In Flight (Up in the Air #1)(42)

That made sense, so I put it from my mind.

However, I almost bumped into them as I picked up my sandwich order. They had been in line behind me, and I hadn’t even known.

I nodded politely at them as I passed by. They both nodded back, one of them with a phone to his ear.

“Fine, Sir, she’s just fine. No problems at all. Yes, Sir,” he was saying.

We headed back to the plane after we’d gathered our goodies. The crowd that we passed was large and restless. Delays never made for a pleasant flight. There was nothing any of us could do about the weather, but a lot of the passengers would feel personally wronged for the inconvenience, and tempers would not be in our favor on the long flight home. I took the thought in stride. It was all part of the job.

It was a relief to finally take off and have something to do aside from waiting and checking my phone for messages.

James hadn’t texted me again. Finally, about an hour before departing, I’d just turned my phone off, so I would quit checking.

The first three hours were a busy blur of activity. The man in 1A had been replaced by the man he had been speaking with in the airport. He behaved in a nearly identical manner, even eating similarly, taking all the food we served, and drinking only water. Once, he deviated, ordering a black coffee, but that was the only difference in the passengers.

Stephan noticed the odd Agent exchange as well. “The guy who was in 1A is in the back of coach now. Which is where this guy sat on the last flight.”

I gave him wide eyes. “Should we be worried?”

He grimaced. “It is odd. But they are very calm and well behaved, so far. If that changes, I’ll talk to the pilots. Who knows, maybe they were delivering something in DC. Or picking something up.”

We had a small break, then got busy again. I was just securing my last cart when I felt the wheels of the plane coming down for landing.

“Come on, Bee,” Stephan told me, already buckled in. His voice held a faint plea. It always made him nervous if I pushed it and buckled in last minute. Mr. Safety.

I had told him about James’s plan to drive us on our errands in the morning. He’d seemed excited about the idea, which was a relief. If Stephan liked James, it made everything easier. No matter how short a time the arrangement lasted.

We had deplaned and were on the crew bus before I remembered to turn on my phone.

I’d missed three calls, and one text. The calls were made sometime before departure, the text at some point during the long flight.

James: Why did you turn your phone off an hour before you pushed back from the gate?

My brow furrowed. I had done that so I wouldn’t be tempted to check my phone every five seconds, but how did he know that? I supposed he could have tracked the flight easily enough online.

Stalker, I thought, texting him back.

Bianca: Quit stalking me. I hope this doesn’t wake you up, but we’re back in Vegas.

He responded almost instantly.

James: I’ll meet you at your house. I told you to text me as soon as you got to Vegas.

Bianca: Working here. You don’t get to boss me around at my job.

James: How wrong you are. Try me. I’ll spank you in your galley.

I put my phone away. That was going nowhere that I needed to go on a bus full of co-workers. I ignored the next two dings that indicated a text.

Stephan drove us home in companionable silence.

“I’m sleeping in tomorrow. Text me when you wanna run errands,” he told me, as he pulled into his drive.

“Sure thing,” I said, getting out of the car.

I froze as I approached my own house. A black SUV was parked in front of it, engine running softly. A cold chill ran down my spine.

“Stephan,” I called out, my voice a little panicked. I could hear his prompt running footsteps as he caught up behind me.

James stepped out of the back of the SUV, and I felt nearly weak with relief. Stephan cursed fluently behind me.

“God, I thought for a second that…” Stephan trailed off.

I just nodded, not looking at him. I knew what he’d thought, what we’d both thought, for a terrifying moment. I tried to shrug it off as James approached us.

“Everything ok?” he asked.

We both just nodded.

He nodded at Stephan as he walked up beside me, putting a firm hand at my nape.

He likes that spot, I thought, leaning a little into his hold. He gave me a warm look in response.

“Goodnight, Stephan,” he said politely as he led me away.

“Goodnight,” Stephan called back.

I let us into my house, hurrying through my security code and the locks.

“Nice. I like your security,” James said behind me. I’d thought he would.

“I like to feel safe in my home,” I said lightly.

We walked in, and I headed straight to my bedroom, where I kept my flight bag when I was at home.

“I like your house,” James called out from the living room that doubled as my entryway. I re-joined him after stashing my bag.

I smiled, though it didn’t quite reach my eyes as I accepted his compliment. It probably seemed like a closet to him.

“It’s small, but it’s mine.”

He glanced back at the collection of watercolors I had arranged above my fireplace mantle.

“These are exquisite,” he said, studying the paintings intently.