Girl on a Plane

by Cassandra O'Leary

  Padraig had made her distrustful, made her hesitate, even when something good was right in front of her. He’d made her doubt her own intuition about men. And she hated it. Hated the way her horrible ex was still inside her head after so many years. He was still sending text messages.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and forced her mind back to Gabriel. His teasing words, his come-on, may have been meant to soothe her, but she doubted it. He denied his own emotions, had probably done so for years. He was scared, for some reason, just as she was. It hurt to think of opening herself up to heartbreak again. And Gabriel could break her heart, she had no doubt. The connection between them, the physical spark was so strong already.

  She just had to let him go tomorrow, before he became a regret.

  Even as a short-term thing, her time with Gabriel had been worth it. In her opinion, anyway. No matter what he said, no matter his denial, nothing would erase the time they’d spent together. It would be branded white-hot in her memory forever. Gabriel would always be a part of her.

  Whether he liked it or not.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The room was darker now. Colder. Gabriel rubbed his sandpaper-dry eyes and recalibrated his mind. He checked his phone for the time: 6.35 a.m. Almost time to get going again. An email from Martha had him tentatively booked on a re-scheduled flight at 1 p.m. He wasn’t sure yet when Sinead would have to leave.

  She’d stayed in the bath for a hell of a long time last night, but then she’d crept up beside the sofa and told him to come back to bed, to go to sleep. Sinead had crashed almost immediately. It hadn’t been like earlier. He hadn’t touched her again and she’d curled up in a ball on her own side of the bed.

  But he’d slept in Sinead’s bed again. Staying with a woman two nights in a row was completely unprecedented for him. Big news, as Ryan would say. Not an unwelcome development. At least, now he’d got used to the idea.

  He wasn’t sure where that left them this morning.

  She was curled up beside him, her long, smooth legs entwined with his. It had to be accidental. He didn’t think she’d meant to reach out for him. Gabriel raised himself up on one elbow. So beautiful. Her expression was unguarded now. He hadn’t noticed earlier how her smile masked her thoughts.

  He reached towards her – he couldn’t help himself. He ran his fingers through her long white-gold hair. So soft. The scent took him back to his Mum’s old garden in summer. Exotic, yet also familiar. Her rosebud lips, slightly parted, tempted him to kiss her, taste her.

  A powerful gust of wind whipped past the windows. A tremor followed, reverberating through the building. It brought him to the here and now, and woke Sinead in the process.

  She stirred and stretched her arm across his chest. “Mmm.”

  He chuckled at her inarticulate moan. “Top of the morning to you, Irish.”

  Sinead’s eyes popped open, sleepiness instantly wiped off her face. “Shouldn’t that be my line? Where’s my phone?” She almost leapt out of bed, away from him.

  His pulse picked up pace. “What’s the rush? You got somewhere to go?”

  She sashayed across the room, her bare bottom peeking out from under her white T-shirt. Making him want to reach out and grab her. He resisted, since he didn’t think it would be welcome. She seemed to have no interest in hanging around with him, let alone anything more.

  Fiddling with her phone, she didn’t meet his eyes. “Yes. We’ll be clear to fly soon. I’m scheduled for a 10 a.m. flight.”

  “Oh, right.” A surge of disappointment rolled through his gut.

  Their seclusion together was nearly over. Time to get back to reality. His business, setting up the London office. Everything so important to him a few days ago. It was still important. Life went on. But maybe work wasn’t the be all and end all.

  Sinead bit her lip, then crossed the room to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her.

  He rolled over and stared out the window.

  Now he realised what made him nervous. Sinead was dangerous. She could tip the careful balancing act he’d created in his life. But she was the type of danger he wanted in his life. Not wanted, needed.

  Sinead was someone who’d challenge him. She might be someone he could talk to. With her, he might even feel something besides pressure and stress. Feel. Like a human.

  He needed to talk to her, to smooth over any rough edges left hanging after their weird conversation the night before. He’d shot her down when she talked about seeing each other again. What he’d said seemed wrong, even while the words were spilling out of his mouth. He knew the truth now.

  They were meant to be together. It was a cliché but he didn’t care. It was completely new to him. Sinead inspired him to want more in his life – a real relationship, someone to be close to, to come home to. Someone for himself alone.

  Of course, he wasn’t ignoring the physical side. He’d never been so exposed and raw after being with a woman. Unbelievable. They were combustible together, an unstoppable wildfire. She was getting naked behind the door and it was driving him mad with anticipation. He wanted her again, back in the bed, under him, over him, it didn’t matter.

  What mattered was her, being with him. Whether it was in London or Melbourne, Dublin or bloody Japan, he’d see her again.

  Somehow they’d find a way to make it work. She’d become necessary.

  Sinead showered, moving under the water, quick and restless. Nothing like the memorable shower the day before. She shivered, goose bumps racing everywhere on her body. Every nook and cranny. Some of those crannies still ached. Her fantasies of being with Gabriel had been far outstripped by reality. Before they all crashed down like a nightmare.

  She dressed in the bathroom, hurrying into her slightly crumpled uniform. Gabriel wouldn’t have the chance to see her naked again. If he gave her that look, the filthy, come-hither look full of carnal intent, which he could absolutely deliver on, she’d totally succumb to his charms. Melt like ice-cream. Dissolve like a spoonful of sugar in steaming hot coffee.

  Oh Lord, give me strength, or give me caffeine.

  If she was going through with it, she needed fortification. She couldn’t hang around though. The longer she left it, the harder it would be.

  It was the coward’s way out, but she’d decided in the early hours to get going as soon as possible. To leave Gabriel before he had a chance to break her heart. She’d hoped to be out of there early, before he woke, but she’d fallen asleep next to him. Sleeping beside him was so comfortable, so cosy. When she’d opened her eyes and found her legs tangling with his, she knew she had to go. Before he reached for her again and unleashed all his manliness on her.

  She’d known men like him before. Too gorgeous, too rich, too smart – too much altogether. It never ended well for the women in unequal relationships, with so much more to lose.

  Anyway, men like him couldn’t be trusted. When she was only nineteen, she’d learned the lesson the hard way. She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming herself. The brute didn’t deserve another thought.

  Hesitantly opening the bathroom door, Sinead spied Gabriel sitting up in bed, the hard contours of his chest and biceps flexed on full display, making it hard to stick to her resolution, or concentrate on anything at all. He was simply beautiful, like the classical studies of the male form she’d seen in Rome, statues carved in marble for everyone to admire. But he wasn’t made of stone. He was hot and human, vulnerable and strong, all at once. She sucked in a cleansing breath. All the dwelling on the beautiful man wasn’t helping.

  She forced her legs to move but it was like wading through knee-deep sand, walking through to the bedroom. Gabriel sat wrapped in a sheet, his forehead crinkling madly at his phone.

  She kept her voice light and sunny. “Problem, Mr Serious CEO?”

  “Nothing the London team can’t manage. I’m officially off-duty today.” He glanced up, hitting her with his cranky face. “Why are you dressed?”

  She couldn�
��t stop a giggle escaping. “You’ve obviously got one thing on your mind. I’m guessing it’s not breakfast.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. How about I peel off your uniform and see what’s on the menu? I swear, I’ll eat it all up.”

  She shivered when Gabriel knelt on the bed and reached towards her, letting the sheet slip down his body. Her eyes automatically tracked south. Oh, goodness. He was pleased to see her, uniform or not.

  He hit her with a killer, lopsided smile sending her stomach flipping over, like the first time she’d noticed him on the plane. She squeezed her eyes closed and backed up a step, putting some distance between them.

  “No, I can’t. I have to get ready. I still have to do my hair and makeup and it takes a while.” Her gaze wandered all over his body though.

  “Really? I can’t tempt you with breakfast and dessert rolled into one?”

  She shook her head and crossed her arms under her breasts. His gaze followed the action.

  She cleared her throat. “Sorry, not going to happen.”

  “Hell. I’ll have a shower then. A cold one.”

  Gabriel rose from the bed and strode towards her, grabbed her by the hips and planted a deep, lingering kiss on her lips. The kiss left her legs shaking and her lips wet and swollen, along with other places. Her pulse throbbed in her temples and between her legs, the need for him making her head swim. Making her doubt her decision.

  “To be continued.” He said it as if it was a certainty, like he knew they’d see each other again.

  Horrible, icky black guilt lined her stomach, as he traced his thumb across her lower lip. Such a simple gesture, but filled with some unspoken emotion.

  He strolled into the bathroom and shut the door.

  She needed to remember her plan, the get-out-quickly-and-relatively-unscathed plan. It was getting harder to resist him. The spark between them was undeniable.

  When he’d touched her yesterday, there was something else going on, more than skin-deep. When he’d shown her his vulnerable side, he’d shaken her, like the building which might’ve fallen down around them.

  She was tempted to ask him for more, to give it one more shot. But she couldn’t risk it. If he pushed her away again, something inside her might break.

  Sinead ducked and gathered her tossed clothes from the night before under one arm, hiding from Gabriel’s stare and the sight of his perfect body. She heard the water running in the bathroom. Good. She needed him occupied with something other than her naked self.

  She called out to him. “They say the airport should re-open by eight o’clock. I’d better pack.”

  She had a few minutes up her sleeve. He was in the shower now and she was packing, as far as he knew.

  “Okay, Irish.” His muffled but cheery reply echoed through the door, against the rush of water.

  He wouldn’t see the tears trickling down her cheeks, or the half-packed bag she’d put aside last night while he slept on the sofa. She stuffed the last of her belongings in her bag.

  Sinead glanced at the bathroom door over her shoulder as she left the suite, taking her bag with her. Leaving not a trace of her physical self behind. Only a trace of her heart.

  “Un-bloody-believable.”

  Gabriel circled around the suite’s living area once more, wearing only a thick white towel wrapped around his waist, fresh out of the shower.

  Drip, drip, drip. The drops of water hitting the shower floor were a ticking clock. Or a countdown to an explosion.

  Sinead was gone. No sign of her stuff in the whole suite. She hadn’t even left a note. Her makeup was gone and her wheelie bag was nowhere to be seen. Her clothes had been strewn across the armchair, now they’d disappeared.

  She’d done a runner, packed and taken off. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, the hottest he’d ever touched. Also sweet and gentle. Really funny and smart too, even if she didn’t see it herself. Probably the one woman he could make a go of it with, if she’d given him a chance.

  Gabriel rubbed his temples. A slow pounding built behind his eyes. It must have been all the stupid things he’d said the night before. Now he was questioning all of his assumptions, and she’d already left.

  He didn’t even know her address in London. Luckily he’d grabbed her mobile phone number yesterday before he went out in the storm. She hadn’t asked for his contact details.

  Sinead, where are you?

  There were only a few options. Sinead could have met her friend Yuki – he knew she was in Singapore too. The only logical place she’d go was the airport, a few hours earlier than she needed to be there.

  But why would she leave without saying goodbye?

  Thinking back, she’d jumped out of bed like she was on fire. He’d sensed something was wrong, but now his hindsight was twenty-twenty. The way she’d shut herself in the bathroom and reappeared fully dressed in her uniform. All reserved and pushing him away. He’d been thinking about getting her naked and back in bed with him, where she belonged.

  The whole time, even when he kissed her, she must have been thinking of leaving. He wasn’t too proud to admit it cut like a knife in the gut.

  Why the hell did he let her go without putting up a fight? Because he was an idiot. He needed to find her, to talk to her and make it right.

  He threw on creased but clean clothes and chucked his other gear in his bag. A quick pass around the room to check for anything important and he was out of there. He almost sprinted down the corridor to the elevator.

  Heart pounding from the exercise he’d been sorely missing, he closed his eyes and sucked in a few deep breaths as the elevator lowered to the ground floor. The drop in his stomach as the doors opened could have been from the quick ride down. But he didn’t think so.

  In the foyer, he stopped at reception. Great to see a familiar face working there. The perpetually smiling Su, who often greeted him on business stays.

  “Hello Su, can you please tell me if my friend Ms Kennealy has checked out? She was in a hurry and I think I missed her.”

  “Yes, sir, I believe she checked out about twenty minutes ago. Let me see.” Su pulled up a record on her computer monitor and frowned. “She left you a message.” Su rummaged in a pigeon hole on the wall behind the desk and pulled out an envelope.

  Gabriel reached for the envelope in Su’s hand, then stared at it. Concern and confusion were at war in his head. He tore open the seal and quickly read her message. The handwritten note barely explained anything, but added to his unease.

  Gabriel,

  Thank you for covering the cost of the suite, but you shouldn’t have.

  Best we each go our own way. I had a nice time but I wasn’t up for goodbyes.

  Sinead. X

  A nice time? It sounded like something he’d said to her last night. It didn’t sound like Sinead, it was too cold and remote. She was brushing him off, like he’d done to her. But that was before he’d realised he needed her. He hadn’t only sunk into her heat, and tasted her. He’d almost drowned in her arms. The thing was, he had a feeling they could learn to swim, together. No way had he had enough of her.

  Heat flooded his body and sent the blood rushing out of his brain. The way she’d stared into his eyes. She’d made him look deep down into himself and back at her too. She’d cracked him wide open.

  The need to find her and talk to her was like a pulsing red light inside his head. It wouldn’t be ignored. He could probably catch her at the airport if he hurried.

  Maybe it wasn’t too late. He didn’t want to think about the alternative.

  The airport was gloomier than usual as driving rain slashed across the large windows overlooking the tarmac. The typhoon had been officially downgraded but the storm hadn’t yet passed. The weather reflected Sinead’s grey mood as she waited in the staff lounge for an update from Mermaid Airlines head office.

  The tall latte and chocolate bar in front of her barely helped fight her fatigue. She needed to be alert – all the flight attendant
s had to be ready to fly as soon as the authorities re-opened the skies. She was there super early though.

  As much as she tried to focus on work, all she could think about was Gabriel. She could hardly believe she’d done it. She’d checked out and left him behind in the hotel. When she’d spoken to the reception staff, she found he’d already settled the account.

  It went to show his train of thought – he couldn’t wait to get out of there. The note she’d left him was heartless and filled with empty spaces for the words she wanted to say to him. She was sure she’d regret it later, not telling him how she was feeling.

  It was fine. Fine, fine, fine.

  She tapped her fingernails against the side of her coffee cup. She’d left before she made a scene and asked him to keep in touch, to see her again soon, and before she begged him to kiss her and take her back to bed. Why didn’t she stay with him a while longer?

  Then her ex-boyfriend Padraig’s voice popped into her head, as it always did when she most wanted to forget. She was a selfish bitch who wouldn’t stay home and look after her man. She was always leaving, one foot out the door. How could she forget?

  She pushed that old hurt out of her head. It didn’t matter. He was behind her now, she’d moved on. She was a grown-up, professional woman, in control of her own life. Sinead checked her appearance, her mirrored compact in her shaking hand, and applied more scarlet lipstick. She tidied her hair, pulled it back and pinned it into a sophisticated twist. Her reflection grimaced, a Halloween version of herself.

  She breathed deep and made herself relax. The carefully controlled, regulation-level of grooming and attractiveness was in place. Barely a visible hint of the turmoil stirring beneath the surface.

  It was nearly showtime again. She knew exactly what she had to do. It helped her fragile heart and state of mind to have a plan, however simple. Get back on the plane, do her job, fly home to London and then collapse into a bottomless pit of chocolate ice-cream. An excellent plan.