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“That won’t be necessary. Thank you,” I say and walk away. I go through the double glass doors and then out to the first plane on the right.
I don’t know if it is a large plane or a small one. If it’s painted white or red or green. I couldn’t tell you one detail about it. My sole focus is getting on the plane and saving Heath because I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.
* * *
“Can I get a whiskey gorgeous?” a man asks from behind me.
I sigh. Being a bartender sucks. I have to talk to people all day and get hit on constantly, which wouldn’t be a problem if I actually could focus on any man. I can’t. All I can think about is running from Arlo. Doesn’t matter how good looking the man hitting on me is, I don’t want anything to do with them. I need to find a job that doesn’t involve having to deal with annoying men all day.
I grab the whiskey and pour it into a glass and then turn around to disappoint my latest charmer.
My jaw drops when I see him.
He’s tall, muscular, has long blond hair, but so have plenty of the other men that have gone after me. What’s different is his eyes. They are large and bright and caring. I wasn’t expecting kindness when I turned around. I was expecting another drunk man that I would have to fend off.
“Here’s your whiskey,” I say setting the glass down on the counter.
He grins handing me some cash. “Keep the change.”
I smile and nod and try to look away from him. It should be easy since there is a whole bar full of people waiting for me to get them drinks, but I can’t. I’m drawn to this man in a way that I haven’t felt in seven years. I feel a hint of my old self back. The tingling in my hands when I look at him, my cheeks flush, and my heart races. I forget about everything but this man for just a second. My obsession with a complete stranger takes over giving my body a break from constantly obsessing about when Arlo is going to come for me.
I thought my obsessive tendencies were a curse. When I want something, I will do anything to make it happen. It just so happens that most of my life, my obsessive tendencies have focused on men. I obsessed briefly over saving my father when he got sick, but when he died, my feelings locked on to the man in my life. Any man that I found attractive and wanted.
When Arlo threatened my life, my obsession changed to surviving. Living a life in fear. But looking at this man, for the first time, I feel something other than fear. Something other than the need to survive. I want to live again. I want to love. Feel loved. I want him.
I close my eyes. I can’t have him. I can’t drag anyone else in
to my nightmare of a life. But it feels good to know that the old me is still in there somewhere. That I can do something other than be on high alert that Arlo and his family are going to come bursting through the door and kidnap me.
When I open my eyes, the man is staring at me.
“Here,” he says holding the drink out to me.
“Is something wrong with it?”
“No, but I think you need this more than me.”
I take the whiskey from him and drink it. I should have learned my lesson to not drink drinks from a stranger. He could have put anything into the drink when I had my eyes closed. But I’m tired of always being on edge. Always fearing that the world is out to get me.
“Feel better?” he asks.
I nod. “Thank you.”
He grins. “I’m Heath.”
“Nina.”
“Nina,” he says, grinning even brighter. “Do you trust me, Nina?”
My heart stops. Did Arlo send some stranger here to kidnap me? I look into Heath’s eyes though and I know he isn’t dangerous. He’s the opposite of Arlo. He’s light where Arlo is dark.
“Yes,” I say.
“Good. Let’s get the hell out of here and do something fun,” he says holding his hand out to me.
I frown. “I can’t. I have to work. I need the money.”
His face brightens and I know he is hiding something.
