Love at First flight

by Marie Force

  Juliana’s forehead rested against the steering wheel of a car that wouldn’t start.

  Michael walked over to her open window. “This day just gets better and better, huh?”

  “You said it.”

  “Can I give you a jump?”

  “I don’t think it’ll help. I was supposed to buy a new battery but never got around to it.”

  “Then let me give you a lift.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “Not at all, but I have to go into D.C. before I go home. Will it screw you up to get home pretty late?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t have to work tomorrow, so I’m in no rush. I came home tonight because Jeremy had to work tomorrow. I guess I can deal with this in the morning,” she said with a frustrated gesture at the old car. “Just another insult in an insulting day.”

  Grinning, he said, “Grab your bag.”

  After she locked her car, he led her to his silver Audi TT coupe.

  “Oh, is that yours?” she asked with wide-eyed admiration.

  “My one major splurge,” he confessed.

  “It’s gorgeous.”

  “Thanks.” He tossed their bags into the trunk and walked around to open the passenger door for her.

  “Why do you have to go to D.C.?”

  He leaned against the open car door. “Well, here’s the thing: I’ll tell you, but it’s imperative you don’t tell anyone you went there with me, okay? Someone’s life depends on it.”

  “Of course. I won’t tell anyone.”

  Hesitating, he realized he was about to take a woman he met on an airplane to see a witness in protective custody. But his gut told him he could trust her, and he trusted his gut.

  She looked up at him with those captivating eyes. “I won’t tell anyone, Michael. You have my word.”

  He nodded, closed her door, and walked around to get in.

  “The witness to the Benedetti shootings is fifteen years old and a handful,” he explained as they left the airport parking lot and headed south. “We have her in protective custody in D.C. She’s giving our guys some trouble, and they need me to talk to her. She has, well, how can I put this…”

  Juliana laughed at his pained expression. “She has a crush on you, does she?”

  “She seems to have a soft spot for me. That’s all I’ll admit to.”

  “I love it,” she said with a giggle.

  “I’m glad you’re entertained. She’s a pain in my ass.” Exiting the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Michael cut down New York Avenue on the way to Interstate 395.

  “Why do you keep looking in the mirror?” Juliana asked.

  “We have to be careful we don’t lead anyone to her. There’re people who we believe would harm her to keep her from testifying.”

  “Oh.” Juliana turned around to look behind them. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “Yeah, it’s late on a Sunday. I think we’re good. Besides, they think I’m out of town.”

  “They watch you?” Juliana asked, horrified.

  “I’ve sensed a presence lately, but I haven’t actually seen anyone.”

  “God,” she sighed. “Your job is dangerous. I never would’ve thought that.”

  “It’s not usually. This trial has gotten a lot of attention, which has thrust me into the spotlight—against my will, I might add. I hate all the media crap that goes along with this kind of case. All I care about is keeping Rachelle safe.”

  “What happens to her after the trial?”

  “Witness protection. We’ve already put her family in the wind. Since she’s a minor, we’ve kept her mother close by until the trial, but the rest of them are gone.”

  “Wow. I just cut hair.”

  He laughed. “Right about now, I think that would be a wonderful profession.”

  “I’ll bet you do. What’s she like?”

  “Rachelle?”

  Juliana nodded.

  “She’s a great kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her aunt lives in the apartment complex where the shootings went down. She was there visiting and ran out to her mother’s car to get something. She saw the whole thing.”

  “And suddenly my troubles seem so insignificant.”

  “It does have that effect, doesn’t it?” He pulled into the parking lot of a 7-11. “I’ll be right back. Do you need anything?”

  “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

  He came back a few minutes later. “Blackmail,” he said, handing her the bag so she could see that he had bought all the latest gossip magazines, a Glamour, a Cosmo, four candy bars, two packs of gum, and six scratch-off lottery tickets.

  “That’s quite a care package.”

  “I spoil her. That’s why she likes me.”

  “If that’s what you have to tell yourself.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “She thinks you’re cute,” Juliana said in a singsong voice.

  “Oh, shut up.”

  She was still laughing when he pulled up to the J.W. Marriott on the corner of Fourteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. “How close are we to the White House?” she asked.

  “A few blocks that way.”

  “I don’t know why I never think to spend a day here. It’s only an hour from Baltimore.”

  Michael showed the hotel security his I.D. card, and they were waved in. “I loved living here when I was in law school. It’s my favorite city.”

  A police officer stood guard in the fifth floor hallway.

  “Hey, Michael.” The cop grimaced. “The brat’s on fire.”

  “So I hear. I’ll see what I can do to settle her down.”

  “We’d all appreciate it.” Using his key card to open the door, the cop nodded at Juliana. “Who’s she?”

  “She’s with me. It’s cool.”

  The hotel room looked like a teenager’s closet had exploded in it.

  Michael groaned at the mess. “Rachelle!”

  Through the door from the adjoining room came a tall, gorgeous girl with coffee-colored skin and a wild mass of dark curly hair. She wore skin-tight jeans and a hot pink T-shirt with sequins that spelled “Queen Bee” across her small breasts. Her face lit up when she saw Michael. “You’re here! What’d you bring me?”

  He kept the bag hidden behind his back. “Girls who can’t behave don’t get presents. And from what I hear, that’s a very appropriate shirt for you, Queen Bee.”

  Rachelle reached behind him to see what he had for her. “Give it up!”

  “Ah!” Michael held the bag out of reach. “What are you going to do for me?”

  “Who’s she?” Rachelle asked with a sullen glance at Juliana.

  “My friend, Juliana. Be polite and shake her hand.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Juliana said.

  Rachelle did as she was told and shook Juliana’s hand. “Is she the fiancée?”

  Michael tweaked her nose. “No, busybody, she’s not.”

  Rachelle gave him a saucy smile. “Does the fiancée know you have friends?”

  Michael sent Juliana an exasperated glance, which cracked her up.

  “Let’s focus on your behavior, not mine, okay?” Michael said.

  “I’d rather talk about yours,” Rachelle pouted.

  “Why are you giving everyone such a hard time?”

  “I’m so bored! This place sucks! I’m sick of being here. I miss my friends. I miss my family. I even miss school. It sucks.”

  He put an arm around her and brought her to sit with him on the bed. “I know. It totally sucks. But the trial starts in one more week, and I’m going to get you in there just as soon as I can, okay?”

  “I heard them talking today. It can take weeks just to pick the jury.”

  Michael swore under his breath. “They aren’t supposed to be talking about the trial where you can hear them.”

  “I hear everything. I want to see my dad and my brothers.”

  “We’ve talked about that. As soon as you testify,
we’ll reunite you all. I promise.”

  She kicked at the carpet. “I wish you came to visit more often.”

  “I’ll try to get down here again this week if you promise to behave. You’re not the only one who doesn’t want to be here, okay?”

  She nodded. “I’m very sorry, and I promise to behave. So what’s in the bag?”

  He chuckled and handed it to her. “That was so sincere.”

  Reacting with glee, she examined everything he had brought her and then embarrassed him when she kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. If you win anything on the scratch-offs, I get half.”

  “Bite me. A gift’s a gift.”

  He laughed and looked up at Juliana to share the amusement.

  “You know what might be fun?” she asked.

  “What’s that?” Michael asked.

  “I could do your hair for you, Rachelle. I’m a stylist, and I’d be happy to give you a wash and blow dry if you want.”

  Rachelle’s eyes lit up. “Really? Like now?”

  Juliana glanced at Michael. “Thirty minutes?”

  With a grateful smile he gestured for her to have at it and went into the adjoining room to talk to the other cops on Rachelle’s detail.

  Juliana took the girl into the bathroom to wash her hair in the sink. She gave her the full treatment with a scalp massage and deep conditioning, making use of the products scattered about on the cluttered vanity. “Feel good?” Juliana asked.

  “Mmm. Really good. Where do you work?”

  “At Panache in Baltimore.”

  “I went there once with my aunt. It was awesome. Is it a fun place to work?”

  “It is. I like it.”

  “I love your leggings.”

  “Thank you,” Juliana said, amused by her enthusiasm.

  “How do you know Michael?”

  “You won’t believe it, but we met on an airplane.”

  “So are you guys going out?”

  Juliana smiled at the jealousy she detected from the girl. “No, we’re really just friends.” For the first time in two hours she thought of Jeremy and their mess. If she hadn’t come with Michael she would probably be home alone crying. “I have a boyfriend.”

  “You’ll have to tell me all about him. I can’t wait to have a boyfriend.”

  Hardly anxious to talk about Jeremy at the moment, Juliana rolled a thick towel around Rachelle’s hair and helped her stand up. “Have a seat at my station.” Juliana gestured to the closed toilet.

  “Very classy.”

  “Only the best. Which side do you part it on?”

  Rachelle snorted. “I have no idea. It’s totally out of control.”

  Juliana grabbed a large-toothed comb and a round brush from the chaos on the countertop. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”

  Thirty minutes later Michael came looking for them and stopped short in the doorway to the bathroom. “Where’s Rachelle?”

  Rachelle giggled. “I don’t know what she did. It’s a miracle.”

  The curls had been tamed into flowing waves that softly framed her face and cascaded down past her shoulders.

  “You look beautiful,” Michael said. “Really, really beautiful.”

  Rachelle blushed at the compliment from her favorite guy.

  Juliana applied one last squirt of hair spray. “You’re all done.”

  Rachelle gazed into the mirror for another minute before she gripped Juliana in a spontaneous hug. “Thank you so much. I love it!”

  “My pleasure.”

  “I wish I had a camera. My mom won’t believe this, and I’ll never get it to look this good again in my life.”

  Juliana laughed. “Just do like I showed you with the round brush and the hair dryer. You’ll get the hang of it.”

  “Will you come again?” Rachelle asked. “Michael, will you bring her with you again? We could do our nails or something next time.”

  Juliana glanced at Michael.

  “Sure,” he said.

  “I’d love to.” Juliana gave the girl a quick kiss on the cheek. “It’s getting late. You need to get to bed, and we’ve got to get to Baltimore. I’ll only come again if I hear you’re being good, all right?”

  Rachelle nodded. “I promise.”

  “Behave, brat.” Michael bopped her lightly on the shoulder. “I mean it.”

  “Again you force me to say bite me!”

  “Go to bed,” Michael ordered as he closed the door.

  “How’d you make out?” the police officer in the hall asked.

  “I think we settled her down,” Michael said. “But go easy on her, okay? This is tough on her, and our case is riding on her.”

  “You’ve got it, Michael. Don’t worry.”

  Michael shook his hand. “Thanks.”

  “Are they Baltimore cops or D.C.?” Juliana asked while they waited for the elevator.

  Michael held the door for her and then stepped in behind her. “Baltimore. They’re all on special assignment, but the District cops know they’re here in case they need backup.”

  “She’s adorable.”

  “I know.”

  “She’s got you firmly wrapped around her little finger. You’re aware of that, right?”

  “Yes,” he said with a sigh. “I’m way more involved with her than I should be.”

  “It would be hard to stay detached from her.”

  “Thank you, Juliana. You did such a wonderful thing for her.”

  “I enjoyed it.”

  “Yes, I could see that.” When he walked in on them in the bathroom, Juliana had been totally engrossed in Rachelle. He couldn’t imagine Paige ever being so selfless. “I really appreciate it.”

  “It was fun,” she insisted. “You don’t have to thank me.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I haven’t thought about any of my problems for a few hours.”

  She smiled at him. “Neither have I.”

  Chapter 10

  They had the usually clogged Baltimore-Washington Parkway all to themselves on the way back to Baltimore. The closer they got to the city, the quieter Juliana became.

  “How’re you doing over there?”

  She shrugged.

  “You should probably tell me where you live.”

  “Butchers Hill. Collington Street.”

  He laughed. “You do not!”

  “Why?

  “I live on Chester.”

  “You’re kidding me! I can’t believe we’ve never seen each other in the neighborhood.”

  “I know. How long have you lived there?”

  “Four years. It used to be Jeremy’s mother’s house, but she got remarried and moved to Texas. He bought the house from her. What about you?”

  “I lucked into an amazing rowhouse about a year ago. I lived in an apartment across the street, and I got to be friends with the guy who owned the rowhouse when he was renovating it. He got transferred unexpectedly and needed to sell it fast, so he gave me a sweet deal on it. He said he wanted it to go to someone who would take good care of it.”

  “What a great story.”

  “It’s way too big for just me, but when I bought it I thought Paige would live there with me eventually. Oh well.”

  “You wouldn’t be interested in…” She stopped herself with a shake of her head.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Just a ridiculous thought.”

  “Tell me. Come on.”

  “I was going to ask if you might be interested in a roommate, but that’s insane.”

  “Why?”

  “We barely know each other.”

  “I meant why do you want to live somewhere else?”

  “With everything that’s going on now between me and Jeremy, I can’t stand the thought of spending even one night in the house he pays for. If I went to stay with one of my friends, I’d have to explain why I’d left our place.”

  “I’m sure you contribute your share.”

&nbs
p; She looked down at her hands. “Here and there. I pay my mother’s mortgage, so I don’t have a lot of extra money. That’s why I shouldn’t have mentioned being roommates. I can’t afford it.”

  “Why do you pay your mother’s mortgage?”

  “It’s a long story,” she said, hesitating. “Basically it’s either that or she ends up homeless. When my father split, he cleaned out the bank account. We hired an investigator to try to find him, but he’s long gone.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’d love to have you as my roommate,” Michael said, sensing she didn’t want to talk about her deadbeat father. “We already get along better than most of the people I’ve lived with, and I’m hardly ever there anyway. I’ve got a big place, and I only use a fraction of it. You’re welcome to it if it would help you out for a while.”

  “You’re sweet, but it’s a crazy idea. Besides, I really can’t afford it.”

  “I don’t need the money, but I wouldn’t mind the company.”

  She turned to look at him. “You’re serious.”

  “Sure I am,” he said, taking the Inner Harbor exit off Interstate 95.

  “I’d have to pay you something.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t care. So is that a yes?”

  After a long moment of silence, she suddenly said, “Yes. Yes, I’d love that.”

  “What’s wrong now?” he asked when her smile faded.

  “It’s kind of… you know… embarrassing.”

  “What is?”

  “The reason Jeremy and I are taking this break. I’ve decided not to tell anyone about it because then people would know I wasn’t… well… enough for him,” she ended on a whisper.

  Michael reached over to squeeze her hand. “He’s a fool.”

  “Maybe I’m the one who’s been the fool.”

  “I don’t think so. Shall we go home?”

  “Now?”

  “Why not? You’ve got stuff with you, right? Will anyone be trying to get in touch with you tonight?”

  “No, we both have cell phones. We don’t have a phone in the house.”

  “Cool. You can get whatever else you need tomorrow then. And after work we can go get your car.”

  She laughed.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I just feel better all of a sudden.”