouble.