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“A little. Plus, I’ve been doing this job for a long time. It’s normal, you know. A lot of guys get freaked out when they get ready to take this step. It’s not a bad thing, either. It shows you’re really thinking.”
“Can I ask you a question now?”
“Sure, you can. I can’t promise I’ll have an answer, but I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“My girlfriend and I. We’ve only been together for a couple of months. Is that too early? Am I crazy to even be looking at these?”
“Ha! Well, my official line is that it’s never too early.”
“And your unofficial line?” I asked.
“I’m not sure that there’s any kind of magic timing to make something like a marriage work. Love is love. I’m not sure there is any such thing as too early. It’s all about what your heart tells you.”
“My heart tells me that it’s been so long since I’ve been in love that I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it anymore. What I do know is that I think about my girlfriend all the time. I know I want her to be happy.”
“Want my advice?”
“So badly,” I said, laughing sheepishly, more out of my depth than I could ever remember being before.
“Think it over for a week or two. This trip showed you that it’s something you’re ready to consider. Now take the time to do that. Think about it for a week or two, and if you decide it’s what you want, I’ll be more than happy to help you pick out a ring.”
Chapter 20: Jess
"Hello, and welcome!” I said. “Please find your seat and make yourself comfortable."
The woman I was greeting thanked me with a smile and headed toward the back of the plane, peering at each and every row as she went. Meanwhile, Tony, who was helping me greet, watched me with a wry little smile on his face. I did my best to ignore it and wait for the last of our passengers to make their way to the door, but after a while, I couldn't take it anymore.
“What is it, Tony? Why do you keep looking at me?”
“No reason, sweetie. I was just noticing how happy you look.”
“Well, it’s a beautiful day,” I said. “There’s no reason to be anything other than happy when the weather is as nice as this, right?”
“Sure, that’s right. But are you honestly trying to tell me that this euphoria of yours hasn’t got a thing to do with the fact that your handsome beau is in the cockpit of this flight?”
“I never said that,” I said quickly, blushing profusely as I did.
“You two really are cute, you know it? I don’t see why you would want to do anything but shout it from the rooftop that the two of you are together. If it was him and me, well…”
&nbs
p; “You’d put out a news bulletin?”
“Honey,” Tony answered with a mischievous wink. “I’d be announcing it to the passengers on every flight before the safety instructions. But seriously, you two are really great together. I was on some flights with him before he met you, and believe me, he’s better off now. He was always so stern, so unhappy looking. Ever since he met you, though, that’s all different. You’re like the light in his life, honey, and don’t you forget it.”
I wanted to thank Tony for the kindest words I'd heard in a long time, but all I could manage was to squeeze his arm appreciatively. There had been plenty of gossiping about my relationship with Drew, and not all of it had been good. Not by a long shot. To have Tony be so openly supportive of me and Drew meant a great deal. It was enough to send me so deeply into my own thoughts that I failed to notice who was walking up the ramp in preparation to board our flight. It was Tony that snapped me out of it, grabbing my upper arm tightly and letting out a low, disapproving whistle.
“Oh shit,” he said under his breath.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“Take a look for yourself, honey. Here comes trouble. From the look of him, possibly big trouble.”
It took me a minute to place the wretched looking man walking toward us. His face was distorted and angry, gaunt and sickly looking. There was something about his body that looked twisted and caved in on itself, and I wondered when this guy had last gotten a decent meal in him. He looked like somebody that belonged on the street, not on one of our flights, and it was only when he spoke that I realized who I was dealing with.
“Ah, Miss White, is it? So glad I get to fly with you again.”
“Mr. Stevens?” I gasped, knowing I must have looked distressed but completely unable to help it. “Is that you?”
