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Chapter 1
Violet
What goes up must come down.
I was a nervous wreck. That stupid saying was on repeat in my brain as I walked through the airport. I hated this place, I hated crowds in general, but most of all, I hated flying. No, that wasn’t entirely true, I was terrified of flying. The idea of being tens of thousands of feet in the air where anything could go wrong made me shaky and nauseous.
“You can do this,” I told myself. After all, I made it through international check-in and security and even found my gate with plenty of time to spare.
“Violet Jones to Gate 23 counter. Violet Jones to Gate 23 counter.”
I looked up in surprise when I heard my name over the intercom system. I prayed nothing was going wrong. I didn’t think I could handle it if something went wrong. I walked up to the counter and stated as calmly as I could, “I’m Violet Jones.”
“Ah, Ms. Jones, the ticket counter made a mistake when they checked you in. They put you in business class seating when they were supposed to put you in first class,” the lady explained with a smile that didn’t look entirely genuine. “May I see the ticket they gave you?”
I pulled it out of my purse as I asked her, “How did I get first-class? I only paid for business-class.”
“I’m not sure. Let me check. It shows here that someone paid to upgrade you recently.”
“I bet it was my father,” I mumbled as I handed her my original ticket.
She simply nodded as she took the ticket and tore it up without a second look. Her actions caused my stomach to twist nervously. I hated surprises when I was already this nervous. After several more moments, she had new tickets printed out.
“First-class will be boarding shortly. Have a wonderful flight, Ms. Jones.”
I nodded and smiled tensely. I could do this. I had a new book, The Pitcher’s Carnation by M.K. Moore, ready and waiting for me on my ereader, and now I’d be more comfortable in first class. It wasn’t a bad hiccup. I could do this.
I waited patiently for the call to board when I noticed three men approaching the gate. The ticket lady immediately ran to the door and opened it for them. They didn’t look like pilots or anything. It appeared that two of the men were protecting the man in the middle.
I couldn’t help but check out the man they were protecting. He was tall, much taller than my five-foot frame, with black, slightly curly hair and olive skin. As the plane was headed to Milan, Italy, I immediately surmised that he was Italian, but it was hard to tell for sure because he was looking down at his phone. His suit looked expensive, and the way the airport staff responded to them, I could only guess that he had to be someone important and very wealthy. He exuded an air of power.
I watched as he went through the door to board the plane, and that put my mind back on this trip I was taking. My father was finally getting married, and he seemed so very happy. He deserved it. I was so surprised when he asked me to stand next to him. I loved him so much, and while it was a little unorthodox, I didn’t care.
We didn’t know who my mom and real dad were. As an infant, I was found left in the elevator of my dad’s building. Upon discovering me, Dad decided he wanted a family. Thanks to his rather large bank account, I quickly became his little girl.
Life was wonderful. We traveled all over and had many great adventures. Then I developed a fear of flying. No reason that we could tell. Anytime there was a little turbulence, I would have a panic attack.
I saw a therapist, and now I had the tools to help me out. This trip was my first international flight in a very long time. I didn’t want to fly for that long, but I would do it for my dad.
As they called for first-class boarding, I took a deep breath and handed the lady my ticket, and then headed down the ramp. My stomach was a mess. I used a counting technique to distract my brain and refused to look out the window or even acknowledge that I was about to board a plane.
I boarded the plane, and a lovely stewardess took my ticket stub and led me to my seat. I stood there momentarily as I realized that the man I’d watched with security was sitting right next to me. His men were in front and behind him, watching me closely.
I gave them a nervous smile before sitting down and quickly getting situated. My bag, which I’d verified multiple times fit the bag guidelines, sat perfectly by my feet. I held my phone in my hand and quickly got the seat belt on. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
“Ma’am, would you like something to drink while the plane boards?”
Looking up at the stewardess, I nodded, “A drink would be good. A whiskey if you have it.”
The pretty girl nodded and turned to get my drink. While I waited, I kept counting to distract myself. I felt eyes on me and noticed the man sitting next to me watching with a raised eyebrow. “Nervous about flying,” I mumbled, embarrassed.
He returned to his phone with a nod, clearly not finding me of any further interest. I didn’t know why I didn’t like that, but with a sigh, I happily took my drink from the stewardess and downed the shot. The warmth of the whiskey calmed my frayed nerves just enough to keep me from being annoying.
Knowing we had a bit of time before we took off, I sent my dad a quick message:
Hey Dad, I’m on the plane. Thank you for the first-class upgrade. It will make the flight that much easier.
It wasn’t long before I got a message back, but it wasn’t what I expected.
Hey Vi, great job! You can do this! I can’t wait to see you, but I didn’t pay for that first-class upgrade.
How strange. Well, I hope my guardian angel knows how much it means to me. I’ll call you when I land.
I turned my phone to airplane mode and opened my Kindle app. As I opened up my new book, I thought about my guardian angel. I wondered who did that for me. It was probably Dad’s fiancé. I didn’t have admirers, at least not the kind that does things like this.
*~*~*~*
