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Was Elle flummoxed enough for Riley? What was the point of this? Besides getting back at her for something beyond their control? This couldn’t have been about jealousy unless Riley was secretly in love with Arianna. In which case… shit, Elle had nobody to blame but herself! She was the one who suggested both women for the marketing campaign, where they inevitably met!

“A while ago,” Elle confessed. “Except I can’t do that so easily now. I’m in too deep.”

“Deep in a stewardess, you mean.”

“Like you haven’t fucked half the fleet by now!”

“It’s more like ten percent, but okay, boss. I ain’t exactly a man.”

“Oh, shut up. Don’t you have a plane to get to?”

“Could say the same to you.”

“Look.” Elle got in Riley’s face, finger halfway to jamming in her chest. “Stay out of it. This is my issue to deal with. I’ll tell Aria… soon.”

“Oh, you better. Because if this all comes out and she asks me if I knew, I’ll be pissed as fuck that I have to either lie to her or risk whatever friendship we have!”

“Why are you so histrionic? You sure there isn’t something going on between you two?”

Riley puffed up like a balloon. “What makes you say that?”

“You are so defensive right now.”

“I mean… I may have taken her advice as to where I could meet someone in this town… for… you know… recreation.”

Elle sighed. She knew exactly what that meant.

“Wasn’t my fault the chick I picked up was her sister.”

A hand that Elle wasn’t sure she controlled snatched Riley by the shoulder. “What?”

“Saturday night. Arianna caught me and her sister making out at a lesbian bar in town.”

Saturday? The night before Elle met Kaylinn, who was a shy kind of bubbly in front of her sister’s girlfriend? Was that why Arianna had been on edge throughout all of dinner?

“I just met her sister last night! Why didn’t Arianna say something?”

“Probably because she’d rather die.”

“Why are we talking about this again? How did this all start?”

“You being a big fat liar to a nice lady on our plane. Oh, and your payroll.”

“Let me handle this,” Elle said before she had the chance to think. “You keep your big mouth shut. I’ve got a good thing going, and I don’t want her getting hurt.”

“Suuure, I bet she is a good thing going!”

Elle slammed her bag behind her, nearly running over her foot with a heavy and askew wheel. “I want to make something very clear to you, Lowe. Arianna and I are serious. We’ve been together a lot longer than I anticipated, mostly because we like each other. If it weren’t for work creating distance between us, I’d be asking her to move in with me already.”

Something about that statement took Riley aback. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“You like her that much, huh?”

“Not just like.” Elle spun around, her bag nearly tipping over as she forced it to roll behind her. “I fucking love her.”

That wasn’t only the first time she said that out loud to someone. It was the first time Elle allowed herself to genuinely think it.