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Her cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink. Needing to keep her focus on me, I angle my body closer to her, effectively blocking out her ex, and anyone else for that matter, who wants her attention. I have eight hours, with a short refuel stop in Houston, to show her just how real my attraction is and how very good we can be together.
Doing it in front of her friends? Challenge accepted.
5
Heather
I’m floating, and it has nothing to do with being thirty-some thousand feet in the air. Either it’s the champagne or how Rex continues to flirt with me, but unbelievably, I don’t care. Because whatever is happening —pretend or real— for the first time in maybe forever, I feel attractive, sexy, and desirable to a man.
And not just any man. But the hot guy who I’d thought was out of my league in that unobtainable way a woman like me who’d lost and gained the same twenty pounds over and over again did. After years of measuring myself against every beautiful woman I saw on social media who had someone like Rex, could it finally be happening for me?
Could I finally get the hot guy who actually liked a woman with real curves and a mind of her own?
Funny how a pandemic and your friends getting married washes away those lifelong insecurities—well, almost. The struggle is real, especially since I’ve started gaining back the weight I lost after Mr. Two-Timer was outed.
But now that the ex has a front-row seat to all the attention Rex is giving me, I feel free and can open up to the possibility that this fake-date-boyfriend thing just might actually work.
And I no longer feel like cursing Tamara, or Stefan, for this destination Valentine’s Day wedding.
In fact, it’s the best thing to happen to me.
So, based on Rex’s responses to me every time we touch, I’m ready to tangle with the handsome EMT.
I could handle a short fling. It isn’t like we’ll be together once we are back to our real lives. Because that wouldn’t work for me. In fact, his job is the reason I put up walls around me the few times he hit on me. Being with someone in his line of work would spark too many memories from my childhood. My grandmother shut herself off from life and everyone who loved her after my grandfather’s death. Her grief and his tragic death shaped my future in two ways.
It made me want to become a nurse, and two, it made me swear off firefighters, EMTs, police officers— anyone who puts themselves in danger on a daily basis.
The price paid for loving someone who puts their life on the line each time they step out of the house is too high. A hero one day could, through a twisted act of fate, become a victim the next.
Not for me.
I jump as Stefan taps on the side of his champagne flute. “Okay, now that we’ve got you thirty-five thousand feet in the air, we want to thank you and let you in on the plans for the next few days. It means so much to Tamara and me that you dropped everything and running away with us to paradise to witness our marriage. And to Archer for the generous use of his plane—thank you, man.”
Sequestered in the back of the plane, Stefan’s friend has his phone glued to his ear and barely acknowledges any of us. It’s surprising to find out how close Tamara’s fiancé is to the mysterious billionaire real estate developer. I realize Archer is also the only one on the plane without a plus one. The realtor who sold me my condo, Kelee Johansson, didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about him. Something to do with a project in Cedar Ridge where a friend owns a horse breeding ranch and the billionaire wanting to buy up the land for a luxury home development.
Her strong feelings toward the handsome, if broody-looking, man at the time held a bit of false disinterest. It really is a small world, and I can’t wait to call her when I return home to test my theory out.
The flight attendant refills our glasses, then each person says a few words, toasting the happy couple. It quickly becomes hard to remain unaffected by the mood on the plane when my best friend looks so blissfully in love with her guy. With Rex pressing up against me, how could I not succumb to his radiating, sexy vibes while keeping my attention on Stefan as he speaks to his guests.
“When we arrive on the island, it’s going to be around nine p.m. and a limo will take us to the resort. Each couple will have a beachside suite. So, rest up tonight because tomorrow is going to be full. We’ll meet for brunch, then have a rehearsal late afternoon, followed by an early dinner. The ceremony is taking place at sunrise the next morning. Valentine’s Day.”
Tamara releases a loud sigh, her gaze locked on her fiancé. Throughout his speech, Stefan hasn’t let go of her hand, keeping it pressed to his chest. I let out my own sigh. Love, true love, is still possible.
“So, please get plenty of rest tonight… or not. I’m sure you all will make good use of those oversized beds in your suites. I know we will.” Stefan tugs Tamara upright, bends her over, and kisses her long and deep.
“Hey, leave something for the honeymoon, Stef!” Archer laughs, the rest of us joining in.
I turn to say something to Rex, but the heat in his eyes make me wish that the love on display around us could be in our future. The thought sends a shiver through me, but before I can ask Rex what he’s thinking, Tamara bounces over to sit next to me.
“Can you believe this, Heather? Did you ever think I would find someone like Stefan?” She looks so happy.
How could I be upset at the interruption while she sits there glowing?
And even with the icky-ex giving me the side-eye, having Rex by my side, the last few months of loneliness washes away. My worries and misgivings about how fast Tamara fell into love fade away. Perhaps love doesn’t have a timeclock or checkboxes needing to be filled before you can say those three little worlds.
“Of course. You deserve him, Tam. He’s the luckiest guy I know.”
“Hey, there’s another contender sitting right here. I plan on giving him a run for the ‘Luckiest Guy’ title. So, be prepared. I can’t wait. I have plans for you, Ms. Campbell.” Rex winks, then brings my hand to his mouth, turns it palm up, and places a soft, feathery kiss on my sensitive flesh.
