Page 6 of Come Fly with Me

She stops beside me, turning to take in whoever is calling her name. I watch as the rest of the crew also stop and a smiling man, probably about my age and a cute blond, walks over to us.

“Hey, Taylor,” he says. “I thought that was you! How are you?” He smiles widely at her before turning and nodding to all of the crew and briefly at me.

“Dean,” she says, returning his smile. It completely changes her, the way she smiles at him, her eyes lighting up, her face practically beaming. “What are you doing here?”

He grins, tightening his grip on the blond woman. “Getting married.”

“What?” Taylor and several of the female flight attendants practically shout in unison.

This Dean guy chuckles, pressing a kiss to the temple of the woman beside him. “Yep, this beautiful woman agreed to marry me, so…”

I watch the smile fall from Taylor’s face before she forces it back on, turning to the woman and saying, “Congratulations, Kaitlin. You’re a lucky woman.” She clearly knows who this woman is.

The blond grins, her eyes bright as she turns and looks at her fiancé. “I know,” she replies quietly.

“So I guess it all worked out then?” Taylor continues, turning back to Dean. She looks sad now, as though she’s somehow missed out on something.

“It did,” he replies, his grin widening. “It’s amazing what can happen when you least expect it,” he adds.

Taylor nods. “Well, congratulations again,” she says, swallowing hard. “And enjoy your vacation.”

Everyone waves goodbye and then we all turn and continue making our way to the crew bus. Onboard, everyone takes their seats and starts chatting at once about plans for the three days in Sydney. I hear all the regular tourist spots mentioned and even though I know they’re missing out on seeing the real Sydney, I don’t say anything. Taylor sits at the front, ignoring all of us.

When we finally pull up to the hotel, we all get off the bus, eager to check in and get a shower and some clean clothes on. Just as I turn and make my way toward the elevators that will take me up to my room, I feel a hand on my arm.

Stopping, I turn and find Captain Patterson standing beside me, a strange look on her face as she glances over at the rest of the crew before looking back at me.

“Your offer,” she says quietly, her words barely audible.

“My offer?” I ask, just as quietly.

Taylor looks away, a slight blush on her cheeks as she mumbles. “To show me your version of Sydney?”

I study her for a second, wondering what’s prompted this sudden change of heart. Whether it’s got anything to do with that guy we ran into in the airport. “Yeah?” I ask, still watching her.

“If…” she pauses, swallowing hard before she looks up, her eyes meeting mine. “If it’s still available, I’d like to take you up on it.”

Three

Taylor

I have no idea what comes over me, but I’m overwhelmed by a sense of loneliness. So lonely, in fact, that I desperately take Jake up on his offer to show me around Sydney. What I do know is that I was clearly affected by Dean’s sudden engagement to Kaitlin, especially after I had just recently thrown myself at him.

Getting turned down stung and as much as I don’t want to admit it, it forced me to re-evaluate the way I look at my life. Random hook-ups have started to leave me feeling disappointed in myself, like they are my consolation prize for not being able to fall in love.

We’re now standing in the lobby of the hotel, Jake’s eyes watching me as if he’s trying to process what I’ve just asked him. He looks over to where the crew is standing, the elevator doors shooting open as he asks, “You sure?”

“Ask me again and my answer will be no.”

He smirks at me and it’s cute and cheeky and my breath catches in my throat, holding itself there for a moment.

“Then we’re not staying here.” And without warning, he’s walking out of the hotel with me trailing behind.

“Where are we going?”

“Do you trust me?” he asks, that smile, that panty-dropping smile plastered on his face. It’s the kind of smile that has gotten me in trouble. It’s the kind of smile that left me divorced.

“No.”

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