by Lynn, Sandi
“Look at that, Allison. We’re no longer strangers.” My lip curled.
“Hey you, handsome devil. The usual?”
“Hi Val. Yes, the usual, and I’ll just stick with water.”
“Coming right up.”
“The usual? I take it you dine here often?”
“I do. I travel a lot. How’s that grilled chicken and avocado sandwich?”
“It’s great. I’ve eaten here once before and I remembered how good it was.”
“And the waffle fries?” I asked.
“Lightly seasoned and cooked to perfection.”
“With just the right amount of crisp,” we both spoke at the same exact time.
Allison cocked her head and laughed. “Exactly.”
“Here you go, Nathan.” Val set my plate down in front of me. “Enjoy.”
“You know I always do, Val.” I gave her a wink.
“That’s your usual?” Allison pointed.
“It is. It’s obvious we have something in common.” The corners of my mouth curved upward.
She looked down and picked up a waffle fry.
“So, why are you traveling to Chicago if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Business.”
“I take it you’re from here.”
“I just moved back. I was in Chicago for two years.”
She reached in her purse and pulled out her wallet.
“Listen, I really need to go.”
“Already? Why don’t you stay until I finish, and I’ll walk you to your gate?”
“I can’t. I need to go make a phone call.”
She pulled out her credit card.
“Your meal is on me. It’s the least I could do for bumping into you.”
“Thanks, but I got it.”
“Well, I’m sorry to tell you that it’s already been taken care of. I told Val when I walked in to put it on my tab.”
“Nathan, please. You don’t need to do that.”
“I know I don’t need to. I want to.”
“Thank you. That’s really nice of you. I need to get going and make that phone call. It was nice to meet you, Nathan.”
“The pleasure was all mine, Allison. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.”
“Probably not,” she spoke as she nervously walked out.
I sat there and pondered the fact that I made her nervous, which was odd because I didn’t make women nervous. In fact, I had a hard time getting away from them. But she couldn’t escape my presence fast enough. I finished my lunch and headed to the pilot’s lounge to change into my uniform.
Chapter 4
Allison
Thank God my flight wasn’t delayed any longer. I scanned my boarding pass, boarded the plane and took my seat. It would be around ten o’clock when I arrived in Chicago. As I stared out the window at the rain that continued to fall, my mind wandered to thoughts about Nathan. Thoughts about where he was traveling to and if he was also sitting on his flight waiting to take off. I could still smell the scent of him. Clean and fresh with a hint of spice. Not overpowering and not too weak. Just the perfect amount to drive a woman crazy. When I placed my hand in his, I felt a rush of something. An all too familiar feel. Thank God I’d never see him again. The flight attendant walked from seat to seat alerting everyone to fasten their seatbelts as we prepared for takeoff. I reached down in my carry-on and pulled out the case file for tomorrow. As I was looking over my notes, the overhead came on and the pilot started speaking.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Nathan, your captain speaking.”
My head whipped up as I listened.
“Welcome to flight 2654 with service to the amazing city of Chicago. I apologize for the delay, but mother nature is in a bad mood today. I know some of you might be nervous fliers as it is, and this weather is only heightening your fear. So I want everyone to take in three deep cleansing breaths before we take off. One. Inhale. Exhale. Two. Inhale. Exhale. Three. Inhale. Exhale. I don’t want you to worry. You’re in excellent hands with me and I will personally make sure you all arrive to Chicago safe and sound. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.”
“Excuse me?” I signaled for the flight attendant.
“What can I do for you?”
“The pilot. Is he about six two, brownish blond hair, green eyes and has a great smile?”
“Yes.” She grinned. “The hottest pilot around as far as I’m concerned. “Do you know him?”
“I ran into him at the airport. He didn’t tell me he was a pilot.”
“Not surprised. He can be kind of mysterious when he wants to be. Too bad he doesn’t mess around with flight attendants. I even considered changing careers just to hookup with him.” She gave me a wink.
I casually smiled at her and she walked away and took her seat as the plane began to head down the runway. He knew I was on this flight and yet neglected to tell me he was the pilot. Who does that? And why? He bought me lunch for fuck’s sake, and he couldn’t be bothered to tell me who he was. Before I knew it, the plane was up in the air and as hard as I tried to concentrate on the case for tomorrow, I couldn’t. I found myself irritated by him. What an asshole.
“Hello. This Captain Nathan again welcoming you to the rainy but beautiful city of Chicago. We’ll be landing soon, so everyone needs to fasten their seatbelts. I can promise you that you won’t even feel a thing. My landings are as smooth as they come. I hope you enjoyed the flight. Have a good night everyone.”
I rolled my eyes, closed the file folder and stuck it in my carry-on. I was tired and I just wanted to get to my hotel. As soon as the plane landed, we all stood from our seats and waited our turn to exit the plane. I was almost off. So close, and then I saw Nathan standing next to one of the flight attendants with a smile on his face as he stared at me up the aisle. When I approached him, his grin grew wider.
“I told you we’d probably see each other again. Did you enjoy the flight?”
I shot him a look and walked off the plane.
“Allison, wait!”
“Goodbye, Nathan.” I scurried from the passenger bridge into the airport.
“At least let me take you to your hotel or wherever you’re staying. I have about three hours before I fly back to New York.”
I stopped dead in my tracks with my fingers wrapped tightly around the strap of my carry-on and faced him.
“Seriously? Does my face not tell you that I want nothing to do with you?”
“Impossible.” He smirked.
“Possible! First of all, I don’t even know you and second of all, you failed to mention that you were the pilot on my flight. You knew damn well I was going to be on that plane.” I jammed my finger into his chest.
Damn if he didn’t look sexy as fuck in his uniform.
“I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it.”
“Should’ve. Would’ve. Could’ve. But you didn’t. You could have told me when I told you my flight was delayed. But instead you said yours was too. And you could have told me in the restaurant when I specifically asked you if you dined there often and all you said was you travel a lot. Whatever game you’re playing is one I’m not interested in. Goodbye, Nathan.” I walked away.
“Whatever, Allison. You really need to check yourself.” I heard him shout.
Suddenly, I stopped and turned around. I should have kept walking, but he pissed me off and I’d already had a long day and I was tired and agitated.
“By the way, the flight sucked!”
I turned on my heels and headed out of the airport.
Chapter 5
Nathan
How dare she? What a psychopath. Thank God I dodged that bullet. Shaking my head, I headed to the pilot’s lounge to sit down and relax before I had to fly back to New York. I was tired and pissed off. Why did she have to be so damn sexy even when she was angry? I sighed as I set my alarm so I could sleep for an hour.
I flew back, and the moment my head hit the pillow in my comfy king size bed, I was o
ut. Out for the next twelve hours. When I awoke, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and saw that I had five text messages from my mother.
“Don’t forget family dinner is tonight at seven o’clock.”
“Hello? A response would be nice.”
“Nathan, are you okay?”
“You didn’t crash a plane, did you?”
“I checked the news and there are no crashes, but I’m still concerned why you haven’t responded. I’m sending your brother over to check on you.”
The last text message came through about five minutes ago. Sighing, I messaged her back.
“Mom. I’m fine. I was sleeping. I had to work last night and I’m tired. I’ll be there for dinner. Stop worrying so much.
“I’ll never stop worrying about you boys. I’ll see you later.”
I had just climbed out of bed when there was a knock at the door. It had to be Mason because Elijah was at work.
“You’re alive.” Mason snickered as I opened the door. “I tried to tell her you were probably sleeping but she insisted I check in on you.”
Rolling my eyes, I headed to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee.
“Want some coffee?” I asked.
“Nah. I’m good. What’s going on? Why are you just getting up? Is someone in the bedroom?”
“No. I had to fly to and from Chicago last night and I didn’t get back until four a.m.”
“Why?” I thought you had the next two weeks off.”
“I do.” I brought the cup up to my lips. “They were down a pilot and asked me to do a quick trip to Chicago. Now I’m off for the next two weeks.”
“And I’m off for the next two days. I met this girl last night.”
“So did I.” I rolled my eyes. “You first.”
“Her name is Ashley and she’s hot as fuck. I’m meeting up with her for a drink after dinner tonight.”
“Is she stable?”
“I’m not sure yet.” He laughed. “I’ll let you know.”
“I met this girl last night in the airport.” I finished off my coffee and set the cup in the sink. Turning around, I leaned up against the counter and folded my arms.
“And?”
“She was fucking hot. But she’s a psychopath so I’m just going to pretend we never met.”
“Why is she a psychopath? What did she do?”
“Laid into me about not telling her that I was the pilot of her flight. You should have heard her ranting and raving while jamming her finger into my chest. Jesus. Then she told me she wasn’t interested in whatever game I was playing.”
He sat on the stool at the island and let out a loud laugh. “What game were you playing, brother?”
“I wasn’t playing anything. She was sexy as fuck and I thought maybe we could have a little fun. Of course I didn’t suggest that, but I was silently hoping. I even bought her fucking lunch at The Palm Bar & Grille.”
“Did you know she was on your flight?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why wouldn’t you tell her?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It never came up, I guess.”
“Because you were playing games.” He pointed at me. “We can talk about this later. I have to go. I have a few errands to run before heading over to Mom’s. Try not to stress over that chick. She’s not worth it. You can have any woman you want.” He got up and left the apartment.
That wasn’t the problem. I specifically wanted her.
* * *
When I entered my mother’s townhome, all I heard was Mila screaming at the top of her lungs. Walking into the kitchen, I found Elijah holding her and trying to calm her down.
“What the hell is going on in here?”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Elijah spoke.
“I told you, darling, she’s teething,” my mother said.
“Where’s Aspen?”
“Still in court. She’ll be here as soon as she gets out.”
I walked over to him and grabbed my six-month-old niece from his arms.
“Come to your Uncle Nathan.”
She stared at me and instantly stopped crying.
“See. Even babies know how charming I am.” I smiled at her. “Unlike some people.”
I took Mila with me into the living room, grabbed her plastic keys from the blanket on the floor and handed them to her.
“You think I’m charming, right?”
“What’s going on with you?” Elijah asked as he stepped into the room.
“He got cussed out by some chick at the airport he wanted to bang last night. She told him she wasn’t interested in whatever game he was playing.” Mason laughed as he walked in.
“What?” Elijah laughed. “Some chick turned you down. Impossible.” Elijah smirked.
“Right? That’s what I said, and she told me it was possible. Doesn’t matter anyway, the girl was a total psycho.”
I handed Mila over to Mason and she started screaming.
“Take her back. Crying babies make me nervous,” Mason spoke as he handed her over to me.
Instantly, she stopped crying.
“How are the wedding plans coming along?” I asked Elijah.
“Good. Did you and Mason get fitted for your tux yet?”
“Shit.”
“Language in front of Mila.” Elijah pointed at me.
“I mean shoot. I haven’t. Have you?” I glanced over at Mason.
“I was going to ask if you wanted to go together tomorrow,” he said.
“Sure. What time?”
“I’ll let you know tomorrow. Not sure if I’ll be able to make it early. Depends on my date tonight.” Mason smirked.
“Speaking of—we have a bachelor party coming up.” I hooked my free arm around Elijah with a wide grin.
* * *
Vincent, the doorman at my apartment building, tipped his hat as he held the door open for me.
“Good evening, Nathan.”
“Good evening, Vincent.”
I pushed the button to the elevator and patiently waited for it to come down.
“Hello.” I heard a child’s voice beside me.
Looking down, I saw it was that child from the other day. The one with the smart mouth.
“It’s you again. Where are you coming from? Shouldn’t you be in bed? It’s nine o’clock.”
“The playroom just closed and I’m going back up to my apartment. It’s summer and I don’t have school, so I don’t have to be in bed at nine.”
“And your mother knows you’re down here so late?” I glared at her.
“Yes. Miss Leslie is going to take me up.”
“And where is Miss Leslie?”
“Over there.” She pointed to where Vincent was standing. “You have that list yet?” she asked as she narrowed her little eye at me.
“Not yet. I’ll get it to you. Don’t worry.”
The elevator doors opened, and Leslie walked over and took the child by the hand.
“Hi Nathan.” She smiled as she bit down on her bottom lip.
“Good evening, Leslie.”
The elevator stopped on the twenty-second floor. When the doors opened, Leslie and the little girl walked out. She stopped and turned to me before the doors shut.
“I want that list.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get your list, kid.”
The doors shut and I rolled my eyes. But there was something about that kid that made a smile cross my lips.
Chapter 6
Allison
I stood in front of my full-length mirror and took one last look at myself, making sure my black pant suit was on point. I had an interview at ten o’clock and I was nervous as hell. Wolfe & Associates was one of the best and largest law firms in New York. They were the firm my father used for his company. He was in a meeting with Caitlin Wolfe, the owner of the firm, one afternoon and he mentioned that I was moving back to New York. She’d mentioned that they were looking to hire an associate and to submit my resume to
her. Once I did, I received a call a week later to come in for an interview.
“You look pretty, Mom.” Ruby grinned as she ate the pancakes my mother made for her.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” I kissed her head.
“You look nervous.” My mom handed me a cup of coffee.
“I am. This is Wolfe & Associates we’re talking about. I have to nail this interview.”
“You’ll do great. You always do.” A smile crossed her lips.
I took a few more sips from my cup and set it on the counter.
“Have fun with Grandma, Ruby. I’ll be back in a while.”
“Bye, Mom. Good luck!” She held her crossed fingers up to me.
I blew her a kiss. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
* * *
I entered through the doors of the building on East 82nd Street and took the elevator up to the 37th floor. When the doors opened, I stepped onto the black & white mosaic marble floor and a young blonde woman sitting behind a mahogany desk greeted me.
“Welcome to Wolfe & Associates. How may I help you?”
“I’m here for an interview.”
“Your name?” A smile perched on her plump red lips.
“Allison Price.”
Her perfectly manicured fingers viciously typed away on the keyboard as she stared at the monitor.
“Ah yes. Here you are. You may have a seat right over there and I’ll let Marie know you’re here.”
“Thank you.”
I took a seat on the elongated couch as my belly twisted in a knot.
“Allison?” A young woman with a warm smile asked.
“Yes.” I stood up.
“Hi. I’m Marie, Mr. Wolfe’s secretary. It’s nice to meet you.” She extended her hand.
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you as well.” I placed my hand in hers.
“Follow me and I’ll take you to the conference room.”
I followed her down the long hallway and into conference room one.
“Go ahead and have a seat. Elijah and Ms. Wolfe will be in shortly. May I get you some coffee or water?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”