No more champagne for this guy.
I twist my head to look at Juliette in the seat beside me. She has her chin in her hand, and her temple is tilted against the window. We’re above the cloud line, and when I lean closer, I can see lots of fluff beneath us.
“See any interesting clouds?” I ask.
She shakes her head and continues staring out the window.
I try again. “It’s probably cool to cloud gaze from above, huh?”
Juliette still doesn’t look at me. “It’s different.”
I stroke her long braid with my hand. “Everything okay?”
She finally turns her face toward me, and I’m surprised at the dullness clouding her normally bright eyes. “Just tired. Some sex-crazed fiend kept me up all night.”
“That bastard,” I denounce. “Do you want to watch baby goat videos on my phone?”
That earns me a tiny smile, and she nods. I tug her toward me, nestling her in the crook of my arm while I log on to the plane’s Wi-Fi. I barely watch the screen, instead keeping my eyes on Juliette. She smiles at the antics of the little animals, but she’s definitely not her bubbly self. Maybe she’s just tired. Or hungry. I’ll feed her whenwe get to Miami.
Lifting Juliette’s hand, I kiss the back of it. “Is something wrong with your breakfast burrito? You’ve only taken a couple bites.”
She rolls her lips between her teeth and shrugs. “Not all that hungry, I guess.”
I study her face, getting the feeling something is off with her. She’s been quiet, and she sat across the booth from me instead of on the same side.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, studying her face.
She doesn’t quite meet my eyes. “Of course. Just got a lot to do when I get home.”
“For the children’s summer reading program at the library?”
Juliette’s face turns a bit mushy at the mention. From our talks, I know it’s one of her favorite parts of her job.
“Yes, I need to email all the guests I have scheduled and make sure everything is still on track. Plus, I’m anxious to see the renovations the crew has been working on. They haven’t messaged me about any problems, but it’s important they have everything done before we have a bunch of kids there.”
That must be what’s bothering her. She’s got a full plate running the library and with her writing career. So I step out on a limb.
“I’d love to come to one of the events, if you’ll tell me where your library is located. The guy with all the animals sounds cool.”
She startles, her eyes widening. “I, uh, think that would break rule two. And three.”
Rule two is no talking about our personal lives, and rule three is no contact once we return to our respective homes.
“Sweetheart,” I say with a chuckle, “I think we obliterated rule two a long time ago, and to be honest, I’m not a big fan of rule three.”
Instead of commenting, she shifts in her seat and roots around in her backpack before pulling out a few bills and tossing them onto the table. “I’d better get to my terminal so I don’t miss my flight.”
Her change in attitude staggers me. Last night was so perfect. So meaningful. To me anyway. When we made love, it felt like we had this soul-deep connection I’ve never experienced with another person.
The eye contact. The kisses. The whispered words that verged on some very serious declarations. All of it combined into something… special, for lack of a better word.
But now she’s standing and pulling her backpack onto her shoulders. I quickly rise and snag the money she left on the table—because yeah, that ain’t happening—replacing it with my own before handing hers back to her.
Juliette lets out an exasperated breath. “I can pay for my own food.”
“I’m certain you can but not when you’re with me.”
With a roll of her eyes, she puts the money back into her bag before lifting her face to look at me. “Thank you. For everything. It was really nice to meet you, Reno.”
