There were certain things in life that April Jensen thought were just stupid. Standing in line for an hour so that she could take off her shoes, dump out her one ounce bottles of shampoo, and be frisked by a large woman with greasy hair were a few of them—but at least she understood those. Airport security was a big deal and while she didn’t like it, she wasn’t going to deny that there was a reason for it at least.
Flying several states over to attend her best friend’s wedding in Las Vegas, Nevada? That was beyond comprehension.
“Yes, Claudia,” she said into the phone as she slipped her feet back into her shoes. “I’m at the airport now. I just got through security and I’m going to pick up a coffee before my five hour flight.”
Her friend laughed into the phone, not even concerned about the annoyance April forced into her voice. The two had been best friends since college, and April’s sarcastic, snarky attitude didn’t even phase the other woman.
“Just don’t drink too much,” Claudia warned in a teasing tone. “Too much to drink and you’ll have to use the little girl’s room.”
April made a face. “Ew. I have standards, thank you. No bathrooms on buses, airplanes, or at gas stations.”
“Ditto on the gas stations,” Claudia agreed, sounding like she was making the same face April was.
Through the phone, April heard a deep male voice and followed by her friend’s light laughter. April let out a sigh, rolling her eyes. It was clearly the fiancé distracting her. April had never met him.
“I’m going to let you go now,” she said, trying to get off the phone quickly before she started to hear something disgusting like pet names and ‘love you more’s.
More laughter, and then, “Okay. Call me when you get in! I’ll come pick you up.”
“Sure,” she said in response. The women hung up and April seriously considered skipping the coffee and going straight to the hard stuff.
Glancing around the airport waiting area, she saw several small shops, mostly geared towards tourists, and a line of different restaurants. One of them was a coffee shop, so she stopped there briefly to get a latte. A quick look at her watch confirmed that she only had a few more minutes before her flight was set to board.
With only her single carryon—the rest of her luggage was checked in—April had no troubles boarding, finding a decent seat by the window even, and settling in for her long flight. She took a deep, relaxing breath, and leaned back in her seat. This part of the plane was spacious and noticeably more comfortable than any other planes she had traveled on.
She wondered briefly if they would be serving alcoholic beverages—they usually did, right?
Opening her eyes, she glanced around the large section of plane, noticing another passenger here and there.
Although the idea of flying out to Sin City for her best girlfriend’s marriage seemed on the verge of ridiculous, if not already there, April found she certainly couldn’t complain about the accommodations. A first class ticket bought and paid for by the supposedly hunky groom to be was nothing to sniff at.
April was pretty well off financially thanks to her PR job with one of the hottest women’s magazines out there. She could treat herself now and then to nice meals, a night out on the town with the girls, and a bottle of the good stuff. But, she wasn’t about to blow the kind of cash needed for a first class ticket. She didn’t travel all that often to begin with since she worked so much and if the magazine needed her to fly, they sure as hell weren’t going to pay for first class.
So, whether this insane whirlwind romance fell through or lasted through the ages, April would make a point to at least enjoy herself along the way.
There weren’t a lot of people in first class and the seats were designed such that people had the option of sitting with a partner or by themselves, so most sat alone. April considered herself lucky, because not only did she get a luxurious window seat, but also one completely to herself. The one beside her, remained unoccupied as more people came in.
On the opposite aisle, a man just slightly older than herself, maybe in his thirties, took a seat. He was wearing a blue button up shirt and black slacks. His dark hair looked thick and silky, styled as though all he did was run his fingers through it to create the perfect careless look.
He put up his small carryon bag in the overhead storage, then took his seat. When he had buckled his seatbelt, he glanced over at her. Their eyes met, and she found his to be bright blue and piercing. Noticing now that she had been staring at him, his lips quirked upwards in a smirk.
“See anything you like?” he asked across the aisle.
April pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. “I do. That shirt is simply adorable,” she said, emphasizing the word adorable, because she knew it was one of those words like cute that no man wanted said in association with him. “You should tell me where you got it. I’d love to make a gift of it for my friend’s wedding.”
Actually, the shirt really was beautiful. It was silky, just the right color blue to make his eyes look like the surface of the ocean in the Bahamas.
His smile widened. “Of course. I’m sure he’d love it.”
April smiled wide. “I meant for the bride.”
Those brilliant blue eyes narrowed at her, but he gave a short laugh. “Well, a woman always does look best wearing only my shirt.”
Point to him.
April opened her mouth to say something clever and biting back to him—though she had absolutely no idea what—when the seatbelt lights came on. The captain came over the intercom announcing that they were ready for takeoff. The plane rose quickly, shaking and jumping along the way. April gripped the arms of her seat to brace herself against the slight turbulence. Her ears popped once on the ascent, then they were in the air and steady. The seatbelt light remained on for a while longer before turning off. That was when the flight attendant started coming around.
She started at the other end of the cabin, so April had to wait for a bit, which was unfortunate.
She had decided that she most definitely wanted a drink.
While April was busy staring longingly towards the flight attendant who was taking her sweet time, the man sitting across the aisle was still looking at April.
“My name is Cole Bradford,” he introduced, leaning over in his chair so that he could talk to her across the aisle.
Looking over at him again—feeling an odd mixture of exasperation and physical attraction—April raised an eyebrow. “Oh, Cole Bradford,” she said mockingly. “I didn’t realize I was flying with royalty.”
Cole smiled broadly. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you bow.” He glanced slyly down the aisle, then back at her. “Though if you wanted to get on your knees, I won’t stop you.”
April did her best to be disgusted, but a thrill of excitement rushed through her. It was short lived though, as she reminded herself that physical beauty didn’t mean much if the guy was an asshole.
But he was nice to look at.
“Do you see any marks on my knees?” April asked in response.
His eyes immediately darted to her legs which were crossed. Her skirt was a respectable length, but since she was sitting down with her knees crossed, it was high up on her thighs, exposing her long legs.
“I don’t,” he answered mildly.
“That’s because I don’t spend any time on them.” She batted her eyes at him rapidly.
––––––––
He considered her for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. “Or you’ve made the smart decision and invested in knee pads.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Fat chance.”
Nodding his head and looking thoughtful, he agreed, “You’re right. You don’t really look like the smart type, do you?”
Ouch. Point two for the obnoxious guy in first class. “Proof that you’re incapable of judging books by their covers with any sort of accuracy.”
He looked about ready to toss out another scathing response, but just then the flight attendant—thankfully—arrived to ask if they would like any drinks. She started with Cole, leaning over unnecessarily far and smiling a bright, toothy smile that screamed flirtation.
“Is there anything I can get you, sir,” she asked and it didn’t take a genius to hear the sultry tone to her voice.
Cole to his credit smiled only blandly at the flight attendant and answered, “I would love a whiskey.”
The stewardess wrote down his order quickly. “Coming right up, sir,” she told him and April could just imagine the wink she followed it up with.
Finally, the flight attendant—a petite bleach blonde who was definitely wearing contacts to get that color of green—got to April. “For you, ma’am?” she asked, not nearly as friendly or engaging as she had been with Cole.
“I’ll take a red wine, please,” April answered quickly.
The flight attendant added her drink to the list and moved on down the line. As she passed, April noticed Cole’s blue eyes staring the woman’s ass and making a quick judgment as far as whether or not she was his type. Or her body was his type.
Creep.
“A little young for you, isn’t she?” April said contemptuously when the flight attendant was out of earshot.
Cole continued to stare at the woman’s ass as he replied, “Old enough to serve alcohol,” he pointed out.
“Ah,” she said, exaggerating her understanding of the situation. “It’s alright if she’s just crawled out of the cradle, so long as she’s out, right?”
His lips turned upwards in a smile. “Exactly.”
She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. Unbelievable.
Her clear disapproval only made his smile widen. “You never told me your name,” he pointed out.
“I try not to give it to people I’d like to deny knowing,” April quipped.
“I think it’s a little late for that any way you cut the cake, isn’t it?” he answered, tilting his head to the side.
There was a good chance that this man could have been incredibly charming. Add that to his clearly attractive physique and she bet he had his pick of women— many of them not unlike the flight attendant, she was sure. Unfortunately, all that charm and good looks was wrapped up in a personality that was so off putting.
Damn shame, really.
She debated just keeping her name from his and spending the rest of the flight ignoring him completely. But it was a bit of a long flight to spend ignoring someone. And seeing as how she didn’t exactly feel tired, there was a pretty good chance that she was going to be awake for the whole flight.
Did she really want to spend it in awkward, frosty silence?
“It’s April Jensen,” she answered reluctantly.
Looking very pleased with himself, he said, “It’s good to meet you, April. May I call you April?”
“Would it matter if I told you that you couldn’t?” she asked mildly.
Surprising April, Cole actually got up from his seat and moved across the aisle to make himself at home in the seat next to her. She thought about asking what the hell he thought she was doing, but it was hard to argue with a man who smelled that good and looked even better close up. So, she said nothing.
“No,” he answered. “It wouldn’t.”
She rolled her eyes at him and wondered if maybe she shouldn’t have gone with the frosty silence plan.
After a few more moments, the flight attendant returned with their drinks and she did not look happy either. The frown on her face made her look like a petulant five year old. “Excuse me, sir,” she said in a snooty voice. She was addressing him, but looking at April, so it was clear who she was pissed at. “I’m going to have to ask you to return to your seat.”
Cole looked up at her calmly, smiling a winning smile. “Don’t worry your pretty little head over it, honey,” he said in a sweet voice. “We’re just chatting about business. I’ll be sure to return to my seat before we land.”
The flight attendant still looked slightly miffed, but she was at least partially mollified by the ‘business’ addition to his statement. As though their being business associates made it all better.
April could have laughed, but kept her head seeing as how the woman was handing her a glass of red wine. She smiled and said thank you, sipping at the tart liquid gratefully.
Cole accepted his own glass of whiskey and as the flight attendant left, he clinked his glass against April’s.
“Cheers.”
Cheers, indeed. She took a healthy drink.