Page 41 of One Weekend in Seattle

In the ride share, she swiped at her tears. Here she was, crying over a man. Again. Except this time, the pain cut her heart into a thousand pieces, leaving her nothing but misery.

***

Sawyer swore when he saw the time. He’d been tied up on the phone with the wine vendor, and it was almost eleven. He sighed and walked out of the office.

“Are they finally satisfied?” Eric asked. “The vendor was insistent they talk only to you.”

“More or less. I’m glad I’ve set up another vendor.” Sawyer glanced at table one. It was empty. “Damn,” he muttered.

“She left,” Eric commented.

“Yeah. She told me she couldn’t stay too late as she has a flight home tomorrow.” Sawyer had hoped to spend more time with her tonight and see how she felt about a long-distance relationship.

“Sorry about that.”

“Not your fault.” Sawyer pulled out his cell phone and sent a quick text.

Hey, Gabby, sorry I got tied up. Have a safe flight home tomorrow and let me know when you land. I already miss you. S.

He sent the message. Depending on what time they left, she might already be asleep. He had kept her up late last night. Had it only been last night? Sawyer felt like they’d known each other for years rather than just a weekend.

The sound of raised voices pulled him out of his thoughts. Glancing down at the floor, he saw two guys arguing. It was going to be one of those nights. Damn. He slipped his phone in his pocket and went to take care of the problem.

***

“I’m going to miss you,” Lindsay said, hugging Gabby good-bye at the airport drop off.

“Me too.” Gabby hugged her friend tight. Last night, Lindsay had sat with her while she cried over Sawyer. Lindsay was angry on her behalf.

“I’ve got to go.”

“Call me when you get home.” Lindsay gave her one last squeeze before letting her go.

“I will.” Gabby grabbed her bag and walked through the double doors, keeping her sunglasses on to hide her tear-ravaged eyes. Her limbs felt heavy, as if something weighed them down. She looked at the self-service kiosk, decided she didn’t have the brain power to deal with it, and walked to the check-in counter. Thankfully, there wasn’t a line.

“Good morning,” the cheery clerk said.

“Morning,” Gabby mumbled, pulling her glasses off, putting her bag on the metal scale, and handing the clerk her license. Finding her boarding pass on her phone, she showed it to the clerk.

“Nice to have you flying with us today, Ms. Maxwell. Is San Francisco your final destination?”

“Yes.”

“And just the one bag?”

“That’s right.”

The woman typed some things in the computer and frowned. Gabby’s heart sank. The plane had showed on-time when they left Lindsay’s place. The clerk typed a few more things. “Is there something wrong?”

“Oh no, ma’am. Give me just a minute.” More typing and the computer spit out the luggage tag and a new boarding pass. “Here we go.” She put the luggage tag on and sent the bag on its way. “You’re at gate N14, security is to your left and once through follow the signs. You’ll need to take the tram to the gate. Have a wonderful flight.”

“Thank you.” Gabby grabbed the boarding pass and her license. She glanced at the paper in her hand. “Ummm, excuse me.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Yes. This says I can go through pre-check.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The woman leaned closer. “I’ve upgraded you to first class.”

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