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I try not to look at her because I’m trying so hard not to laugh, and that’ll only make her madder. However, I lose the battle, and the laughter erupts anyway. Even worse is that I can’t stop. She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. Hell, maybe I have.
“What’s so funny?” Mad as she is, her scowl dissolves as she laughs with me.
I take a few breaths to compose myself. “You’ll buy more in Washington, anyway. It’ll be fine even if they lose every bit of what’s in this car!” I force out before another bout of laughter hits.
Her eyes go wide at my playful barb before she joins me, laughing again. She knows I’m right. All her costumes and important show items are sent with the crew. Everything in this car can be replaced almost as soon as we land.
We pull ourselves together as we park in front of the airport. I get out to get a luggage cart and come back to the car. Nora gets out to help unload her plethora of bags and my one singular bag. I need to turn in the keys for the rental car, get us checked in, and get her bags checked.
Once loaded, I push the cart toward the airport entrance as Nora walks along beside me.
“I’ll turn in the keys to the rental, and we can get checked in,” I explain.
She only nods. Both of us watch our surroundings. It’s a habit of mine and seems it’s become one of hers as well. Even without a stalker, it’s good to be aware of what’s going on around you and who is around you.
It only takes a few minutes for me to sign the paperwork and hand over the key for the rental car, then we make our way over to check in for our flight.
A young lady greets us at the check-in counter, and we hand over our IDs and go through the general questions.
“Do you have any checked bags today?” she asks.
“Uh, a few,” I answer as I turn to see Nora looking over her things.
“Just these.” Nora slides a couple of her bags forward. I’m guessing these are two bags she feels willing to sacrifice.
I set each one up to be weighed and then pay for the extra bag fees. The ticket agent hands me our tickets and takes Nora’s bags behind the counter.
Nora gives her bags a little wave and whispers, “So long,” before they’re out of sight. I chuckle as we walk toward our gate. We should only have a brief wait before we are able to board.
We find a seat with the other passengers also waiting to be allowed to board the plane. I chose seats where no one can sit behind us. I like to see the entire room—or plane once we board—when possible. It allows me to stay prepared should anyone approach us. Nora still seems a little uneasy. I’m unsure what’s going on in her head, but whatever it is has her withdrawn.
Nora pulls her phone from her purse and scrolls social media. I pull out my laptop, connect it to my hotspot, and go through emails. I’m hoping Colin might have found something on the videos I sent him, but there’s nothing.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I close my laptop, slide it into the bag, and rest against the back of my seat. The only thing we have on the stalker is a hat. He wears the same hat to hide his face in every surveillance video.
Nora looks over at me briefly, then goes back to her phone. She seems unwilling to talk to me about whatever she’s milling over in her mind. Part of it is the interaction with Alex this morning as well as my reaction to him. But there’s more. She didn’t want to answer me this morning when I asked what she was giggling about when I walked in. If it had been truly nothing, she would have just told me. Unless it was about me.
I stroke my beard and ponder that thought. Maybe she was thinking about us dancing last night. The thought of our hands on each other, the way her hips fit perfectly in my hands. She slid her hands onto my hips so I would sway in motion with her, but instead, I turned into stone. I couldn’t allow myself to relax. Quite the opposite was happening, actually.
Nora jabs my knee. “That’s us.”
I was so lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t even hear them call our flight over the loudspeaker. Some fucking bodyguard I am.
“Sorry, I was in my own world for a second,” I say as I grab my stuff and help Nora gather hers.
She grins, probably assuming I was thinking about exactly what I was thinking about.
“Well, back to reality, big guy. We’ve got a flight to catch,” she says, motioning toward the line forming at the gate. Once I’m at her side, we both walk toward the line.
We’re nearly at the back thanks to my daydreaming. I scan the line, taking in the other passengers. There are a handful of faces I can’t see closer to the front. Airports nowadays are pretty secure, so I’m less concerned about on-flight dangers.
We shuffle forward little by little until we finally reach the ticket taker. We hand him our boarding passes and walk down the landing to the plane.
The plane is crowded and smaller than I expected. No wonder Nora wasn’t thrilled when she realized which airline I booked us with. I scan the seats behind ours before stepping into our row. Unfortunately, I couldn’t choose our seats; I had to take what they had available to get us on this flight.
“Is everything okay?”
Nora’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. When I look over, I see her standing in front of her seat by the window, waiting for me to answer.
