Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 87(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 87(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
I cross to the other side of the plane where the flight staff keep their carry-on luggage, and after quickly checking to make sure no one is watching, pull open the overhead compartment.
There are a few bags, three of them clearly not the bag Hannah was going through earlier. One of them is a silver hard-shell with Roxy’s nametag on it, and the other two have the names of the pilot and co-pilot on them.
“Shit,” I curse under my breath as I close the compartment. I’m running out of time. Maybe Hannah has the bag with her. That would make sense considering what’s inside, but would she really want to arouse suspicion carrying it around with her for the whole flight like that?
My time’s running out. Roxy’s going to be up soon, and I need to get back. Just as I’m about to check the last place I can think of, the meal storage compartment, I hear the sound of Hannah’s voice from the cockpit.
“No problem, guys! Just let me know if you need anything else!”
I leap forward and quickly lean against the cabin by the bathroom and cross my arms across my chest, acting as casual as I can, as the door to the cockpit opens and Hannah emerges. She sees me, gives me a casual yet professional smile, and goes to the food and drinks station.
No carry-on, I notice. I hear the toilet in the bathroom flush and the water run in the sink. Hannah’s cleaning something up at her station. I have to make a choice now: either go into the bathroom to keep up my illusion or go back to my suite and wake Roxy. Either way, I’ve failed miserably.
The bathroom door opens, and as it does, Hannah crosses the cabin, an empty bottle of water and packet of almonds in her hand. I’m about to step into the bathroom when I see her pull open a door in the cabin bulkhead I hadn’t checked – the one hiding the trash. She glances behind her, just like I did a moment ago when I was making sure no one was watching me, then reaches into the back corner of the alcove. I can’t see what she’s doing, but it’s definitely more than throwing away trash. I let the bathroom door close almost all the way, then wait until Hannah passes on her way into the back of the cabin, then quickly step out and over to where she just was.
I open the door to the trash, reach into the back of the alcove, and there it is—Hannah’s carry-on bag, stashed in the back where no one else would ever find it. Knowing I have a handful of seconds at best, I unzip the bag, and just like I thought, I find stacks and stacks of cash wrapped together with rubber bands.
A smile crosses my face as I quickly snap several photos with my phone, then zip the bag back up and close the compartment door. Hands in my pockets, I walk as quickly, but casually, as possible back to my suite and am opening the door just as I see Hannah coming up the aisle toward me from the back of the coach cabin.
Did she see me?
There’s no way to tell. It was close, but again as we pass, she simply gives me a professional smile, which I return as I slide into my suite and close the door behind me.
Roxy looks like an angel sleeping there, and it kills me to wake her, but I know I have to. As much as I’d love for her to simply quit her job right here and now and spend the rest of the flight with me, I can’t just drop a bomb on her life like that. If, once this is all over, she is happy to let me take care of her, then I’m more than happy to. But that has to be her decision. So I slide into the makeshift bed beside her, curl an arm around her and kiss her delicately on the neck.
“Roxy,” I whisper. “Roxy, baby, it’s time to go back to work now.”
Roxy stirs, lets out a cute little moan, then slowly opens her eyes. She smiles when she sees me, and by God that’s something I could get used to.
“Conrad.”
“Hey, baby,” I whisper. “It’s time to go back to work.”
She sighs, wipes her eyes. “Work?”
“Yeah, work,” I chuckle. “The plane, remember?”
She blinks a few times, and I see her awareness slowly return to her, then weigh down on her like a bag full of bricks. She sighs, “Oh, yeah. The plane.”
God, she’s adorable. Absolutely adorable. I can’t handle how adorable she is. I honestly might be falling in love with this girl, and I only just met her. Is that even possible? Is this love at first sight? Love at first flight even? I know damn well that after what we’ve done, there’s a good chance she might be pregnant, and I also know that I’m more than okay with that. Why else would I be fine with that if my heart wasn’t telling me something about her that I should be listening to?