Fated to be Yours (6 page)

I suddenly feel overly warm as I squirm in my seat.

“No, I don’t mind. Thank you.” My voice is barely above a whisper as I take in a few short breaths, trying to re-inflate my lungs with precious air.
Get it together Tessa. You’re going to scare the poor man away before we even land.

I place the last piece of muffin in my mouth and quickly wipe away any stray crumbs from my face before he has the chance to do it. I don’t think I can survive him touching my mouth again. I watch his hand start to rise from his lap, moving slowly toward my own but then drops back to rest on his thigh. The background murmuring that had disappeared begins to infiltrate my ears again, reminding us we’re not alone on the plane.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the red-headed flight attendant appear at his side. She’s looking at me with a scowl on her face. I assume that it’s because Andrew is intently looking at me and not paying attention to her.

“If you’re all done with that
ma’am
I’ll take the garbage from you,” she says snidely. She accentuates the word ma’am to me, clearly indicating her displeasure of me getting Andrew’s attention and not her. Her green eyes are drilling holes into my head, kind of like Superman and his heat vision. I swear I can almost see the red beams coming from her pupils. I slouch in my chair and put the empty wrapper into the glass before handing them both to her. Andrew just watches my hands while they move and he keeps a tapping finger against his lips.

“Thank you,” I say timidly. Well, I guess she put me in my place. She obviously isn’t pleased that Andrew is not giving her his full attention. The only reasoning behind this reaction I can think of is she saw me sleeping on his shoulder during the night. She must believe that we’re a couple. Even though we’re not, it appears that wouldn’t even be enough to stop her blatant flirting with him.

“Is there anything I can get for you before we land?” She places her hand on his forearm again, flashing him an extremely saccharine smile in the process. I think I need to see the dentist after a smile like that. Could she be any more transparent? I mean I’m no ace with guys by any means, but she’s making it way too obvious.

Andrew breaks his gaze from my eyes and frowns at the attendant. “No, thank you, ma’am. I’m perfect. I have everything I need right here.”

She frowns when he calls her ma’am like she did to me. Apparently he must know younger women hate being called ma’am. And he must have seen the cringe on my face when she called me that before. I find it endearing he feels the need to stick up for me. I’m not anybody special, nothing more than a stranger he’s known for less than twelve hours. Yet again, there’s something about Andrew that makes me want to know him and want to be around him all the time. The draw to him is so high that I wonder if he feels it too. The way he’s looking at me right now melts my insides and almost makes me believe there is something happening between us.

The attendant clears her throat next to us, drawing both our attention back to her.

“If you both could kindly put your trays up and lock them we’ll be landing in a little bit,” she says through clenched teeth, even though a smile is still plastered on her face.

I put my tray up and can’t help the giggle that escapes from me. “Well, I don’t think she’s a morning person. She definitely seems smitten with you though.”

“So I’ve noticed,” Andrew says while putting his tray away as well.

“I guess you must get that a lot. You know, women falling all over you and everything. Your girlfriend must get jealous all the time,” I say, fishing to get more information out of him.

“No, no girlfriend Tessa,” he replies blandly. Elation fills my insides and I can’t withhold the smile that spreads across my face after his statement.

“Really? I would have thought a handsome and sexy man such as you would have a girlfriend waiting for him back home.” Again, my brain to mouth filter is not working. I can feel the red creep up my neck and face. Once again, I’ve managed to embarrass myself in front of him. I quickly look down at our feet with the sudden urge to study our shoes.

He lets out a quiet laugh and I bring my head back up to meet his eyes. “Sexy you say?” The slow, seductive smile he gives me causes my insides to melt once again. How can he do that to me? How does he manage to pull such emotions and feelings out of me at the drop of a hat? I hardly know anything about him, other than he lives in London and travels around the world for his job. I don’t even know his last name. And that’s something important. I should at least know his entire name. Otherwise, we’ll just continue to be two strangers who met in an airport, destined to be only that for the rest of our lives.

My teeth clamp down on my lower lip, resisting the urge to say anything else that could possibly embarrass me right now. His mouth opens slightly as if he’s about to say something, but then he quickly closes it. We’re lost in this moment and I pray that it goes on forever.

My stomach drops to my feet as I feel the plane start its descent, pulling me out of Andrew’s trance. This is the part of flying I hate the most. My eyelids squeeze together tightly as I hold my breath.

“It’s okay. Just take my hand. You’ll be fine.” Andrew reaches over and laces his fingers through mine, instantly calming me down, simply by his touch. I focus on his thumbs as he runs them rhythmically across the back of my hand. He gently tugs my hand into his lap and I risk a glance in his direction. He’s looking forward acting as if holding my hand is something entirely natural. I glance back down at our joined hands and stare.

He’s holding my hand. He is holding my hand.

Why is this beautiful sex god holding my hand? My self-doubt rears its ugly head as I continue to stare at our connected hands. I don’t understand what he could possibly see in me. I’m just a plain Jane from the middle of nowhere.

A lowly assistant who lives by herself.

A nobody.

What could I possibly bring into a relationship with someone like him? I have nothing to offer other than a black cloud that seems to follow me wherever I go. I’m just an unloved being floating invisibly through life, never once getting a second glance from anyone, undeserving of attention by the people who are supposed to give it to me unconditionally. And yet, this beautiful man sitting next to me is holding my hand, calming me down, making me feel as if I matter in this world.

The plane jerks and bounces slightly as the wheels make contact with the ground and taxis toward the main terminal of Heathrow. I look out the window and watch with childlike excitement as realization sends my brain to its happy place. London! I’m finally in London!

I bring my attention back to Andrew, who has yet to release my hand even though we’ve landed safely on the ground. My fingers flex around his strong hand still in my grip and I stare at his beautiful profile, etching it into my memory. My thoughts are sober as I realize our journey has ended and soon we’ll be leaving each other. This magical connection we shared on the flight seems so perfect and natural as if we were two pieces of a puzzle that are supposed to fit together. I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to leave him.

As if sensing my inner turmoil, he turns his head towards me and gives me a smile. I return his smile with one of my own and a slight blush that’s slowly heating up my face.

“I do love your blush. It’s so sweet and innocent the way it softens your features, giving you just that extra splash of color across your cheeks.” He releases my hand with a final squeeze. My hand feels cold and I’m saddened by the missing contact. But I put on my best mask in an attempt to hide by feelings and guard my heart.

He checks his watch and slowly stands up to retrieve his carry-on from the above compartment. I lean forward to get my laptop bag from where I stowed it and slowly begin to rise. The attendants start dismissing the passengers from the plane and Andrew steps to the side to allow me to exit first. We walk past a jealous Laura, who is still shooting daggers at me while undressing Andrew with her lusty green eyes. Without even looking, I know that he never acknowledged her. Call it a woman’s intuition but I could feel his eyes never leaving my body.

As we round the corner onto the ramp, he swiftly moves to my side and places his hand at the small of my back. Tingles shoot up and down my spine at the intimate contact. I give myself a secret smile knowing I must be affecting him. I wonder if he’s as nervous about leaving me as I am about him.

“So Tessa, you say you’ll be in London for the week?”

My neck cranes back slightly as I get my first full glance of him standing next to me. He seems so much taller than when I first saw him back in New York. My best estimate puts him at about six foot three. I nod my head in response to his question.

“Yes, I will be leaving on Friday to return back to the States.” I chew my bottom lip and wonder where he’s going with this. We reach the end of the ramp and I step to the side to wait for Kara.

“I’d really like to see you again while you’re here. There’s something about you that’s calling to me. I don’t know how to explain it. All I know is that I have this urge to see you again and I’m hoping you do too.” There’s a flare of hope shining through his bright blue irises as he silently makes his plea.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Andrew. Unfortunately, I’m here for business and not pleasure. Besides, there’s an ocean between us, literally. I appreciate your company on the plane and for everything that you did, but I believe it is best if we just part ways.”

“I don’t believe you,” he says with a slight scowl. But then his face perks up with a determined look and I arch an eyebrow in response. “I guess I will have to prove you wrong.” I sigh and try my hardest to fight the feelings that are running through my body for him.

“Again, thank you, Andrew, for your company on the plane. I really enjoyed it.” I stick out my hand, but he just stares at it. He must see through the charade that I’m giving him. His lips curl slyly into a smirk and I hear the low rumbling in the back of his throat. He refuses to shake my hand though. Instead, he brings my hand to his lips and places a soft, gentle kiss on the back of it. His lips linger on my skin, making my stomach flutter and my breathing to hitch.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see me again Tessa?” Andrew smiles and kisses my hand again. He’s toying with me. He saw my reaction to his kiss and now he’s going to play it so I can’t deny it.

I pull my hand from his grasp and give him a smile while tucking my hair behind my ear. I contemplate my answer for a moment before deciding that honesty is the best route to go, especially since he seems to be able to know when I’m lying.

“I would be lying if I said no but that still doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. I’m only here for a short amount of time and my schedule will more than likely keep me extremely busy. Besides I’m sure you must be busy too since you’re just getting home from a business trip yourself. Anything extracurricular just isn’t in the cards for us.” Andrew’s hand brushes slowly down my arm and I’m about to cave into his request.

He gives me a smirk and a devilish smile creeps across his face. He leans in close, allowing his scent to wash over me again, sending my body into a frenzy of hormones and lust. “We will see about that, love,” he whispers into my ear before he turns to walk away.

And just like that he disappears into the crowd. I can do nothing but stand there and stare at the spot that I last saw his retreating form, silently wishing I could have just one more minute with him. And then the paranoia sets in. What if I never get to see him again? What if this is all just some horrible waking nightmare and none of this is real? He sounded so confident that we’ll see each other again that I have to believe it’ll happen.

A pair of arms suddenly shakes me out of my reverie as I stare into Kara’s bewildered face.

“Who was the hot piece of ass that you were just talking to? Tell me you got his number!” Kara squeals. Looping my arm into hers, we slowly make our way down the crowded halls to find the customs desk.

“All I know is his name is Andrew. We met at the airport in New York and then coincidently his seat was right next to mine on the plane. I don’t know why but I have this crazy feeling like I know him from somewhere.” Kara raises an eyebrow to that, but I just shrug in response. “Besides, we’re only here for a week and I’d be setting myself up for heartbreak if I even entertained the thought of something more between us.”

Kara looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Are you crazy? You could have a week fling and then part ways. In the four years I’ve known you I have never seen you with a boyfriend, let alone have a conversation with a guy. You need to put yourself out there girl or you’re going to end up being the crazy lady with seventy cats in the house. Besides, there’s no better sex than vacation sex.”

“Thanks Kara for putting that into my head now. As if I needed sex on the brain even more than it already is. And, believe me, I know how unused my lady parts are.”

“Well then fix it. Hunt that beautiful god of a man down and rock his world.”

I fish my passport out of my bag as we approach the customs desk. “Highly unlikely. So chalk it up to never going to happen and focus on why we’re really here.”

“Man you’re a Debbie Downer. Fine. Business it is then. I’m just saying, the way he was looking at you was screaming hot steamy sex. He wants you. What did he whisper to you before he left?”

“He said that he’ll see about that when I insinuated that we wouldn’t see each other while I’m here.”

The blues of her eyes narrow on me as she slaps her passport on the desk, causing the poor old lady behind the counter to jump slightly. Kara gives her an apologetic smile.

“Smart man. I have a feeling about him though. I wouldn’t count him out just yet.”

She gets her passport stamped and moves to the side, allowing me to place mine on the counter.

“Whose side are you on?” I ask. The lady hands me back my stamped passport and I thank her before we head to the baggage claim area to retrieve our luggage.