Page 1 of SEAL's Spitfire
Chapter 1
“Attention. Passengers waiting for Delta Flight 363 to Atlanta, your flight will be delayed due to mechanical issues with the plane. Mechanics are currently assessing the issue. As soon as we have more information, we’ll advise you. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.”
Meghan Henley groaned. She’d gotten to the airport two hours early and now it looked like she was in for a much longer wait. “Dammit all to hell. Inconvenience? No shit. Just fucking perfect,” she mumbled mostly under her breath as she rummaged through her purse for her phone. “Stuck in the fucking airport. And they wonder why people have no faith in airlines anymore.”
“You wouldn’t want to get on a broken plane, would you?”
Startled at the deep voice, she jerked. “Are you talking to me?” she asked as she turned toward the voice. She’d been so focused on her book she hadn’t realized someone sat next to her. Let alone ‘Mr. Gorgeous’ with the dreamy brown eyes.
“Uh huh. Better to be safe than sorry, no?” His voice was smooth like whiskey. He was definitely military—Navy most likely since they were in Norfolk. The patches on his bag gave it away since he wasn’t wearing his uniform. God, there was just something about a man in uniform and she could just imagine him in fatigues.
“Yes, of course, it is. I am just looking forward to getting back home. That’s all.” His voice messed with her insides, but his eyes, damn. She could get lost in those eyes, like jumping into a pool of molten chocolate.
“What?” Heat spread from her neck to her face. She’d been staring while he was talking, and she didn’t have a clue what he’d said.
“I said I’m sure we’ll be on our way soon enough,” he said with a chuckle.
“Yes, probably. Are you headed home too?”
“Not exactly home, but I’m going to visit my sister and my niece and nephew in Denver.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“Oh yeah. The kids are great. Still young enough to have a lot of fun with their uncle. It’ll be good to have some downtime.”
“I bet. Navy, right?
“Yes, ma’am. Over ten years now.” Calculating numbers in her head, she figured he was probably about thirty depending on when he joined. Not that it mattered, but it was a thing she liked to do—figuring out everything she could about the people she met. It’s what made her a good journalist or would if she ever got a chance to really prove herself. Writing obits and stories for the society page wasn’t exactly her dream job.
“What about you? Where is home?” She was used to asking questions. It was weird being on the other end.
“My mom lives just outside of Atlanta. I’m going to see her.”
“I thought you said you were headed home?” He cocked an eyebrow as he asked the question. His eyebrows were gorgeous. Thick and dark just like his hair. What was wrong with her? She’s focusing on his eyebrows? Good God.
“I am, sorta. It was home, now it’s not. But I still think of it as home. I have an apartment in DC.”
“Now I know where the accent comes from.” Accent? She’d worked hard to make it go away while in college. No one had mentioned it in years. How did he hear it?
“I don’t…” Before she could finish the intercom sputtered to life.
“Attention passengers on Delta Flight 393 to Atlanta. Due to parts and mechanics being flown in from Atlanta to repair the plane, the flight will be delayed for another few hours.” The longer she listened to the message the more her heart sank in her stomach. Getting home tonight was looking less and less possible.
“For your convenience, we can try to book you onto another Delta flight or on another airline. It’s possible this flight may be canceled.” A collected groan echoed around the waiting area. The group of strangers instantly became comrades in the fight to get out of the airport on a Friday night. Home, vacation, wherever, but everyone wanted out as soon as possible.
“I guess we need to line up with the others…” Meghan mused and glanced at her phone as it pinged with a text message. “Double shit. According to this text, they are canceling the flight.”
“Traveling is definitely an adventure,” the gravelly voice responded. No southern accent for him, just a low rumble she felt inside.
“Not the adventure I wanted.”
“Look around. You’re not alone.”
“Doesn’t this delay bother you?”
“No. It really doesn’t. There are so many things worse than being stuck in an airport for a few hours.”
“I guess there are. It’s just frustrating. Are you going to get on the line to see about another flight?”
