Seven

Jennie

"What do you mean grounded?" I said, gaping at the woman on the other side of the counter. She was about my age, with freckled cheeks and strawberry-blond hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail. She also looked like she was two seconds from strangling me and every other person in the international terminal at LaGuardia.

"Unfortunately we've just been informed of a mechanic union strike," she said flatly. "All Provence Airlines flights in and out of the airport have been canceled. We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience."

Well, she didn't sound very sorry. I continued to stare, blinking rapidly as her words sunk in. "Excuse me, what?"

She arranged her features into a tight, practiced smile. "All flights have been canceled due to the strike." I glanced over her shoulder to the Provence Airlines departure and arrival screens. Sure enough, CANCELED was emblazoned across each line.

"You're telling me I'm stuck here? Why didn't anyone tell me this in Chicago?"

"We'd be happy to help you make accommodations for the night—"

"No no no, that's impossible. Please, check again."

"Ma'am, as I told you, there are no Provence Airlines flights taking off or landing. You can check with the other airlines to see if they can accommodate you. There's nothing else I can do."

I groaned, letting my forehead fall to the counter. Lisa was waiting for me, probably sitting outside in the sun at this very moment, laptop open and working like the overachieving loser she was. God, she turns me on.

"This can't be happening," I said, straightening and giving the attendant the most pleading expression I could muster. "The sweetest jackass in the world is waiting for me in France and I can't screw this up!"

"Mkaaaay," she said clearing her throat and straightening a stack of papers.

I was doomed. "How long?" I asked.

"There's no way to tell. Obviously they'll try and resolve the issue as soon as possible, but it could be one day, it could be more."

Well, that was helpful.

With a dramatic sigh and a few muffled swear words I dragged myself from the counter, in search of a quiet corner to call my assistant. Oh, and to text Lisa. This was not going to go over well.

The phone rang within seconds.

I maneuvered through the crowd, through the throngs of stranded passengers taking up virtually every flat surface in the Provence Airlines terminal, and stopped at a tiny alcove near the restrooms.

"Hi."

"What the fuck do you mean 'stuck in New York'?!" she shouted.

I winced, pulling the phone from my ear before taking a much-needed calming breath.

"It means exactly what you think it means. We've been grounded, no flights in or out. I'm having a few people check with Delta and a few other airlines, but I'm sure everyone else has already done that, too."

"This is unacceptable!" she roared. "Do they know who you are? Let me talk to someone."

I laughed. "Nobody here knows or cares who I am. Or you for that matter."

She was silent for a moment, long enough that I actually looked to see if I'd dropped the call. I hadn't. The sound of birds singing filled the line, a wind chime off in the distance. When she finally did speak, it was in that low, steady voice I'd become so accustomed to. The one that still sent goose bumps along my skin. The one she used when she meant business.

"Tell them to get your ass on a plane," she said, enunciating every word.

"Everything is overbooked on every plane, Lisa. What the hell do you want me to do? Catch a ride on a boat? Use a portkey? Simmer down, I'll get there as soon as I can."

She groaned, and I could tell the moment she realized she couldn't argue or charm her way out of this. "But when?"

"I don't know, babe. Tomorrow, maybe? The next day? Soon, I promise."

With a resigned sigh she asked, "So what now?" I heard the sound of a door opening and closing, the tinkle of soft music in the background.

"We wait." I sighed. "I'll get a room, maybe get some work done. Maybe I can check out those apartments while I'm here. And then I promise, the first available flight out of here? I'm on it. Even if I have to take out a few businessmen with the heel of my shoe—I'll get there."

"You bet your ass you will," she said.

I shook my head to clear it from the sound of her commanding voice. "So tell me about the house. Is it as gorgeous as I imagine?"

"Better. I mean, your company would obviously improve it, but damn. Bambam really outdid himself on this one."

"Well, try and enjoy it. Sit in the sun, swim, read something trashy. Walk around barefoot."

"Walk around barefoot? That's an unusual request, even for you."

"Humor me."

"Yes, ma'am."

I grinned. "Damn, I think I like this side of you. Pretty sexy when you take orders, Manoban."

She laughed softly into the phone. "Oh, and Jennie?"

"Hmm?"

"I hope you didn't pack any panties. You won't be needing them."

I spent the rest of the day at the airport, praying for a miracle or a flight to France. I got neither.

It took hours to locate my luggage, so by the time I finally walked through the door of my hotel room, I was ready to pass out. With the time difference it was too late, or too early, to call Lisa, so I'd sent her a short text while I ran myself a bath and ordered abottle of wine, along with anything containing chocolate, from the room service menu.

I'd just climbed into the large tub—wineglass and chocolate cheesecake balanced precariously on the edge—when my phone rang. My handfumbled around on the tile floor until I found it, and a smile filled me when Lisa's face lit up the screen.

"I thought you'd be asleep," I said.

"Bed's too big."

I smiled at her sleepy voice. This was the Lisa who wouldrollover in the middle of the night, limbs warm and heavy, sweet words mumbled into my skin. She'd always been so much better at all of this than I had, even from the beginning.

"What are you doing?" she asked, bringing my attention back to the phone.

"Bubble bath," I said, and grinned at the sound of her groan on the other end of the line.

"No fair."

"What about you?"

"Just going over some paperwork."

"Did you find my note?

"Note?"

"I left you something."

"You did?"

"Mm-hmm.Checkyour laptop bag."

I heard the creak of leather as she stood, the sound of feet padding across a tile floor followed by laughter. "Jennie," she said, laughing harder now. "It looks like someone slipped a ransom note in here."

"Very funny."

"Three observations about today: I didn't get everything done on my to-do list, the salad you made me for lunch was delicious, and, most importantly, I love you." she read, and then fell silent as she read the rest of the note to herself. When she finished, she grumbled, "I . . . fuck. It makes me insane that you aren't here."

I closed my eyes. "The universe is conspiring against us."

"You know, there's a part of me that wants to say none of this would have happened if you weren't so stubborn, and would have just come with me in the first place." I started to protest. "But," she said, continuing, "your determination is one of the things I love most about you. You never settle. You'd never expect someone to do a job you wouldn't do yourself. And you wouldn't be the woman I fell in love with if you changed that. It's exactly what I would have done. As usual. And also a little creepy to realize how alike we are."

I sat up in the cooling water, bringing my knees to my chest. "Thank you, Lisa. That means a lot to me."

"Well, I meant it. And you canshowme your appreciation when you get that hot little ass to France. Deal?"

I rolled my eyes. "Deal."

I didn't get to France the next day. Or the day after that. And by day three I was actually trying to remember why hitching a ride on a boat had seemed like such a bad idea in the first place.

It's possible I called Lisa more in those three days than in the entirety of our relationship, but it wasn't enough, and did nothing to ease the hollow ache that had taken up permanent residence inside my chest.

I kept myself busy, but there was no denying I was homesick. I wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, but at some point, Lisa had become it for me. As in it it. The One.

And it was fucking terrifying.

I'd come to this realization while out for a walk. My assistant had called, saying she'd been able to get me on anAir Franceflight later that night. My first thought had been of Lisa, and how I couldn't wait to tell her I was on my way. I'd nearly sprinted to my hotel room.

But then I'd stopped, heart racing and lungs on fire. When had this happened, when had she become my everything? And I wondered, was it possible she was trying to tell me she felt the same way? I packed in a daze, throwing clothes aimlessly into my bag and collecting my things around the room. I thought back onhow muchshe'd changed in the last year. The quiet moments at night, the way she looked at me sometimes as if I were the only woman on the planet. I wanted to be with her—always. And not just in the same apartment or bed, but for good.

It was then that I was struck by an idea so crazy, so insane, that I literally burst out laughing. I'd never been the type of woman to sit back and wait for the things I wanted to appear, so why should this be any different? And that was it.

Lisa Manoban had no idea what was about to hit her.