Page 22 of Something Blue

The plane veered to the right, shifting her against him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, sending a tingle up his arm.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, pushing down the growing feelings. “I shouldn’t have dozed off.”

She closed her eyes. “It’ll be fine soon.” When the plane seemed to bounce in the air, she squeezed them tightly.

Instinctively, he tightened his arm around her. “I’m only holding you until it passes. Don’t read too much into it.”

“Fine,” she said, taking a few deep breaths.

In moments, the plane passed the turbulence, and the pilot cleared the attendants to move about the cabin. Although the situation had settled, Andy’s arm remained around Sadie, her cheek was inches from his.

She turned, and her nose brushed his chin. “I’m okay now. You can let go.”

It took a second to understand that she was pushing him away, but when he did, he retrieved his arm and held his hands together in his lap to keep from twitching. Heat filled his cheeks and neck.

Their attendant passed by, and he called for him. “Water, please?” he asked. “And ice too. Lots of it.”

10

Sadie

Andy downed the water and pressed the glass of ice to his face. Sadie bit back a laugh, but it didn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. It had been cute seeing him embarrassed for once. His cheeks had even pinked up some. So adorable!

“Are you laughing at me?”

“Nope.” Trying really hard not to. She shook her head and bit the tip of her fist.

They’d had a rough go of it that morning, but poking fun at him seemed to break the ice. After that, they eased into an easy conversation about high school.

“Do you remember seeing me anywhere else at school?” she asked. It made her vulnerable, but she had to know.

He lowered the glass of ice. “No, why? Do you?”

“Honestly, yes. You were one of the popular guys.” His gaze swept over her, as if he was trying to determine her social status with one look. “And no, we never hung out in the same circles.”

“That’s a relief,” he said, putting the glass of ice in the cup holder. “I don’t have fond memories of high school, and especially not of the first year of college.”

“High school wasn’t my favorite, especially because of your girlfriend.”

“Yeah, Jenna was a bit on the rude side. I knew it at the time, but I was a dumb kid.”

A bit? After Sadie had sung her Love-O-Gram to Andy, Jenna had given her the stink-eye whenever they ran into each other. “What happened with you two?”

His jaw worked, and she imagined their breakup couldn’t have been amiable. “She was money hungry. Most people don’t know this, but Jenna grew up in a trailer, and she was looking for any way out of that life.”

Sadie raised an eyebrow. With all the nice clothes Jenna had worn, that was surprising. Had he supported her the whole time?

“Anyway, we broke up halfway through sophomore year. She was addicted to shopping, and she used me. After ending things with her, I moved home and focused on my career.”

“Why did you live at home instead of with roommates?” she asked after he explained his anti-social behaviors in college.

“Even though I’m an adventurous guy, my parents have kept me under their thumb most of my life, and I’ve gotten used to being a homebody. Plus, I would miss my mom’s cooking too much. Now that my dad is so successful, she rarely cooks, but when she does, it’s like heaven opened and the angels descended. It’s that good.”

“So you’re adventurous?”

His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “I try to be. Whenever our company has team builds, I make sure we’re doing something active. How about you?”

She shook her head. “I’m the opposite of adventurous. There are so many things I’ve wanted to try in Destin, like parasailing or jet skiing.”

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