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24
Jane looked up to see Austin arrive in the departure lounge shortly after her, obviously looking for her. They had just announced that first-class would be boarding soon, so it was perfect timing on his part. She hated that she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him, especially since her first thought was that he looked incredibly handsome for 5 am, considering he most likely hadn’t slept the night before.
What she really wanted to do was give him a piece of her mind about Molly and how ridiculous it was for her to have him come to L.A., just to be her puppet, but she needed him for the next few hours and didn't want to make it awkward between them, or worse, make it appear that she had feelings for him. She still had a six-hour flight to get through, and she knew she couldn’t do it without his help. She would just have to plaster a smile on her face and act like nothing was wrong, even though her mind was racing and her stomach was in knots over him. Falling for Austin Drew was not in the cards for her, she needed to make sure of that. They were colleagues, that’s how he saw it and that's how she needed to see it, too.
“Good morning,” she said, trying to sort through her thoughts, although it wasn’t helping that he looked so good and was sitting so close to her. “How was the rest of your evening last night?” she asked, certain she really didn’t want to know the answer.
“The dinner was OK, if you like spending two hours with people you don’t know,” Austin said, not taking his eyes off her.“Never mind that though, how are you feeling? You know, we could have driven over together,” Austin added, not sure why Jane insisted on coming without him.
“I wasn't sure how late you would be, and I didn’t want to risk missing the flight,” she answered honestly, feeling her stomach flutter with his eyes on her.
“I would never have done that to you,” Austin responded, knowing that Jane would be worried about the flight. “You nervous?”
Oddly enough, flying wasn’t top of mind for her at the moment, but she knew she couldn’t tell him the truth. Instead, Jane just shook her head “yes,” letting him believe that the flight was the only thing on her mind.
“You know,” Austin said, trying to make her laugh, “we could tell the pilot that you’re a fearful flyer. Maybe he’ll give you a set of wings.”
Jane let out a small laugh, not meaning to, but finding it funny. “Yeah, I’m sure he’ll get a kick of the fact that I’m almost 30 years old and still scared to fly.”
“Oh, come on. You know people of all ages are scared to fly. I told you… my Mom’s always been scared, and she loves to travel,” Austin added, “she just hates to fly. She makes my father hold her hand the entire way,” he smiled. “He doesn’t eat. He doesn’t drink. He just holds her hand. She says it’s the only thing that calms her down.”
“That’s actually very sweet,” Jane smiled as she looked in her handbag to grab her ticket. “They’re actually a very cute couple. I see them at work smiling at each other and even stealing kisses.”
“Ugh,” Austin joked. “Don’t tell me things like that about my parents,” he said making a grossed-out face.
“Oh, I think it’s sweet,” Jane added. “They really do seem to be in love, and it’s nice to see.”
“Yeah,” Austin nodded, smiling at Jane as he relaxed a bit more in the lounge seat next to her. “They are one couple who is still head over heels with each other, even after all this time. We got lucky with them as parents.”
“It’s rare,” Jane nodded.
“Rare?” Austin asked, shrugging his shoulders, knowing that it would help Jane to have idle conversation. “I guess. Although I know a good number of people in happy relationships. My brothers and I have failed Mom miserably, by not settling down, but that won’t last forever.”
“None of your brothers have settled down?” Jane asked, finding it interesting since all of them were very good-looking, very eligible bachelors.
“Nope,” Austin answered, making eye contact with Jane and feeling his insides quiver, “none of us, not yet, at least.”
Jane smiled and nodded, feeling her heart tug and thinking that the “not yet” could be a direct reference to him and Molly.
“Do your parents feel the same way about you and your sister?” Austin asked, finding himself wanting to know more.“Any pressure from them to get married?”
“Not so much. I know they’d love to see us settled down and happy with someone, but they want us to be happy. Marriage is a big deal. I would never want to rush into anything with the wrong person. When I get married, I want it to be forever, so I want to find the right guy.”
“Someone to save a seat for you,” he added, smiling over at Jane.
“Yeah,” Jane smiled back, feeling her heart ache thinking about him saving Molly a seat last night, “I want someone to save a seat for me.”
Austin nodded, feeling his stomach tighten with the thought of Jane with someone. He didn’t know why he was reacting this way. There was just something about her that he couldn’t get out of his head. He was confused by the feelings. He was surprised to find himself thinking about Jane all day yesterday, feeling bad that Molly had whisked him away, leaving Jane all alone. He had never intended for that to happen, and he felt horrible that he hadn’t checked in on Jane throughout the day. That was a big mistake on his part and he knew that. He hated thinking about her doing everything alone, without a helping hand. He knew his new position was to build relationships with key people that could help build business, and Molly was one of those people.
Jane’s phone began buzzing and she looked down to see that it was The Oxford calling. It may be 5 am on the west coast, but it was already 8 am on the east coast, and Fridays were generally busy days. “I gotta take this,” Jane said, looking at Austin, hoping that they wouldn’t start the boarding process just yet in case any fires needed to be put out.
“You talk,” he nodded, seeing it worked. “I’m going to close my eyes ‘til we get called, just don't leave me here. I didn’t sleep a wink last night,” Austin replied as he leaned back in his seat. He drifted off quickly, thinking about how cute Jane looked this morning in her matching pale red hoodie and jogger set.
* * *
The second Janestepped on board the airplane she began feeling anxious. She couldn’t believe that her body was tensing up again, her breathing short and fast. She knew that the only way to get home was via plane, and she was trying her best to take deep breaths and follow Austin through the motions.
“All right,” Austin said, arriving at their seats, and thankful they were together again. “Here, let me take your suitcase. You sit down. I’ll get everything stored away.”
