Page 79 of Maid For Each Other

I found my seat and couldn’t stop smiling when I realized I’d be spending the entire flight in this luxurious seat.

It took me a while to figure out which buttons did what, and before the plane was even finished boarding, a flight attendant approached and asked me if she could get me something to drink and if I would be eating.

Eating? On a three-hour flight?

I ordered a Diet Pepsi and a steak sandwich at six in the morning, unable to comprehend that this was my reality. The little pod had fancy headphones, a pillow, and a blanket, and my seat reclined until it was totally flat if I wanted to lie down and nap.

Of course I did not; I was way too excited to sleep.

I couldn’t believe this was happening.

I was on my way to New York to spend a day there—one day—then go home. Just to get the vibes of the city for a few hours.

The plane took off and it was thegreatestflight. I said no to the hot towel (hello, makeup) but yes to everything else, and after we landed, as promised, a man was standing by the baggage claim with a sign that readAbi Green.

Abi Green was one lucky girl.

“Hi,” I said, impressed that he was dressed like an actual chauffeur with the black jacket and the fancy driving hat. “I’m Abi.”

“Good morning, Abi,” he said, sounding refined, as if he’d spent his entire life training to be a fancy driver. “I’m Leonard. Let me take your bag. The car is just outside.”

“No, I can get it,” I said, but he took the rolling suitcase from my hand, much to my chagrin. That bag was old and borrowed; totally embarrassing.

We walked outside and he led me to a black Mercedes with all the windows tinted. He held open the back door for me, and when I climbed inside the vehicle, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Declan.

“Oh, my gosh, hi,” I said, laughing in surprise. “I did not expect anyone to be back here.”

He was wearing another beautiful suit, looking expensive and perfect as he sat in the back seat, and something about the way he smiled at me made a thousand butterflies go wild in my stomach.

“Yet here I am,” he said, his eyes moving all over me.

Allover me. The way he was looking at me was wreaking havoc on my sensibilities, and I wondered if this was a mistake. Could I handle this? Whatever this trip was, we hadn’t really defined it, and that skewed problematic. We’d called it friendship, we’d joked about kissing, but if this wasn’t part of our act, what in the world was it?

“Stop overthinking it, Mariano,” he said, tilting his head like he was reading my mind. “Just have fun, okay?”

“Okay,” I said, nearly jumping out of my skin when Leonard closed the door for me. “Well, then, what are we doing on this fun day?”

“Absolutely boring things,” Dex said, “as per your request. We’re going to drop off your things at my house, then walk around doing absolutely nothing. We’ll eat food, maybe hit a play if we feel like it, and then we might just hang out in Times Square, eating ice cream and making fun of tourists.”

“Don’t you have to work today?” I asked, flustered by howpersonalizedthis day in New York was sounding.

“I worked a lot yesterday, so I’m going to play hooky today.”

Honestly, that surprised me more than everything else about this impromptu trip. I didn’t really know Dex, but I knew playing hooky was not a typical move for him.

“Does Warren know you’re skipping out on work?” I asked, staring out the window as I took in new views.

“He’s the one who suggested it when I said you were in town for the day.”

“Oh. Warren,” I said, not liking the slight dip of disappointment in my stomach. “So thisispart of the—”

“No,” he interrupted. “But I did mention to my good friend Warren that you were coming to see me.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” I said, not really believing this wasn’t part of the ruse.

“By the way, how come you haven’t cashed your check yet?” he asked. “I would’ve assumed you’d be cashing it before the ink was dry.”

How flattering.

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