British Black Sheep - Lauren Smith Page 0,13
froze. “Alec?” She’d spent all day trying to forget him and the feeling of leaving something important undone when she hadn’t asked him for his number or email.
He blinked in equal shock. “Brie?”
“Yeah…” She swept her gaze over his body.
He’d lost the suit and wore a black sweater that clung to his broad muscled shoulders and hung a bit looser at his tapered waist. His jeans were snug, but not too snug. He looked…good. Maybe even better than before. Brie knew it was just her libido talking but damn…he made her forget every promise she’d ever made to be rational when it came to picking men. It really was like Preston all over again. She totally had a type and that was not a good thing.
“You’re on this flight?” she asked.
“I am… You are too?” Alec bent to open his briefcase and pulled out a book. Her book. “You left this behind on the last flight.”
“God, you found it!” She accepted the book with a grin but couldn’t resist teasing him. “Why don’t you keep it? I own the audio edition.”
“Of course, you do,” he replied with a roll of his eyes but he returned the book to his briefcase.
“So…you’re headed to Manchester?” She got in line behind him as they started to board.
“Spending the holidays with my family.”
She picked on up on his reluctance. “Not looking forward to it?”
“I despise the holidays. They are unpleasant.”
Wow, that she hadn’t expected. Such a blunt answer…and a sad one at that.
“Is it the holiday or the family that bothers you?”
Alec spoke over his shoulder as he stepped onto the plane ahead of her. “My grandfather died on Christmas Day. I don’t really like to talk about it.” This time his tone carried a heavy finality that warned her not to probe any deeper.
He paused and glanced down at his ticket. “What seat are you?”
She glanced at her boarding pass. “6A… Window seat.”
“6B.” He shook his head and with a chuckle stepped back to let her slip past him. He accepted her purse without even asking and put it in the overhead bin above them. As he sat down beside her, she caught a fresh scent of a pine scent mixed with aftershave.
“Ugh, you got to shower, didn’t you?” She accused.
He smirked, that bad boy expression turning every bit of her on. “Yes, I did. All that hot water… It was glorious.”
“I hate you,” she muttered.
He nudged her arm with his, making a grand show of getting comfortable in his chair. This plane was tiny compared to the first one. Brie’s nerves started to build as she looked at the fog that was the beginning to roll through the airport outside.
“You should relax. The flight is only an hour or so.”
Brie swallowed hard and went to grip the handle of the armrest, but his hand was in the way. She started to pull away, but he closed his eyes and turned his palm face up, in silent invitation. She hesitated for only a moment before she placed her palm in his. Then he laced their fingers and held her hand tight enough to reassure her.
“Just relax,” he murmured again. The plane only seated thirty people and soon the cabin doors were secured and the plane was ready to take off.
It’s going to be fine, just fine. The more she mentally echoed this, the more it felt like a lie. The plane taxied out to the runway and then ramped up its speed before lifting into the night. The pilot came on, announcing the weather and foggy conditions.
“You okay?” Alec asked.
She opened her eyes, waiting for the plane to reach its height before it dipped as she knew it would. “Yeah, the fog makes me nervous.”
“They know how to fly in fog. They’ve done it plenty of times.” He glanced toward where the attendant was in her jumpsuit. “Maybe when the drink cart comes, we can order champagne again.”
“Good plan.” Brie’s stomach pitched as the plane dropped a little then steadied out.
“See? All is well.” Alec didn’t let go of her hand until the attendant unclipped her seatbelt and began serving drinks from the drink cart. After a glass of champagne, Brie began to relax. “Sorry I keep freaking out. I’m not a scaredy-cat by nature, I swear.”
Alec only shrugged. “Everyone is allowed to be afraid of something. You don’t want to let fear rule you and stop you from living.”
“Did you steal that from a fortune cookie?”
He leaned over and tapped the tip