Page 40

I stumbled off my chair, surprised the alcohol had hit me so hard already.

Then again, I’d done two shots when I normally stuck with wine.

Plus, the anxiety of the flight was getting to me.

I slouched down in my chair at the gate, careful to keep my wits about me enough to keep my luggage close by.

Sliding my sunglasses down over my eyes, I watched everyone carefully, feeling like they were all glaring at me.

I was pretty sure they weren’t, but now that the alcohol hit, I was starting to think of scenarios in which the flight might go down.

And most of those included terrorists, angry wives who’d had enough of men and wanted to rid the world of them, and demon children who were sent from hell to destroy everything good.

Okay, my imagination was running wild and the alcohol wasn’t helping, but if it kept my mind off the plane actually crashing, I could handle anything.

I sucked down my drink rather quickly, eyeing the bin at the end of the aisle, wondering if I was a good enough shot to get it in.

I lined it up and let it loose, eyes widening in horror when I hit the man a seat over with my cup.

The lid fell off and spilled ice everywhere.

I quickly turned away and scrolled through my phone, pretending it wasn’t me—that I hadn’t just hit an old man with a cup.

I was so going to hell.

I ignored the old man as he looked around for the culprit.

My face flamed with heat as I felt his eyes briefly land on me, but then he turned away, grumbling about hating the airport.

Why had I decided to come? This trip was going terribly, and I had a feeling it was only going to get worse.

By the time they called my boarding group, I was ready for more alcohol, which they thankfully sold on the plane.

There was no way I was sitting through takeoff without some more liquid courage.

I stood in line, my heart thumping wildly in my chest as I waited for my doom.

I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this.

How could I be so stupid as to get on another plane by myself?

I wouldn’t do it with Patrick, but here I was, risking life and limb just to spend a week with him and save him from his overbearing mother.

God, I really did have a few screws loose.

Carrying my bag and my drink was awkward, and I giggled as I imagined Patrick getting on a flight with his crutches and wonky leg.

He’d probably yell at all the passengers and curse them for being in the way.

Then again, he was really nice. He’d probably apologize to everyone for the inconvenience and make a joke out of it.

I found my seat and lifted the overhead door to stuff my bag inside, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get the damn bag up there.

I was tall enough, but unfortunately, alcohol made it rather difficult to accomplish my task.

How much vodka had he put in that drink?

Holy hell, I was really feeling it now, and sucking down the contents hadn’t exactly helped.

I started slamming my fist into my bag, hoping that would get the damn thing in the overhead bin. Sadly, nothing seemed to work.

“Need some help?”

Huffing, I turned and stopped dead in my tracks. Another beautiful man. My whole body whimpered with need. Was I destined to run into hot men left and right? What was going on? Now that I had left James, was every man going to be a temptation I couldn’t walk away from?

I swallowed my tongue and nodded, stepping aside, which turned out to be the wrong thing to do because my bag fell and hit me on the head.

“Hey! Watch out,” the man said, trying to catch my bag, but it was too late. It fell to the ground at my feet and sighed heavily. That just figured. “Are you alright?”

He picked up my bag and watched me carefully.

I held my finger and thumb together, squinting as I looked at it. “A little drunk.”

That brought a smile to his face. Thank God, I hadn’t thrown my drink at him. “Not a good flier, huh?”

“Not since I jumped out of a plane and spent a night with a bear,” I answered drunkenly.

He sent me a charming smile and slid into the aisle that was supposed to be mine. “I’ll give you the aisle in case you need to vault to the bathroom.”

“Thass so charming,” I said, taking my seat.

“Well, I do what I can for a lady in distress.”

“Dissstress,” I repeated, snorting at the implication, patting him on the arm rather roughly. “I am in distress. My whole life is distress!”

“You have a fiancé.”

I swiveled my head and peered into his green eyes. “I what?”

He chuckled, pointing to my hand. “You have a fiancé.”

My eyes swiveled to my left hand and I chuckled. “Oh, this. Not engaged,” I enunciated. “The bastard cheated on me. Cheated good. Hence my horrible last flight.”

“Were you on your way to see him?”

“Huh?” See him? Why would I see him? I was confused already.

“When you jumped out of the plane,” he clarified.

“Oh. Pshh!” I waved my hand in the air and ended up smacking him. Whoa, I really needed to lay off the alcohol. “Excuse me!” I called out to a passing flight attendant. “When you have a chance, I’m gonna need some…” I motioned as if I was drinking and she winked at me.

“No problem.”

“Yep, definitely don’t need anything more to drink,” I huffed.

“But you just asked her to bring you some.”

I turned back to Greenie and grinned. “Not needing is not the same as not wanting.”

“Right.” He nodded, but I got the feeling he didn’t get it at all. Or maybe that was just the way the plane was spinning around me.

“Did we take off already?” I reached across him and yanked open the blinds. “Is the plane moving?” I shouted.

His low chuckle sent chills down my spine in a good way. “Nope. The ground crew is moving.”

“Oh.” Sighing, I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. “That’s good. Because people walking around in the air is not good.”

“It most definitely is not. So, you don’t like to fly.”

I shook my head, refusing to open my eyes as the plane spun around me. “Nope. Flying is bad.”

“So, why are you flying?”

“Overbearing mother.”

“Ah, I have one of those, too.”

“So, you understand his predicament.”

“Whose?”

“Patrick’s.”

“And who is Patrick?”

Did I have to spell everything out? I was not sober enough to do this. “The guy I jumped out of the plane with.”

I heard a heavy sigh and peeled my eyes open. “What?”

“So, you’re doing all this for another man.”

“Um…rescue,” I got out, finding it more difficult by the second to talk.

The stewardess stopped and handed me a few drinks, winking at me as she proceeded with her tasks. “God loves women who stick together,” I muttered before upending the contents into my mouth.

“You’re rescuing another man?”

I nodded, my brain growing fuzzy. “Can I sleep on you?”

“Why not,” he chuckled. “Will you rescue me if I need it?”

I snuggled into his arm and closed my eyes. “Just don’t make me jump out of any more planes.”