Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“Yes, but it’s overhead,” she tells me, so I stand and click the latch on the overhead compartment.
“Which bag is yours?” I ask, hearing the telltale sound of a seatbelt unclicking.
“The blue one.” Lifting up on my tiptoes, I start to reach over my head to pull it down, but before I can grab hold of it, a shadow falls over me.
“I got it, babe.”
“Thanks.” I take it from the man towering over me trying hard to ignore the way my stomach is flip-flopping all over the place. It’s difficult.
“No problem.” He doesn’t move to sit back down and like an idiot I stare at him, watching his lips kick up into a grin.
Clearing my throat when Rory starts to whimper, reminding me of what I’m supposed to be doing I drag my eyes off the man, and look down at Rory and his mom.
“Would you like me to hold him while you search?” I offer. There must be twenty pockets on the bag, and I don’t feel comfortable going through her stuff, even with permission.
“That would be great,” she says, and the man takes back the bag without a word.
I don’t look at him again; it’s obvious I can’t without making a fool of myself. Instead, I focus on Rory and hold my hands out to him. He eyes me for a moment, then reaches up to me. When I have him on my hip, his mom takes the bag and starts to dig through it.
“Daw-ba-mama-baba,” Rory says, tapping my jaw with his tiny fist.
“Yes, Mommy is getting your baba.” I smile at him, and he smiles back, showing off four tiny white teeth in the front.
“He-doda-mama,” he replies, and I laugh.
“Really?”
“Mama-loo-la-baba-dada.”
“Are you sure you’re not lying?” I ask him, and he giggles, dropping his head to my shoulder. My chest warms, and I accidentally glance up at the man still standing over us, the soft expression on his face causing a riot of butterflies to fill my stomach. His eyes lift to lock on mine, and I get sucked into the vortex of their blueness once again.
“Finally!” Rory’s mom shouts, making me jump, and I look down to see she’s found his passy.
“Baba!” Rory squeals with baby happiness, lunging toward his mom. Only he takes the passy from her and shoves it in his mouth before resting his head back on my shoulder.
“He’s traded me in,” she says with a relieved and happy smile, and I laugh, looking down at his cute little face while she passes the bag back to Mr. Blue Eyes when he reaches for it.
“He’s sweet.” I fight the urge to kiss his head like I would with one of the babies in my life I have the right to do that with, and I pass him back to his mom.
“Thank you,” she tells me softly.
“You’re welcome.”
When he’s settled on her lap, I force myself to look at the man now taking the seat behind her. “Thank you for your help.”
“No problem.” He winks, and my cheeks warm.
I hear the guy in the aisle across from him chuckle, and I glance over at him, wanting badly to say something smart. I’m sure he’s used to women having my same reaction to his friend. Heck, they probably have the same reaction to him, because he’s just as good-looking, with wavy hair and green eyes that stand out against his dark complexion.
Clearing my throat, I spin on my heels and turn to walk back to the safety of the kitchen to finish helping Joslyn get things ready. It doesn’t take long for us to get through drink service, and by some miracle, I’m able to avoid making a fool of myself again as we pass out sodas and pretzels. By the time we’re done, Douglas comes over the speaker and announces we’ll be starting our descent soon, then goes over the weather for Ibiza.
I give it a few minutes, then walk through the cabin to pick up trash and check to make sure everyone is buckled in. Then I spend a moment talking with Joslyn before going back to my seat at the front, and locking myself in for the rest of the flight.
When we land, Douglas comes out of the cockpit to join me, and I’m relieved he hasn’t seen the many times I’ve lost my composure during this flight. I’m sure he’d love to have something to give me a hard time about, only he wouldn’t keep it to himself. He would share the joys of my embarrassment with his wife Blair and their two daughters, Elsie and Vi, who I know would all tease me relentlessly about my reaction to a man, after I’ve vowed to spend a year man-free.
As people begin to exit the plane, they smile at me like they know something I don’t, and honestly, it’s a little unnerving. Especially when the man who’s had me on edge this entire flight starts walking up the aisle, towering over everyone by a foot, if not more.