Page 49 of One Midnight Kiss

I gripped his hand tighter as the plane jolted again. “Was the turbulence worse than this?”

“Oh, yeah. The guy next to me said you can tell who’s a local and who’s a tourist based on their reaction. All the locals were casually gathering their things, chatting, not even buckled in. Meanwhile, the tourists—me included—were white-knuckling it, saying our prayers.”

I laughed despite myself, imagining Fox in that situation, trying to play it cool while internally panicking. He grinned at me, watching me laugh with a sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

“What?” I asked, catching my breath.

“I don’t think I’ve heard you laugh before,” he said softly. “I like it.”

The warmth in his eyes made me realize something else. I was still holding his hand.

My heart stuttered. I let go, turning to look out the window, embarrassed by how much I liked the way his hand felt in mine.

“So, did you land okay?” I asked. When he looked at me with confusion, I smiled. “In Alaska?”

“Oh yeah,” he said with a nod. “Cake. Not perfect but any landing you can walk away from is a good one.”

The turbulence eventually eased, and the rest of the flight was relatively smooth. I managed to relax a bit. I was grateful for his distraction. It worked. I was able to close my eyes. Not sleep but simply chill without feeling like I was going to die at any second.

We landed in California much later than initially planned thanks to sitting on the tarmac for an hour. I followed Fox through the terminal to the parking garage to pick up the rental car.

He yawned a couple of times as we drove through the deserted streets to the hotel. We checked in, got our keys, and went up to our floor without saying a word. There was a strange feeling in my belly. As we walked down the quiet hallway, I kept expecting something to happen. I didn’t know what, but there was tension.

He stopped in front of my room. I stared into his eyes and waited for something. “We’ll link up tomorrow for the first part of the convention,” he said. “Get some rest, okay? Sleep in.”

“Okay. Sleep well.”

I opened my door and stepped into my room. He walked across the hall and disappeared inside without a second glance. Why did I feel like I wanted more? He was right there, close enough to touch, yet it felt like he’d slammed a door between us.

I dropped my bag onto the bed in my room and sat down. All I could think about was the man twenty feet away. He was so close but yet so far.

A terrifying thought struck me then, one I wasn’t prepared to confront.

I wanted Fox.

Oh, no.

I was supposed to keep my guard up, supposed to be the one who had everything under control. But he had a way of disarming me, of making me forget the walls I’d built up so carefully. He made me laugh when I didn’t want to, made me feel things I hadn’t felt in a long time.

I was not ready for a man in my life. No way. Not again.

With a frustrated groan, I flopped back onto the bed, covering my face with my hands. Tomorrow would be a long day. I needed to get a grip. I couldn’t afford to get swept up in whatever this was—whatever Fox was.

But as I lay there, staring up at the ceiling, I couldn’t help but replay his smile in my mind, the way he looked at me like I was someone he wanted to know. And the worst part was, I wanted to let him.

I was in trouble. Big trouble.