And there she is.
CHAPTER 35
CABIN PRESSURE
RORIE
Stepping onto the plane,I give myself a silent pep talk.
I’ve done this a hundred times before.
I belong here.
I scan the faces. The power.
My heart hammers against my chest. I’m two seconds away from imploding.
This isn’t just a flight. It’s sixteen hours of pure, unfiltered hell with business class champagne, gourmet cashews, and a high probability of catastrophic decisions.
The jet is ridiculous, by the way. Cream leather seats. Someone literally handed me a chilled towel when I stepped on board.
However, none of that matters the second I look up, because my heart plummets to my toes.
Nolan“My-Pussy-Remembers”Rhodes is lounged in his seat wearing in a navy henley, sleeves tight around his biceps, top few buttons undone. Does he know what that does to people?
To me.
And if he doesn’t, then God is playing a cruel, elaborate joke.
Because he looks good.
Unfairly, obscenely good.
He’s watching me.
Our eyes lock for half a second. My heart clenches. My breathstutters. And that tight, sharp heat between my ribs—the one I’ve been trying to starve since he sent that email—ignites as though it’s been waiting for this exact moment.
But it’s not just Nolan I’m looking at.
It’sCarl.
He’s the man I told things to. The one who made me laugh when everything else felt too heavy. The one who sent me a damn galaxy in a box and then shattered me with a three paragraph email.
That man.
Is this man.
The one who helped me.
The one who hurt me.
Same fucking person.
I don’t know where to putanyof that.
Jeremy’s behind me, singing “Danger Zone” while adjusting his aviators he bought special for the occasion.
We’re the last to board, and nearly every seat is full.
