Nonstop (Open Skies #3) - Becca Jameson Page 0,49
about it. She hadn’t expected to have sex or a boyfriend, so kids had never been on her radar. She thought back to the afternoon she’d sat down at the park a few weeks ago and shivered.
“Yeah. My mom has called me ten times since I told her we were coming. She has asked me a dozen questions about you so that she can make a good impression.”
“Yikes. What have you told her?” This distraction was working. She was focusing on Bracken instead of the passengers.
“Let’s see. When I told her your age, I’m pretty sure she went out and bought a crib and a stroller.”
Bex nearly choked. “That’s overboard. Now you’re making me nervous.”
“Just warning you.”
She frowned at him. “Do you want kids?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, never expected to have them because I never met anyone I would want to have them with. And, I’m—”
“If you say you’re old one more time, I’m going to hurt you.”
He chuckled.
“I’m not sure I’m mother material,” she pointed out. How did they end up in such a deep discussion?
He frowned. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I’m afraid I’d be overprotective. I would never let them leave the house so no one would hurt them. Then they would resent me and hate me.”
She had to give him credit for not laughing at her. His brow was furrowed. He took her seriously. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “You’d be an amazing mom, and don’t forget kids have two parents. If we ever had a kid, I’d temper your overprotection.”
She shuddered and shook off the thought. It was far more than she could handle right now. She needed to redirect the conversation. “What else did your mom say?”
“She wanted to know if you had any allergies. What your hobbies are. If you like board games. If you were fancy…”
“Fancy?”
He chuckled. “Dressy, I guess. I told her you were pretty casual.” He gave her hand another squeeze. “They will love you.”
It was time for the flight to take off, and Bex sucked in a breath as the door was shut and Shayla stepped into the aisle to start the safety demonstration.
Bex drew in deep breaths. Lots of them. Trying to calm herself. She was aware that she was squeezing Bracken’s hand too tightly, but he didn’t say a word. He leaned in close to her so that his biceps lined up with hers. “Easy peasy,” he murmured. “Nonstop flight. In a few hours, we’ll be on the ground in Maine.”
She nodded, not meeting his gaze. She put all her concentration on breathing exercises, ones that didn’t seem to be working.
She stiffened as the plane took off and remained that way for so long that her neck started hurting. She kept her gaze straight ahead on a random spot on the floor, trying to talk herself into believing everything would be okay.
Statistically, nothing could possibly happen on this flight.
She hated the way the human mind could pick and choose what it decided to fear. After all, why flights? Why not bedrooms or sex or men with hands? How did flying become an overnight trigger for her? It couldn’t even be attributed to claustrophobia. She wasn’t afraid of small spaces. Hell, she’d never even had a fear of being kidnapped or taken hostage.
Granted, she did have nightmares about being choked, but that was expected.
Bracken leaned in closer to her, whispering in her ear. “You want to take a Xanax, baby?”
She shook her head. She’d rather hold on to the pills in case of an emergency. She needed to suffer through the entire flight if she could. Otherwise, what would she have gained? She certainly couldn’t take a Xanax any time before work.
“’K. Just let me know if you change your mind. Would you like to read or talk or something?”
She turned toward him and forced a small smile. “I’m okay.”
His lopsided grin told her he didn’t believe her, but he cupped her face and kissed her. His lips slid to her ear again next. “Think about all the things I’m going to do to your body later tonight. That’ll take your mind off flying.”
She glared at him. “In your parents’ house?”
He laughed. “Of course. We’re grown adults. They aren’t going to judge us for having sex, baby.”
She leaned in closer to him. “You keep telling me I’m kind of noisy when I have sex,” she hissed.
He laughed. “So, we’ll work on that. Besides, the master bedroom and the other bedrooms are