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Soon, I promised myself as I slid into the back of the car waiting for me downstairs. And I kept repeating that mantra all the way to the airport and during the long flight to deal with the fucker who was standing in the way of my forever with the only person in the world who would ever truly matter.
Chapter 10
Monroe
Feeling like I was leaving a piece of myself behind, I got on the plane that would take me home. I’d already purposely missed three other flights back to the US in the hope Gian would come back to our room.
Our last night replayed in my head, and I wondered if the argument we’d had before spending the entire night making love had been worse than I’d let myself believe. Was making love to me until I was so exhausted I passed out on top of him his way of telling me goodbye?
I didn’t want to think so, but a part of me couldn’t help wondering.
In my heart, however, I knew it must have been work-related and he’d just forgotten to leave a note. What he had left was my necklace. As soon as I realized he was gone, I’d put it on and told him I was pissed he’d left me behind.
Whatever was going on, he should have taken me with him. Where he went, I wanted to follow. I was going to have to beat that into his hard, stubborn head. Until then, all I could do was talk to him through the little medallion that hung around my neck.
We’d been with each other night and day for weeks, so there hadn’t been any reason for me to have his number. It hadn’t even entered my mind. Of course, he had mine—I didn’t doubt that for a single moment—but now that he was gone, I realized my mistake.
Frustrated with myself, I sat down in my seat in first class with a huff. “I’m leaving without you,” I muttered as I glared out the window overlooking the tarmac. “You should be here beside me, dummy.”
“What was that, dear?”
I turned my head to find a woman with short white hair taking the seat beside me. She was dressed in a chic coral suit with multiple rows of huge pearls around her neck. The color of her lipstick was a shade darker than her suit, and when she smiled at me, I relaxed slightly.
“Sorry, just talking to myself,” I told her, automatically wrapping my fingers around the medallion. Despite not wearing it for weeks, old habits were hard to break once I felt it around my neck again.
Her gaze went to my hand. “A lucky charm?”
“A gift, from my boyfriend,” I told her with a small smile. “It’s supposed to protect me.”
“Sounds like he loves you,” she said with a knowing twinkle in her eyes as she finally took her seat.
I pressed my lips together. Gian did love me; I knew he did. But until he said the words, part of me would always wonder if it was just wishful thinking.
The flight attendant stopped beside the woman, a professional smile glued to her face. “A glass of wine, ladies?” she asked in slightly accented English.
“Just water for me,” I told her, slightly nauseated. I’d woken up that morning feeling sick to my stomach because I knew I couldn’t wait any longer for Gian to come back. Mom was getting pissed that I kept missing my flight and told me to get my ass home or she was coming to get me herself.
“Upset tummy?” my seatmate asked sympathetically.
“A little,” I admitted.
She pulled several peppermints from the purse she’d placed at her feet. “Here, dear. These always help me.”
Gratefully, I accepted one and popped it into my mouth. The mint flavor exploded on my tongue and eased some of the discomfort the nausea was causing to roil in my stomach. “Thank you.” I offered her my hand. “I’m Monroe.”
“Connie,” she introduced. “I’m on my way home to New York. Spent the last week here with my daughter, but I have to head home while she stays behind with her husband for another two weeks. She’s meeting his extended family for the first time.”
“I’m headed for California,” I told her, accepting my glass of water from the flight attendant while Connie took a glass of red wine. “I spent the summer here with my boyfriend. Now I’m headed home for college.”
“And the boyfriend isn’t traveling with you? Or was it one of those vacation flings?” She grinned. “That’s my favorite trope in romance novels.”
I laughed softly. “No, not a fling. There was an issue at work, so he had to go back a few days early without me.”
Connie was good company on the flight to New York. She made me smile and even laugh a few times, all while giving me one peppermint after another when my stomach continued to bother me. I was sad to see her go when we parted ways at JFK.
During my layover, I bought two bags of peppermints because my stomach was a royal mess by the time my next flight was being called to board. My seatmate for the trip to California wasn’t nearly as nice as Connie.
The man was in his forties and grumpy as hell. The few times he did speak to me, he was all snappy, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from snapping back. But I knew it would only make the flight that much more uncomfortable, and my stomach was so upset, I didn?
