The Fidelity Files (Jennifer Hunter #1)(56)

"Hey, consider yourself lucky. That's one letter more than most strangers on airplanes get. Or any strangers, for that matter."

"Oh, I do."

I looked at him questioningly.

"Consider myself lucky," he clarified.

I blushed and turned my head toward the window, suddenly very interested in watching our landing.



AFTER A grueling forty-five-minute-turned-four-hour flight, I stepped off the plane in Los Angeles to the sound of my personal cell phone ringing.

"Sophie's very upset. You should call her." Zo?'s breathless voice came roaring through my earpiece.

"What are you doing? You sound like you're running a marathon."

"I'm trying to turn left on San Vicente and there's no turn arrow. Apparently, the drivers in Santa Monica all got their licenses from a vending machine."

I exited the terminal, my rollaway suitcase in tow, and walked toward the valet parking attendant. "If Sophie's so upset, why doesn't she just call me?"

"Oh, c'mon! Get a clue, you selfish bitch!"

I stopped in my tracks. "Huh?"

Then I heard the infamous honking sounds and I continued walking.

"Sorry. This woman apparently needs a phone book so she can see over the steering wheel. You know how it goes. Look, it's been a week. Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"

I handed my ticket to the valet. "I can't really talk about this right now. I'm just getting my car at LAX and I'm totally exhausted. Why don't I call you tomorrow?"

"Fine." Zo? gasped for air.

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"I told you, I'm trying to turn left at an intersection with no arrow. Of course I'm not all right. Call me tomorrow!"

I hung up the phone and slid the Bluetooth out of my ear.

"Well, you certainly got off that plane fast."

The voice startled me and I dropped my Bluetooth headset on the ground. As I reached down to pick it up, I turned around to see Jamie standing behind me, his own valet ticket in hand. I quickly popped back up to a standing position, nearly losing my balance in the process. I grabbed onto a nearby railing to steady myself.

I forced out a laugh. "Yeah. I guess I've just had my fill of airplanes for the day."

He eyed me with an amused smirk and I immediately felt self-conscious. I was used to getting smirks from men, just not ones qualified by "amused." And definitely not ones that came right after I just nearly did a face plant on the airport sidewalk. I tried to compensate by leaning casually against the rail and crossing one ankle over the other, convinced that this was a much more attractive side of me.

Not that I cared what this random guy thought.

"You didn't even say good-bye. I feel so used."

I laughed. "For what? Airplane small talk?"

"Yes, exactly. For a quick and easy distraction during a four-hour flight."

I lowered my head. "Guilty as charged. So you're a valet guy, too, huh?" I said, motioning toward his ticket.

He nodded. "So worth the extra few dollars. Plus, my company pays for it."

"Right," I stated. "Mine, too." And it was true. Somebody always paid for it.

"Well, I'm glad I bumped into you again, because I wanted to ask you a question. But you ran off so quickly and you didn't leave behind any glass slippers or something that might prove useful in finding you later."

"How realistic is a shoe that only fits one girl in an entire kingdom of people? I never understood that."

"Well, she had very tiny feet," he explained, looking down at mine. "Yeah, yours look pretty normal. I would have a hard time even with the slipper."

I laughed, and an awkward silence fell between us. Awkward because I usually know exactly what to say to people... especially men. But standing there with Jamie, I felt uncomfortable, almost tongue-tied. As if I didn't do this kind of thing for a living nearly every single night of my life. But right now all that Ashlyn confidence that had made me so successful at what I do was nowhere to be found. It was just me. And I had never been very good at this sort of thing. Plus, the fact that Jamie seemed to get better looking with every passing minute didn't help much either.

"So what I was going to ask you was if you'd like to have dinner with me tomorrow night."

The statement took me by surprise. I definitely hadn't seen it coming. Men like Jamie didn't ask out girls like Jen. He seemed so worldly, so mature, so far away from anything I was. Ashlyn attracted guys like Jamie all the time ...well, the married, unfaithful versions of him. But not me. Not like this. Not when there was no one around to pay me after I was done.

I shifted my weight anxiously, still unable to respond. Like suddenly the words were stuck in my mouth and refused to come out.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was that difficult a question. Maybe I should have phrased it more simply."

I let out a nervous giggle. "No, Jamie. It's not that. I just don't think that would be a very good idea."

He nodded understandingly. "As in, not a good idea because you have a boyfriend or not a good idea because you have an infectious disease?"

I saw the valet approaching in my car and I bit my bottom lip. "No. No boyfriend."