by Kira Archer
“Don’t forget me!” Granny said, hopping to her feet. “I’m not missing this.”
Harrison broke out in a dopey grin and turned to run out the door. “Don’t declare a winner yet!” he called over his shoulder to Gerry, who’d taken out the pool board when Nikki had left. The pub broke out in cheers and half of them followed him out into the street.
Where he promptly realized that he’d walked to the pub from the castle.
Austin was already on the phone. “The cab company said it’ll be twenty minutes at least before someone gets here.”
Harrison jammed his fingers through his hair. It would take that long or more to retrieve his car from the castle, even if he ran.
“Let’s go, laddie! She’s getting away!” Granny called, as she climbed up the stairs into the small shuttle bus that they’d purchased to run their tourists from place to place.
It wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but it was there. And would fit everyone. They sprinted for the bus, all piling in. Austin slid into the driver’s seat, holding the keys.
“Allow me, sir.”
Before Harrison could say a word otherwise, he’d started the van and peeled away from the curb, dodging an oncoming car and navigating the narrow streets of the village like a veteran Indie 500 driver. A particularly tenacious corner had Harrison stumbling into a seat and buckling up.
“Don’t worry,” Chris said from beside him. “We’ll make it.”
“I hope so. I don’t know what the hell I’ll say to her if we do, though.”
“Just tell her how you’re feeling.”
“What if she still decides to go?”
“Then she goes, but at least you won’t sit there wondering for the rest of your life what would have happened if you’d gone after her. You’ve got to give yourself that much of a chance.”
Harrison nodded. Hopefully he’d figure out something spectacular to say before he caught up to her. If not…maybe dropping to his knees and begging would work. Even if the whole world was watching. It’d be worth it if he could convince her to listen to him for five minutes.
The drive to the airport took half as long as it usually did. Austin weaved in and out of traffic with truly stunning skill. He was definitely getting a raise.
When they finally pulled into the unloading lane outside the terminal, Harrison jumped out, barely waiting for Austin to pull to a complete stop. Everyone else piled out behind him.
“Hey! You can’t park there!” one of the attendants called.
“Tow it!” Austin shouted, chucking the keys at the guy.
Harrison laughed and ran inside the building. He didn’t care if the bus was towed. Or stolen. He’d buy another one. It was replaceable. Nikki wasn’t.
His optimism faded when he made it inside the main terminal though. The place was as crowded as always, and with no clue where she might be going, the chances of finding her were slim.
“Think about where she’d want to go,” Chris said.
“I don’t know,” Harrison said, his mind spinning. There were so many places she’d told him she wanted to go. She could be anywhere.
“You know her better than you think you do. If she’s sad, hurting, where is she going to want to go?”
“Home,” Harrison said.
Chris nodded. They all hurried to one of the computer displays listing all flights departing to the United States. There were a depressing number of them. He was going to have to figure it out, because he wasn’t going to get past security without a ticket, and he didn’t have time to sit there and puzzle it out.
“Right,” he said, marching up to the ticket counter with the shortest line.
He waited for exactly thirty seconds and then tapped the guy in front of him on the shoulder.
“Yeah?” the guy said.
“If you let me go ahead of you, I’ll pay for your ticket.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious,” Harrison said, the need to find Nikki before she boarded a plane and flew out of his life turning into a churning frenzy in his chest. “That goes for everyone,” he said, raising his voice enough so the five people ahead of him could hear.
A couple grumbled, obviously not believing him, but they all stepped aside.
“Thank you,” he said, rushing to the desk.
The startled clerk looked at him like he was crazy.
“I need a ticket on every flight you have leaving to the United States today.”
She blinked at him. “Sir, I’m sure you find this hilarious, but I have a job to do and people are waiting.”
She looked behind him at the next passenger but he leaned back into her line of sight again. “I know it’s an odd request, but I’m not joking and I’m in a hurry. So if you could please give me a ticket for every flight leaving here for the States, I’d appreciate it.”
She sighed and started pulling up flights. “Three flights leave for the United States today. One has a layover in Amsterdam, one in London Heathrow, and one in Paris Charles de Gaulle. Most of them only have seats available in first class.”
“That’s fine.”
Her mouth dropped open a little but she continued, finishing up the computer work. “The flight stopping in London leaves in thirty minutes. The other two depart later this evening.”
Harrison just nodded so she shook her head and held out her hand. “I need your documents.”
Harrison’s stomach dropped. He didn’t have his passport on him. The woman took one look at his face and sighed.
“Next,” she said.
“Wait!”
Harrison looked behind him to see Kiersten and the rest of the ladies running up. Kiersten was waving what looked like the small folder he kept all of his travel documents in.
“Granny called after you guys left,” Kiersten said, trying to catch her breath. “Told us to raid the office safe and bring your documents.”
Harrison looked over at his grandmother, his heart about overflowing. He pushed all the documents at the clerk and gathered up the tickets she handed him. When she tried to hand him back his credit card, he shook his head.
“Charge a first-class ticket for everyone who let me cut in line,” he said. “Then just cut up the card. I’ll cancel it later.”
“But, sir,” she said.
He didn’t stick around to explain further, just grabbed his tickets and ran, his whole entourage following behind. He almost stopped when he remembered Granny wouldn’t be able to keep up, but Chris waved him ahead and then squatted down so Granny could catch a piggy-back ride.
They went with him as far as the security gate and then waved goodbye and wished him luck as he went through.
His heart hammered in his chest. How the hell was he supposed to find her? He stood in the middle of the aisle in the terminal, glancing at all the gates. Most had ticket agents standing at the counters. The flight leaving the soonest was the one she was most likely on and it was the closest gate. He quickly pulled up a picture of Nikki on his phone and ran to the almost empty boarding area, showing her picture to every attendant and employee in the area.
Finally, one attendant showed a spark of recognition, though she didn’t say she’d seen her.
“I’m sorry, sir. We can’t give out information on other passengers,” she said.
“No, I just need to know if she boarded this flight.”
“I’m sorry, sir. If you’ll excuse me, I have to close the gate. The flight will be leaving shortly.”
“Please,” he said, reaching out but stopping just short of touching her. “I’m not a crazy ex or a stalker or anything, I swear. I just want to tell her I love her.”
The woman’s face softened, but she still shook her head. “I cannot give out that kind of information, sir.”
“Oh my gosh!” the other attendant said. “You’re the guy from that wedding video.” She whipped out her phone and brought up the now viral video of him getting dumped at the altar.
The attendants looked at each other and t
hen back at him.
“I have a boarding pass,” he said. “I don’t even want to stay on the flight. I will leave before it takes off. I just want to talk to her. Just for a minute.”
The woman checked his boarding pass and passport and then waved him on. “Don’t make me regret this.”
He gave her a huge grin and hurried through the doors of the gate and onto the plane. The attendant there took his boarding pass and greeted him. “You barely made it. Your seat is right here,” she said, gesturing to an open first-class seat.
“I just need to hop back to coach for a minute.”
“Sir, we are getting ready to take off. I really need to ask you to take your seat.”
“I understand,” he said, moving down the aisle. “I’ll just be a minute.”
“Sir,” the attendant said. “If you won’t take your seat, I’m going to have to have you removed from the flight.”
“I need to make sure she’s here,” he said, hurrying faster down the aisle.
The attendant picked up her phone and started talking to someone. Harrison didn’t wait to see who. He hurried to the partition dividing first class from the rest of the passengers and barreled through.
“Nikki!”
Chapter Twenty
Nikki’s head jerked up, her body going numb with shock. “Harrison?” she said.
He spun toward her, a huge grin breaking out on his face. “Nik—” Her named ended with an oof sound as he was tackled from behind.
“Harrison!” She jumped up and tried to hurry up the short aisle to where security was wrestling Harrison’s arms behind his back, though her way was impeded by the other passengers who were all trying to see what was going on. “What are you doing?” she called out.
“Everyone return to your seats, immediately,” the security officer said.
Nikki continued to push through the crowd. “Harrison!” she called out, finally getting close enough she could see him.
“Nikki!” The smile was still on his face, even with a huge, burly guy sitting on his back while his hands were being zip-tied. “I had to see you before you left.”
She frowned a little. “Why?”
He took a deep breath and looked up at her as well as he could from his position on the ground. “I don’t want you to leave. I love you.”
There were gasps and awwws from the passengers surrounding them. Nikki put her hand over her mouth, not sure which emotion was uppermost at the moment. Shock. Happiness. Disbelief. And under it all, still a thread of fear.
“All right, come on, Romeo,” the security guy said, hauling him up.
“No, wait,” Harrison said, struggling against them.
Nikki glanced around at their audience, most of whom had their cell phones out so they could record every second.
“Harrison,” she said, “people are filming.”
“I don’t care. Can we talk please? Don’t leave.”
She raised an eyebrow. Since when did he not care about people splashing him about on social media? “Harrison…there really isn’t anything to say. And the flight is leaving now. I can’t get another ticket…”
“I’ll buy you a plane to take you anywhere you want to go if you give me five minutes.”
She opened her mouth to argue again, but really, how did one argue that offer? Especially when she was aware he could fully back it up.
“Let’s go,” the security guy said, dragging him backward.
“Wait, no…Nikki,” Harrison said, the look in his eyes gouging a hole in her already shredded heart.
“All right. Five minutes. But I need…” She turned around to hurry and grab her things, but her seatmate, a sweet college student she’d been commiserating with, held out her carry-on.
“It’s so romantic,” she squealed.
It was. And part of her was squealing right along with the girl. The other part was scared to death that she was making a huge mistake.
She thanked her and took her bag and then followed a still struggling Harrison and the security man out the door to the plane.
“Where are you taking him?” she asked.
“Airport security, for now. The police have been called. They’ll decide what to do with him once they get here.”
“Wait,” Harrison said again. “Just give me a few minutes.” He struggled again, finally wrenching his shoulder enough that he jerked out of the guy’s grasp. “Please,” he said, looking the man right in the eye. Nikki felt sorry for the poor security guy. She’d been on the other end of that intense stare a few times.
The security guy glanced at her and she nodded. “Fine,” he said, releasing Harrison. “Five minutes, not a second more.”
Harrison nodded and the guy went to stand at the opening of the ramp.
“Calling might have been easier,” Nikki said with what she hoped was a confident smile, though she felt anything but. He’d just told her he loved her…but he couldn’t have meant that. And if he did…did it change anything?
“I only have the number to the phone I gave you.”
“Ah. Good point. So,” she said, looking down at her feet before forcing her gaze back up to meet his. “You decided to storm the plane instead?”
“It works in all the romance movies,” he said with a grin. “At least that’s what I was told once.”
“True,” she said with a laugh. “That it does.” She sobered a bit, her smile fading. “But Harrison…you and I…”
“Don’t say it,” he said, taking a step toward her.
“Don’t say what?”
“Whatever it is that is putting that frown on your face. We work, you and me. It was the last thing I ever expected. I don’t know why, or how, but you and I are good together. And I’m not just talking about in bed.”
The half smile on his own face sent a cascade of delightful shivers down her spine.
“I know we haven’t known each other long, but you get me better than anyone I’ve ever met. Even than myself sometimes. You not only didn’t run screaming when you met my family, you stepped right in and made them all love you. Made me love you,” he said, his voice going husky. “Come back with me.”
“Harrison.” She choked on his name and paused to take a breath. “You don’t know how much I want to.”
He took another step toward her, and she reached out to place a hand on his chest. “If I come back with you, jump right into a relationship with you, I’m following the same pattern I’ve been living my whole life, and it never works. I care about you too much to risk hurting you like that.”
“So you’ll walk away now? Either way, I lose.”
“It’ll hurt less now. For both of us.”
“Nikki, think about it. I’m not saying you have to jump into anything. Just come back with me. We can take it slow. If you don’t want to date yet, we won’t date yet. You’re still the best damn assistant I’ve ever had. And I know you don’t want to go back to New York. We don’t have to. I have a few things I need to wrap up there, but then I can take an extended sabbatical. We can go anywhere you want.”
She laughed though she was choking back tears.
He moved until they were toe to toe, only a breath away from each other. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his chest, breathing him in. Memorizing the way he smelled. The way his heart sounded beating against her ear.
He kissed the top of her head. “Come with me,” he whispered.
Her tears were flowing freely now. She put her arms around him and hugged him.
And then she stepped away.
“I can’t. I’m so sorry.” Her voice caught on the words, and she covered her mouth with her hand to keep her sobs from escaping.
She took another step back, and the security guy came over and took Harrison’s arm.
Harrison ignored him, staring at her with an expression that would haunt her for the rest of her life. He was led away, and this time he didn’t fight.
He disappeared through the ramp door and her he
art shattered.
“Miss?” the flight attendant behind her said. “If you’re going to re-embark, you need to do it now. The plane will be leaving the gate in five minutes.”
Nikki looked up at her and then back through the empty doorway that Harrison had just disappeared through. In her head, she knew what she should do. Knew what was supposedly best for her. For her future. But her heart…her heart wanted Harrison.
“Oh God. What did I just do?”
“Miss? You need to re-board now.”
She looked back at the flight attendant. “I can’t.”
…
Harrison gathered his documents from the policemen who sat at the table opposite him and his lawyer, who he’d had to call to come get him out of airport jail. None of it mattered though. Nothing mattered except the fact that Nicole was gone. On her way back to the States.
She loved him. He’d bet on it. The look in her eyes when she’d told him goodbye…that wasn’t the look of a woman who was happy to be leaving. He’d win her over. Somehow. He knew he should accept her decision with some dignity. Ignore his feelings, hope they went away. Go back to his life and maybe pretend he’d never met her. It would be the dignified thing to do.
He had no pride left when it came to her. It hadn’t been long, but he already knew he needed her in his life. And if he had to wait six months or even six years for her to be ready to come back to him, then that is what he’d do. She was worth the wait.
His lawyer finished some paperwork and then led him out through a stark white hallway and back into the main area of the airport terminal. Where his friends, their wives, and Granny and Austin still waited.
With Nicole.
He stopped short, stunned to see her. Everyone had huge, dopey grins on their faces. Nicole though…she looked terrified.
She stepped forward, her hands plucking at the strings of her sweatshirt. “I’m so sorry. I know I said no, but then you walked away. And I turned to get on the plane and…I just couldn’t leave. I know how unfair this is to you. You must hate me. But…”
He walked straight up to her and didn’t stop until his lips were on hers, his hands tangled in her hair. She froze for half a second and then leaned into him, kissing him back for all she was worth.
