Just This Once (13 page)

“That works for me,” she answered firmly. “Just hold that
thought.”

When they reached the airport at last, she suggested that he
drop her at the curb of the international terminal. “I’ll be fine,” she
insisted. “It’ll be so much easier.”

He smiled a little and piloted the truck firmly into the
short-term parking lot. “You always walk the lady to her door,” he assured her
solemnly. “Or her security checkpoint. Besides, you need me to carry your
luggage.”

“It has wheels,” she protested. “That’s the idea, you know? And
besides, if you go in there, you know you’ll be harassed.”

“Harassed? How?”

“You know. People will come up to you and bother you. Why
not just drop me here and avoid all that?”

“I’m used to it. Don’t worry about me. Besides, that’s what
the hat and sunnies are for,” he added, pulling them on. “Anonymous, see?”

She laughed. “You’re about as anonymous as an elephant in
the living room, but all right. Since you’re here, muscle boy, you can haul my
luggage for me. Keep me from straining myself.”

And give me that much longer to regret saying goodbye to
you, she thought privately. She wasn’t sure if that was worse, or better. Now
that the time was here, she wanted to get it over with, even as she longed to
postpone the moment when she would have to leave him.

He stood patiently with her through the long line at Economy
check-in, even though, sure enough, the cap and sunglasses weren’t enough to
keep a few passengers from recognizing and approaching him. At last they were
at the front of the line, and she was being handed her boarding pass.

Drew excused himself, asking her to wait a moment while he
checked on a ticket. She saw him at the empty Business Class check-in, chatting
with the agent there. Must be nice, she sighed. Never mind. At least she had an
aisle seat this time, which would be a big improvement. She’d had three weeks
of luxury. That was enough.

Saying goodbye to him, though, was just as bad as she had
feared.

“I’ll ring you,” he promised, giving her one final kiss.
“Make sure you made it back all right.”

She wouldn’t let herself count on it, but smiled bravely. “I
had a wonderful time. Thank you. See you, then.”

She moved quickly through the entrance to Passport Control,
not wanting to prolong the goodbye or embarrass herself. She felt uncomfortably
close to tears, and the last thing she wanted to do was to cry in front of him.
That would embarrass him too, she knew. Better to keep it light.

She reached her gate at last, and sat down numbly. Still an
hour and a half until her flight. She missed him already. This wasn’t leaving
after a wonderful vacation. This was just . . . leaving. And it hurt.   

It was time to return to reality, she reminded herself once
again. If she had stayed longer, as he’d asked—even if that had been possible,
which it wasn’t—she would just have become more attached, and this would be
harder. No, it was best that she was leaving now. It would hurt, but within a
few days, she’d be back in her usual routine. And this would be just another
vacation memory.

Wrapped in her thoughts, she was startled to hear herself paged
by the gate agent. Now what? She hoped there was no problem with her ticket.
Now that she had begun to leave, she just wanted to get it over with. She made
her way to the counter with trepidation.

“I need to make a change to your seating. You’ve been
upgraded to Business Premier,” the agent explained as she took Hannah’s
boarding pass and exchanged it for another.

“You’re welcome to relax before the flight in the Koru Lounge,”
she added, offering directions. “I think you’ll find it more comfortable.”

Hannah stared at her. “There must be some mistake,” she
faltered. “I only paid for an Economy ticket. I have some miles, but not enough
for that kind of upgrade. Maybe you’d better doublecheck.”

“No mistake,” the woman insisted. “Those are the
instructions I’ve received.” She looked around Hannah to the next person in
line, and Hannah stepped back, confused.

Drew, she realized. He had done this. When he was talking to
the Business Class agent, he had been arranging for an upgrade.

She frowned. She had no idea what it might be, but the price
was surely horrendous, especially arranged at the last minute. He shouldn’t
have done it. She needed to get used to being back in her normal life again.
And that certainly didn’t include this kind of luxury. But there didn’t seem to
be much she could do about it now. She would just have to bring it up with him
later, when she talked to him.
If
she talked to him, she corrected
herself. With a mental shrug, she took the gate agent’s advice and went to find
the lounge.

After a shower and massage to relax her before the long
flight, she was sure she had already had Drew’s money’s worth for the
experience. And as she sat in her leather armchair in the nose of the plane, a
glass of champagne in her hand and a copy of
Vogue
on the table in front
of her, she was once again grateful for his thoughtfulness.

She felt the prick of tears again as her chest tightened. It
was a good sendoff, but it was still an ending. And she couldn’t feel resigned
to the end of her time with him, no matter how much she had tried to remind
herself that it was temporary. The unaccustomed sumptuousness softened the
blow, but she still looked out the plane’s window and ached to be out there
with him. To be sitting on the deck above the ocean, watching him grill fish
filets for their supper and planning the next day’s adventure. Instead, she was
going back to winter. To rain. To being alone.

But this was a vacation thing for him, too. He had a whole
life here, just as she did back home. And she wasn’t part of that life. The
thought didn’t exactly help her mood, but it did enable her to get a grip on
herself. She would just have to enjoy this experience too. Save the sadness for
when she got home, and this last piece of her vacation was over. Then she would
get busy again, and set about the business of forgetting him.

With that resolution, she picked up the new in-flight
magazine as the huge airliner began to taxi, deciding to see what she could
expect from this trip. Leafing through to find the entertainment section, her hands
stopped as she stared at a full-page photo. There was Drew, smiling and
confident, looking right back at her.

She almost dropped the magazine in surprise. Then, with a
sinking feeling, she read the headline.

Leadership Challenges

Drew Callahan on Motivation, Morale, and Building a
Winning Team

All right, she told herself. He had said he was the team’s captain,
and rugby was a big deal in this country. So they had interviewed him. She had
seen how often he was recognized. This wasn’t such a surprise. She began to
read, curious to see what he had had to say.

All Blacks Captain Drew Callahan is
no stranger to team-building exercises. Unlike the rest of us, though, the
challenges don’t come in the form of ropes courses or late nights at the
office. Instead, the iconic leader has spent the past five years helping to mould
his team into the highest-ranked rugby squad in the world. He knows he’s been
successful when his men literally put their bodies on the line for their mates.
What does it take to bring out that level of performance? We spent an afternoon
with Callahan to find out.

Hannah devoured it all, her bewilderment growing. Drew had
said he played for Auckland. But this was another team altogether. She had
heard of the All Blacks, of course. Nobody could visit the country without becoming
aware of the national rugby team. All Black merchandise was on prominent
display in every shopping area, along with countless references in newspapers
and advertising. Still, she was mystified by the relationship. How could he be
the captain of
both
teams? Yet he had been for years, according to the
article.

She let the magazine fall to the table in front of her as
puzzle pieces began clicking into place. His hesitation on first introducing
himself. Recognition wherever he went. The beautiful vacation homes he had
borrowed for their stays around the country, and his preference for staying
there instead of in hotels. It was all so obvious now, she wondered how she had
missed it.

He must have thought she was an idiot. Not recognizing him
in the first place, or catching on to his position. Maybe he even thought she
had stalked him, she realized with horror. Oh, no. Had he thought she
was
throwing
herself in his path, pretending to drown? She had joked about that, she
remembered, and shriveled with embarrassment at the possibility.

She looked up from the article as the attractive brunette
flight attendant approached her seat with the champagne bottle again.

“Can I get you another drink, Ms. Montgomery? Or would you
like something else?” The woman smiled as her eyes fell to the open magazine.
“I heard that Drew Callahan arranged your trip today. He was just working with
the airline a few weeks ago, filming an advert. My colleague was there. She
says he’s lovely.”

She paused expectantly, and Hannah summoned a smile. “Yes,
he’s a very nice man,” she answered briefly. She understood the reason for the
curiosity, but wasn’t about to oblige it and erode Drew’s privacy that much
more.

The other woman got the message. “Let me know if there’s
anything I can do for you. I’m Fiona. Ring anytime if I can be of help.”

She moved away, leaving Hannah with her uncomfortable
thoughts.  How would it feel, she wondered, to be discussed like this by
strangers? She had never had any illusions about the glamour of celebrity, but had
never had this kind of glimpse into their lives either. She couldn’t imagine
being on display all the time, being public property. What a life that would
be. She shuddered. She’d hate it.

Hannah had to admit that, no matter how heavy her heart,
sleeping in a fold-out bed complete with sheets, pillow, and duvet made her
second crossing of the Pacific a lot more comfortable than the first. She might
not be as happy as she had been on the trip out, but she had certainly arrived
better rested at her destination, she thought as she waited for her bag and
endured the long line at U.S. Customs in San Francisco.

When she emerged through the big doors into the entry hall,
she was relieved to find Kristen there waiting for her. You never knew with
Kristen. She could have forgotten the day, overslept . . . she would always be
so sorry, but that didn’t mean much when you were standing and waiting. Here
she was now, though, all smiles, rushing up to greet Hannah with a hug.

“I’ve missed you!” Kristen exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re
home!”

As Hannah returned the fierce hug, some of her regret left
her. How could she not be thrilled to come back to Kristen?

“I’m glad to be here with you too, sweetie.” She gave her
sister a kiss. “It’s wonderful to see you.”

She noticed Fiona approaching in a group of flight attendants.
“Goodbye, Ms. Montgomery,” the brunette called. “I hope to see you again soon.”

“Wow,” Kristen breathed. “They really are friendly, aren’t
they?”

“They sure are,” Hannah agreed solemnly. She had already
decided that she wouldn’t share
every
aspect of her trip with her sister.
Too many questions, too hard to be lighthearted about her adventure. She would
call Susannah, she decided. She knew her friend would listen and understand.

She sent Kristen off home after her sister had dropped her
off at the apartment. “I need to take a shower, get unpacked today,” she
explained. “You go off and enjoy your Sunday. Thanks for picking me up. Let me
know when you can come for dinner this week, OK? Then I can hear how
everything’s been going for you while I’ve been gone.”

Once she had taken the much-needed shower, though, Hannah
didn’t immediately start unpacking. Instead, shaking her head at her lack of
willpower, she turned on her phone and computer and Googled Drew.

And sat back, stunned, as the search engine returned over half
a million results.

She reached for her phone, hardly taking her eyes from the
images and links on her screen, and speed-dialed Susannah. When her friend
answered, Hannah cut short her effusive welcome.

“Are you at your computer?” she demanded.

“I can be,” Susannah answered with surprise. “OK, now I am.
What?”

“Google Drew Callahan All Blacks,” Hannah instructed, and
spelled the name.

“Wow, lots of results,” Susannah said. “So, did you meet
this guy while you were there? Who is he? What’s the All Blacks?”

“He’s the captain of the All Blacks. The New Zealand
national rugby team,” Hannah explained. “They’re the ones who play teams from
other countries. It’s a big deal.”

“OK, so why am I looking at this?” Susannah pressed.

“Because,” Hannah sighed. “I didn’t meet him, Susannah. I
slept
with him.”

“
You?”
Susannah gasped. “What do you mean, you slept
with him? You had a one-night stand with an athlete? Oh my God, Hannah.”

“I can see why,” she went on hastily. “I mean, it’s OK if
you did. As long as you were safe. But what happened?”

Hannah groaned. “I didn’t have a one-night stand with him.
And I didn’t mean to sleep with him at all. You know how I am. But you’re
right. He’s even better in person than those pictures. And he was great. I met
him, and we went out, and I . . . well, I ended up spending my whole vacation
with him,” she finished in a rush. “And I had
no idea
who he was,
Susannah. He must have thought I was an idiot.”

“Why would he think you’re an idiot?” Susannah asked
reasonably. “I had no idea who he was. I doubt any American woman would know.
Why, did he seem like he was upset that you didn’t know who he was?”