Indigo Nights (Nights #3)(35)

My heart stopped as he slung his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him.

The air around me froze. She was a cheat?

I shifted my chair farther toward the magazine rack. Jesus, I felt like a f*cking * for following her to London just to have a few more hours with her.

I hadn’t thought this through, and that wasn’t like me. What was I doing flying three thousand miles for a few hours on a plane with a woman? Beth was great sex, but I didn’t do relationships. After Alicia, I hadn’t wanted anything more than sex. I’d certainly never gotten the urge to fly across an ocean for a woman. What the f*ck was happening to me?

What an idiot. I didn’t embarrass easily, but this was mortifying. I’d clearly thought there was something more between us than she did. I’d have to try to dodge her, and if she saw me, I’d pretend I’d forgotten this was her flight.

Yeah, right, that would be convincing.

I couldn’t tear myself away from staring. The easy intimacy between them made me envious. I wanted to be the guy she linked arms with.

Fuck.

I ran through the possible explanations in my head. Perhaps she’d just met him, fallen crazy in love and planned to give me the brush off before we were due to meet? Perhaps they were just convivial exes? Nothing made sense. Why would she have agreed to meet me tonight if she was f*cking someone else? I suppose it shouldn’t matter. I never required monogamy from any of the women I f*cked, but from her, it hurt.

Fuck, what was the matter with me? I was really good at things I set my mind to, and I’d been really good about sleeping with women without allowing it to ever be more than physical. How, in such a short space of time, had I allowed Beth to create this twisted sensation in my gut?

I logged off my laptop and packed up my carry-on. I needed to get the f*ck out of the lounge. I checked the time. We were probably twenty minutes away from boarding.

Surreptitiously, I glanced over at the wet bar. Beth and her man weren’t there. My gaze skirted the rest of the lounge and found them at a table, laughing, Beth eating cake. My gut churned. Part of me wanted to stay and watch as she took a forkful of whatever it was into her mouth, but I wasn’t about to make a bigger fool of myself than I already had.

I slipped out of my seat and headed for the exit.

I made my way to the gate without noticing what was going on around me. I just wanted to be back in Chicago where I could pretend I’d never made this f*cking trip.

I arrived at the gate, and after I flashed a smile, they allowed me to board early. My seat was 2A, right at the front of the plane. There was little chance Beth would wander past me. I might make it to the end of the flight without her knowing I was ever here, following her like some kind of pathetic stalker.

I unpacked what I needed from my carry-on, stowed my bag, and gave my jacket to the flight attendant.

I went to set my phone to flight mode when I saw an unopened text.

Beth: Just about to board. See you soon.

My body betrayed me as my heart expanded at her words. I had to remember she was texting me while she stood next to some other guy. Perhaps he’d gone to use the restroom and she’d used her time to juggle the rest of us. Perhaps I was one of several who’d just received a text. I shook my head and turned off my phone. I didn’t want any f*cking reminders of what an idiot I’d been.

I opened my laptop and did what I did best—work. I had the rest of the strategic reports to wade through, and they would be a good distraction. I wasn’t going to let Beth-f*cking-Harrison take up any more space in my head.

Two hours into the flight, I’d managed to avoid any run-ins with Beth, but going to the restroom was going to be risky. When I’d flown with Beth before she’d passed out cold for most of the flight. Hoping that was her MO, and not due to spending the night having world-shifting sex, I unclicked my seatbelt and moved to the restroom as quickly as I could.

Luckily, I didn’t have to wait and I quickly locked the door behind me, my heart thumping through my chest. I just needed to get through the f*cking flight without bumping into her and I could get on with my life as if I’d never met her.

When I unlocked the door, I took a deep breath and headed back to my chair. I made the mistake of briefly turning my head to my right, and there she was. Her seat was tilted back, and her eyes were closed, her black-as-coal hair framing her beautiful face. Even in her sleep, her beautiful red lips pouted.

I forced myself to look away, and I locked eyes with her man. I rarely got the urge to get violent, but I could have landed my fist to his face at that moment. He stared at me as if he wanted to return the favor. Thank God this agony would soon be over.

I went back to my seat and buried myself in my work.

By the time we landed, I’d decided that hanging back until the rest of the cabin had left the plane was my best chance of avoiding Beth. I didn’t want to risk her man pointing me out as the guy who’d been ogling her earlier.

The cabin emptied as I made my way off the plane. I didn’t dare look anywhere but straight ahead as I walked toward immigration.

I tried to ignore it, the first time I heard her call my name. I tried to convince myself I was imagining it. But of course I wasn’t, and in seconds there was a tug on my arm.

“Dylan. It is you. What are you doing here?”

I didn’t stop walking. Didn’t look at her. “I had some unexpected business in London.”