Page 23 of Just Say Yes
8
‘I booked you the window seat, but you can swap if you don’t want it. I’m not fussed.’
‘No, that’s fine, if you don’t mind?’
‘Not at all,’ he said, taking my case off me and hefting it up into the overhead locker with little effort, quickly followed by his own. Taking his own seat, he placed Bod’s carrier on the floor and fastened his seat belt.
‘Is this where we fight over the armrest?’
‘You’re taking up part of my seat, so I think I already lost that battle.’
He gave me a look, half frown, half smile. ‘I got us premium seats. The only other option is for me to sit out on the wing.’
I turned and looked out of the window, tapping my finger on my chin.
‘Oh, very funny. Besides, you’re not using all yours anyway.’
I spread my petite frame out as far as I could. ‘Yes, I am. And I need that armrest too.’
The deep laugh rumbled in his chest as the grin spread across his face. ‘You know, you’re pretty fun when you’re not trying to control everything.’
I pulled myself back up into a more elegant position, calmly lifted my current novel from my bag and turned to the correct page.
‘Now what did I do?’
‘You didn’t do anything.’
‘I must have. One minute you’re all relaxed and fun, and the next you’ve shut down and acting like you’re got a ramrod stuck up your—’
‘Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.’
‘Maddie?’
‘Shoosh.’ I held my finger to my lips. ‘I want to listen.’
Lorcan gave me a long, studied look, let out a hiss of breath through his teeth, tipped his head back against his seat and closed his eyes. I snuck a glance and saw that his jaw was tight and his hands were still bunched into fists, something I’d noticed he did whenever he got frustrated. He literally had no clue about tact. No wonder he was single.
* * *
As the plane lurched, I vehemently regretted the hot chocolate and cake I’d eaten earlier.
‘Oh!’
Lorcan had been asleep within minutes of us taking to the sky, which suited me perfectly, but at the jolt his eyes flew open and he leant forward a little to check on Bod. As he did so, he caught sight of my face and made the wise choice of pulling out the sick bag from his side and handing it to me before attending to the dog, which, as it turned out, was an excellent decision as I immediately made use of it.
‘Not a good traveller, eh?’
I didn’t reply, misery surrounding me, wrapped within an outer casing of embarrassment.
The plane bounced some more and Lorcan pulled another bag from in front of me, deftly opening it as I fumbled. Moving his hand to my hair, he held it back with one hand, gently rubbing my back with his other.
‘There you go. You’ll feel better now.’ His words were soft, the gentle lilt calming my senses, which was just as well as the plane continued to bounce about and the captain advised us we would be experiencing some turbulence. No shit, Sherlock. A member of the cabin crew appeared at Lorcan’s side and he discreetly handed him the two bags I’d made use of, asking for some more in case, just as subtly.
‘I think I’m done.’
The captain’s voice came over the tannoy again. ‘I’m sorry about this, folks, but it’s going to be a little bumpy for a bit.’
My eyes widened. ‘That wasn’t bumpy?’ I croaked.
