Page 24 of The Cinderella Arrangement

A rush of self-loathing filled my guts.

Jessica, you idiot.

My little ass-grab would be plastered all over the tabloids.

Luke turned away, the moment broken, and plowed through the crowd. The waiting agents at the airport took our bags from the driver who left whenLuke handed him an envelope.

“This way, Mr. Pardini.”

He kept a firm grip on my hand as we walked through the airport, and we bypassed the normal security to go through some sort of VIP screening process. As the agents loaded our luggage on the conveyer belt, Luke turned toward me. His cheeks were a bit pink, and it thrilled me. He leaned into me and I flushed under his accusatory stare.

“So, care to explain what that was all about?”

My face would be stained permanently red. I lowered my gaze. “I was just acting for the cameras.” I cringed at myself as Luke’s dry laughter shook through my body.

“Yes, you certainly were.”

The amount of smugness in his voice should be made illegal.

It was all right though. At least he wasn’t mad. I got a bit carried away, but still, my guilt stayed with my all the way to the small jet was waited for us on the tarmac. I seized Luke’s hand and my nails bit into his palm.

I looked at him in alarm as the driver opened the doors of the Porsche.

“Relax,” he said unhelpfully.

The scream of jet engines echoing throughout the yard, I climbed the steps to the jet. I chose one of the ten white leather seats near the middle, but I couldn’t decide whether the flight would be more terrifying with the window open or closed.

The stewardess practically bowed to Luke as he entered the plane. He spotted me huddled into my seat.

“Jessica, I need to do some work. Will you be fine?”

I waved him off. “Yeah, whatever.”

He chose a seat with a table and reached into his bag to remove his laptop. The door slammed shut and soon after that aroar of the jet engine rumbled under my thighs.

It’s so loud. Is it supposed to be this loud?

The seatbelt light flared on and I quickly grabbed the belt, missing the buckle several times in my haste to secure myself.

“So where do they keep the parachutes?” I said to Luke, who looked up from his computer.

“Uh—there are none. There’s a floatation thing under your seat, though.”

What? “Well, that’s stupid. What if there’s an attack or an explosion and we’re plummeting down?”

He looked at me coolly. “Then we’ll die.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“I’m okay with the logic of it.” He shook his head before returning to his laptop screen.

I gripped the sides of my armrests as the plane lurched forward. I had to remind myself that the flight was nine hours long.

Calm the fuck down!

Maybe I'dhave one of those mini liquor bottles.

What if I died without saying goodbye to Natalie? I opened my phone and sent her a quick text: Plane’s leaving now. You’ve been an awesome friend. I’ll call you when/if I land.

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