Page 13 of Finding Love in the Clouds

They pulled out their laptops and tackled their own to-do lists for a time. Sophie frequently sneaked glances to check that Fernando was okay.

“I’m fine. Stop looking at me like that. If I get nervous, I will let you know. To be honest, I’m feeling a little embarrassed that I made such a big deal out of this all these years. New topic. You know how we need a code name for our potential new partner?”

“Yeah, did you think of something deserving of a best-selling mystery author?” Sophie inquired.

“What about Midnight Cipher? We could just use M.C. in our correspondence. It has nothing in common with the real person, but it gives a nod to her as a writer, the midnight visit I received from her brother, and the whole clandestine aura surrounding the whole thing. It seems fitting to me. What do you think?”

“I think it is kind of cool. Let’s use it. When would you like me to reach out to M.C. again to see about scheduling a meeting to discussthe collaboration?” Looking at the calendar she had pulled up on her computer screen, she said, “It looks like July has a weekend we could pull off, or September is pretty wide open at the moment. Once we determine if you can fly, your calendar is going to fill up fast. Do you think we will go to her or ask her to come to us?”

“We will offer to go to her. I don’t want her brother or husband to make any assumptions. Making this as easy as possible for the little lady is going to be our motto with this deal. I am finishing up my draft of the contract as we speak. Legal will need at least two weeks to make it legit. There might be some back and forth with legal and finance. Let’s be optimistic and shoot for an initial meeting in July. No doubt her legal team will want changes made. If we can be signing contracts by September, that would be fantastic.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get those added to the calendar.” Her fingers already tapping away at the keys.

The stewardess stopped by to take their drink and snack requests. They both asked for a ginger ale but declined a snack as they were looking forward to a delicious dinner in just a couple of hours.

The flight between California and New York was a breeze. Fernando, surprisingly, didn’t experience any significant anxiety once the flight took off. As they approached the exit, ready to meet Anthony and Hannah, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation. He wondered if his fear of flying had been a mere product of a young child’s vivid imagination.

Chapter Thirteen

Fernando and Sophie stood on the edge of the sidewalk outside the airport, watching for a large black SUV. It didn’t take long for one to pull up before them, with the back window rolled down to reveal Anthony. They hopped in quickly and were off to dinner.

Hannah couldn’t wait for dinner talk to find out how the flight had been. “Well?” she inquired anxiously, “How was it?”

“It went better than I expected. Of course, Sophie drugged me before the flight, so I’m not sure how I would do if not using an inhibitor.” Fernando smirked at Sophie’s gasp of irritation.

“I didn’tdrugyou. I provided a slight sedative prescribed byyourdoctor to take the edge off your nerves. People who don’t like flying do it all the time,” she stated defensively.

Fernando reached his arm around her and pulled her into his side for a quick hug, kissing the top of her head, “I was kidding. Thank you for thinking of it. At least now we know I can do short domestic flights with sedation. Baby steps, right?”

He released her, and she sat straight in her seat again, but he left his arm draped along the back of the bench seat.

Hannah and Anthony took notice of the new dynamic. Anthony winked at Hannah and wiggled his eyebrows, making Hannah grin. It looked like Fernando was going to tackle both pacts with this one trip, and they couldn’t be more happy for them.

Dinner was delightful at an upscale restaurant not far from the airport. They had a private table in the corner where they wouldn’t be disturbed. The men discussed business while the women talked about the babies. Hannah, at seven months pregnant, was in the uncomfortable stage of her pregnancy. She confided in Sophie that she had chosen the name Imani for their youngest princess, but the brothers didn’t know yet.

Soon, the ladies excused themselves to visit the restroom. When they finished their business and were washing up and reapplying their lipstick, Hannah asked, eyeing Sophie in the large gilded framed mirror, “Did I notice a familiarity between you and Fernando that hasn’t been there before?”

Sophie chuckled self-consciously, “Oh, that. No. Well, yes.” Turning toward Hannah, she rested her hip against the marble vanity top. “It’s part of his disguise for the trip. Attached men draw less attention, so I’m going to be his fake girlfriend for this trip. Nothing serious is going on, I promise,” she assured.

“Oh, sweetheart, I hope you don’t think I was judging you,” Hannah rushed to add, placing her hand on the other woman’s arm. “We have all noticed how much you care for Fernando. We would be ecstatic if you returned from your European vacation as a couple... a real one. Please don’t think for an instant that any of us would look down on you for being his assistant. That isn’t how this family operates.”

“Really? Isn’t the secretary falling in love with the boss a little cliché? I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a gold-digger. I do genuinely care for Fernando. He has been good to me. I don’t want to do anything that will mess that up!” Sophie’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she looked into the sincere face of the woman who loved Fernando as her own.

Hannah wrapped Sophie in a tight embrace, “Never! You are the most kind and caring person. No one who knows you would ever think that about you. Rest assured that thought never crossed any of our minds.” Hannah pulled away to look deep into the eyes of the younger woman. “I know all about how you and Fernando met. He sought you out. You had five wealthy men standing in front of you and never even batted an eyelash at them. That was one of the things that impressed Fernando and the others about you in the first place. I don’t know who suggested this fake dating thing, but I would suggest that you don’t hide your feelings for him. Fernando is a man of integrity. He won’t fire you. He may realize that he wants a woman in his life and that you would be the perfect one to have by his side.”

“Is that what you and Anthony did during your fake marriage?” Sophie asked shyly.

“Oh, that. I didn’t realize our marriage of convenience had become such common knowledge. Anthony didn’t hide his feelings for me. I knew all along that he was in love with me. I was willing to make sacrifices to help him with his brothers, whom I already loved dearly, but I just wasn’t willing to allow myself to fall. When I entered that marriage, I fully intended it to end when Fernando graduated, and the boys were well on their way. Funny how God takes our perfectly laid plans and turns them on their heads. Looking back, I never had a chance of not falling head over heels in love with my husband. I just had to get out of my own way. May I suggest you do the same.”

Hannah wiped the countertop with the used cloth hand towel before dropping it in the laundry basket under the marble counter, looping her arm through Sophie’s, and making their way back to their table.

Sophie was more aware of Fernando now than she had ever been as possibilities swirled through her mind. She may have been dressed for travel, but when they returned to the table, his eyes were on her. She had never noticed holding his attention like that before. Was this a new development or one she had overlooked all these years?

Several hours later, they were settling into their seats on the international flight to Rome. This plane had little cubbies for individual people with small sliding doors that could be closed for added privacy. There was a divider between the double seats that could be raised or lowered depending on whether you were traveling alone or with a companion. Fernando immediately lowered it. They stowed their bags in their private assigned area and fastened their seatbelts for take-off.

Fernando reached across the center of the seats to grasp Sophie’s hand, which caused a surprised look to register on her face. “It worked the first time,” he said with a soft grin. She returned the smile and squeezed his fingers. He had to admit, he liked holding her hand. It sent little tingles running up his arm. He hadn’t felt that jolt of energy since he was a kid in high school holding the hand of his first girlfriend.

The plane took off and eventually leveled off. It was late. A dinner service was offered on the flight, but they weren’t interested, so they decided to prepare for sleep. Their flight would arrive in Rome at 3:30 pm local time, so they would need to adjust their sleeping patterns, but arriving exhausted didn’t sound like a good plan either.

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