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“The paramedics will greet the plane in fifteen minutes,” the flight attendant provided after getting an update over the phone.
Irene took my hand. “Thank you. You and your boyfriend have been most helpful.”
While I was stunned by her assumption, McGrumps immediately countered. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
His tone left no doubt how he felt about the possibility.
“You’re not the only one horrified by the thought,” I retorted like a twelve-year-old girl who’d been spurned. I could imagine the types of women he went out with. Probably spent as much time in the gym as he did and thought the most important world priority was the war on carbs.
“We’ll be on the ground shortly. Appreciate your help,” the flight attendant said. “Why don’t you two take your seats for landing?”
“Happy to.” Soon I could leave the hot stranger behind, take an Uber home, and settle in with a plate of nachos and a cold beer.
ChapterTwo
LEO
Addy, as I’d learned was her name, was a hot mess walking. She was also sexy, and the smart mouth on her did nothing to quell my unwelcome attraction to her.
Most people were so intimidated by my physical presence they kept their thoughts to themselves. This shield had served me well, both in my eight-year military career and now out in the civilian world.
But this exasperating woman seemed immune to my appearance. And she wasn’t even my type, with the pink streaks in her hair, smart mouth, and inability to get her shit together in the simplest of ways. Unfortunately, my dick had other ideas as I watched her heart-shaped ass walk down the aisle away from me and back toward our row in first class.
Once I took my seat beside her and we were both buckled in, I found myself in unfamiliar territory, actually hating her silence. “You did a decent job with her.”
She turned toward me, her whiskey-colored eyes rolling.
“What?”
“In your mind, did that actually sound like a compliment?”
Wasn’t it? “I said you did a good job.”
“No, you said I did adecentjob which implies you either have the inability to give adecentcompliment, or it pains you to do so with me.”
This woman was sure to give me a headache. This. This was why I shouldn’t bother to talk to people.
I’d always been introverted. When I was a kid, nobody had understood this quality since my two brothers and parents were the opposite. What could I say? I’d been the one who wanted to listen more than talk. In the military, being quiet had been an asset instead of a burden. Leadership had involved the quality of the words you said rather than the quantity. That was why I’d gone into security work after my honorable discharge and had surrounded myself with former military who shared a similar vibe.
As I’d grown older, I’d garnered attention from women because of my physique, but talking to them was torture. They were either only interested in my body, or they avoided me altogether because of my less-than-welcoming personality.
“Forget it,” I mumbled to the feisty woman. I was relieved to feel the plane descending.
“Believe me. It’s already forgotten.”
I should have ignored her for the few minutes it would take to get off the plane. Would have been easy. Yet I found myself unable to let her have the last word. “My compliment was restrained because you lied about being a nurse. Who does that?”
I had the pleasure of watching her pretty face turn pink with embarrassment. “I got whacked in the head by Psycho Barbie with her stupid suitcase, so when the flight attendant suggested I might want to deplane and have it examined, I told her I was a nurse in order to avoid missing the flight. And I would be a nurse if I hadn’t quit nursing school in my last semester. Not like I could’ve fathomed they’d have a medical emergency on board later and would ask me to help.”
My gaze shifted to the lump on her forehead. “Your head doesn’t look great.”
She huffed. “Yeah, well it doesn’t feel great.”
Despite the seatbelt sign, I stood up to walk to the front and ask for more ice. Wordlessly, I handed it to her once I returned and watched her eyes get big at the unexpected action.
Addy shook her head. “You know, McGrumps, it was easier to think you had no redeeming qualities.”
I was annoyed she’d witnessed one.
