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ChapterTwelve
Aidan scanned the dwindling crowd at the boarding gate, his heart sinking with every passing minute.
Beth hadn’t come.
He’d given her space, he’d given her his love, and she hadn’t wanted any of it.
Hoisting his duffel onto his shoulder, he handed over his boarding pass, scrounging up a polite smile for the hostess who gave him an appreciative once-over. He might’ve been interested, if Beth hadn’t branded his heart.
Damn it, was he ever going to get over her?
She’d blown into his world like a dervish, a bright, sparkly, effervescent breath of fresh air that made him feel like he could take on Mount Everest and conquer it with one hand tied behind his back.
She’d made him feel alive and filled all those tiny holes in his heart he’d barely acknowledged existed.
He didn’t need to do anything to grab her attention, she’d given it unreservedly from the moment she bowled up to him with those bizarre feathery black shoes.
He loved her.
And it was over.
Every step down the long causeway was a step further away from her, a step toward closure.
He had his job.
He had his old life back.
And it wasn’t enough.
Hating the ache in his chest, he nodded at the hostess at the door of the plane, ready to take his seat, plug his ears with headphones and drown out the world.
“Excuse me, Sir.”
“Yes?”
What now? The plane had engine trouble? His seat was next to a faulty exit door?
“You’ve been upgraded to first class. If you’ll follow me?”
Managing a wry smile at the twist of good luck after so much bad, he turned left and followed the hostess.
“I believe you’re seated in 1A. Enjoy your flight.”
“Thank you…” His jaw dropped as he registered the wide, leather seat next to him was taken—by the last person he expected to see.
“Hey there, Professor. Thought you might like some company on a long haul flight?”
He sank into the chair, the duffel sliding off his shoulder and plopping at his feet, at a loss for words as he stared at Beth and wondered if she was a by-product of his wishful thinking.
“This is a surprise,” he finally managed to say, trying not to stare at her funky striped midriff top showing a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage and her bright orange flip skirt ending half way up her smooth thighs.
Those legs…he’d caressed those legs, kissed them, nibbled them, had them hold him in a vice-like grip, had explored every gorgeous inch of them, and he clenched his hands into fists to stop from reaching out and touching her.
“Yeah, well, I came into a lot of money because some crazy, spontaneous, sexy guy bought all the unsold pieces from my last collection, and seeing as I love to do spur of the moment things I thought I’d blow a major part of my earnings on a first class upgrade.”
While her mouth curved into its signature sassy smile, uncertainty flickered in her beautiful green eyes.
Despite her bravado in showing up here like this, the woman he loved was nervous. And she had no need to be. She’d taken this gigantic step in following him to the ends of the earth and he would never let her down.
