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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Run, Kate!” Adam said, glancing over his shoulder as he ran down the terminal.
“Iamrunning,” she huffed.
“You’re not getting very far, very fast,” he said, taking her small suitcase from her. “I’m going to run, actually run, ahead and make sure they know we’re coming and to wait for us. Just get there as fast as you can.”
She made a shooing motion at him, apparently too out of breath for words. They weren’t that far from the gate. They were just very late. The plane from New Bern to Charlotte had been delayed over an hour, and now they were in danger of missing their connection to Dallas.
He arrived at the gate just as they were making the final boarding call. He told them the sob story of the delayed flight, mainly as a means of killing time to give Kate a chance to catch up.
“My associate is coming,” he said, pointing to Kate, who was fast walking toward them and waving. “She’ll be here in a second.”
“Perfect. We were waitin’ on you,” the attendant said with a smile. “I’ll let everyone know we’re about ready.”
Kate slowed once she got to the gate and finally stopped and bent over, hands on her knees, sucking wind.
“I thought you said you worked out,” Adam said.
“I do yoga and walk around the neighborhood. I don’t run marathons,” she panted out between gulps of air.
He laughed. “Well, come on then, they’re waiting for us.”
She gave her boarding pass to the attendant and smiled as she walked past, but as soon as they were on the Jetway, returned to wheezing. “I’m pretty sure I’m dying.”
“You’ll be fine. Come on.”
He secured their overnight bags in the overhead bin, and they buckled up just as the pilot announced they were closing the doors.
“That was close,” she said. “Too close. Thank goodness we made this flight.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so flustered,” he said, turning to her. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair mussed. “Actually,” he leaned in to whisper, “you look like you do after…you know.”
She gasped and looked around at the nearby passengers, hissing at him to shut up. “I’ll be fine. Just gimme a sec to catch my breath.”
Within minutes, she was brushing her hair and reapplying her lipstick as if nothing had happened.
“I’m already worried about Luna. We’ve never been apart for so long.”
“I’m sure Emma can handle your pooch for twenty-four hours. How’s the random peeing thing going? Got that solved, yet?”
“Much better. Yes, pretty sure that unseemly phase is over.” Luna hadn’t had an “accident” since meeting Adam, but certain that was just a coincidence, she didn’t mention it. “She’s going to miss me.”
“You mean, you’ll miss her. I’ll do my darnedest to distract you and keep your mind on something else.” He waggled his eyebrows, and she swatted his arm.
Once the plane leveled off, and they were allowed to unbuckle, Adam leaned over to whisper in Kate’s ear. “You wanna meet me in the bathroom and join the mile-high club?” he asked.
“Are you kidding me? That cannot possibly be a real thing. There is no way two people could fit in one of those bathrooms, much less do it in there.” She silently mouthed the wordsdo it. “Plus, think of all the germs. No way, Jose.”
Kate studied the presentation while Adam watched a movie and held her hand.
The flight was uneventful and landed on schedule. They had time to check into their hotel and change clothes before the meeting. Against his will, Kate had booked two rooms. He hoped one would be a waste of money but wouldn’t push her.
Nothing had happened between them since they’d agreed on a fling. He’d let her decide whether she was really on board with the idea and, if so, what it meant to her. They’d go to the meeting, have dinner somewhere nice, and then see where the evening led.
The cab dropped them off with ten minutes to spare. In the lobby, Kate did some weird breathing thing, fixed her hair and makeup a thousand times, and finally stated she was ready. The elevator got them to the eighteenth floor in about three seconds. A secretary led them down a short hallway to a massive set of doors.
The office they entered was Texas-sized, as was most everything in Texas. Huge room, huge desk, and huge floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a majestic view of downtown Dallas. All the hugeness just made Mr. Norman Berry appear even smaller than he was. Adam guessed his height to be around five-four. Even Kate was taller than him. Especially in her signature high heels.
