Page 12 of Knot Giving Up 2

“Oh, sorry.” I step backwards on autopilot, and stumble over Nils, who’s sitting directly across the aisle. Like a game of dominos, my feet go out from under me and I kick out, toes knocking into Oz as my ass slams down on Nils. My upper body flies back, landing on McQuinn’s tray table.

“Shit,” I groan. The flight attendant gives me a dirty look as if I said something much worse. Or maybe she’s just upset about the mess I made.

There’s a tense silence for a second, and then Nils and McQuinn burst out laughing.

“Um, thanks.” I join their laughter, and my gaze locks on McQuinn’s bright smile. Lately, everything has been tense between us. A tug-of-war that has a lot to do with the man sitting next to him.

“Sorry,” I say, trying to scramble back to my feet, but the flight attendant now has the cart completely blocking the aisle, so the best I can do is sit up on Nils’s lap.

My lower back is wet and there’s something sticky on my bare arm. I shudder when McQuinn picks a piece of lettuce out of my hair.

“I’m not sorry.” Nils grins and gives me a tight hug while McQuinn lifts and locks his tray table. I’m surprised it’s not broken with how hard I landed on it.

“Gravity is a real bitch.” McQuinn says, still laughing as he peels a piece of plastic off my back and hands it to the flight attendant.

She takes our trash and moves to the next row, quickly working her way past us. Once the aisle is clear, I glance over at Oz. His eyes are down-turned, as well as his lips, and I follow his gaze to his shoes.

“Shit.” Oz’s beautifully white sneakers are covered in dark coffee stains. “Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry.”

He looks up at me and gives a tight smile.

McQuinn leans closer and chuckles. “Serves you right for being such a tight ass about your shoes.”

Oz snaps his attention to McQuinn with a hard glare. “Shut up, asshole. If any of you had done this, you’d be dead.”

“I really am sorry.” I wonder how long it’ll take to ship a new pair of sneakers to Paris.

“It’s okay, baby girl.” Oz’s gentle look turns flirty. “I’ll let it slide, but only for you.”

“Hey, we’re pack!” McQuinn says. “You can’t play favorites like that.”

“Watch me.” Oz reaches across the aisle, grabs the back of my head, and kisses me.

“What did I say?” Harrison growls from the row behind us.

With warm cheeks and a tingling sensation I need to keep in check, I pull away from Oz. When I try to stand up, Nils tightens his hold around my waist. “Stay, gorgeous.”

“I can’t just sit on your lap.” I glance past McQuinn to the strawberry blonde lady sitting on the other side of him. She’s staring at the movie on her screen, but judging by the tightness in her shoulders and the way she’s angled herself away from us, I don’t think she’s amused by our antics.

“Just a little bit,” Nils whispers, and I cave.

“Five minutes.”

“If you two are gonna snuggle, I’m gonna read,” McQuinn grumbles.

“You could snuggle with us.” Nils tries to wrap his arm around McQuinn, but the other man bats him away. He reaches for his bag under the seat and starts digging through it as Nils asks how the flight is going for me so far.

“Apart from being covered in food? Pretty good.” I drop my head and run my nose along his neck, taking in the calming scent of him. Eucalyptus and mint, fresh kisses given clean from the shower. I sigh contentedly. “Better now.”

“Fuck.” McQuinn tugs his bag onto his lap, pulling items out as he digs through it.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t find my book.” He smacks his head against the back of his seat. “Fuck, what am I gonna do now?”

“You could talk to us,” Nils suggests.

McQuinn rolls his head to the side and gives him an unamused look. Nils’s muscles tense like he’s gearing up for a fight. To ease the tension, I ask, “What book are you reading?”

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