“Of course. Anything else, just let me know.” Darlene looks at me while she speaks, then winks as she walks off down the aisle to the back of the plane.
Sienna picks up a cracker, pops it into her mouth, and goes back to her movie.
I’ve never wanted to crush a device in my hand before, but that phone needs to go.
If I was a kinder man, I would leave her to the movie and let her have time to adjust to what her new life is going to bring. But I’m not, and this isn’t about her life. It’s about the life her brothers destroyed.
“You said you’re a preschool teacher last night. Was that a lie?”
She gives me a side glance. “No.”
“No, it wasn’t a lie?”
“The only thing I told you last night that wasn’t not true was my name. And even that was only half untrue.”
“You also said you didn’t have any siblings.”
“That wasn’t a lie. My brothers are dead, so yeah—I don’t have any siblings.” She glares at me, willing me to call her out on the semantics.
I decide to go another route.
“So, you don’t often go to bed with men you’ve just met?” Sharp poke this time, and her reaction is spot on.
“No.” She turns in her seat, and the blanket slips from her shoulder, exposing the long, deep V-neck of the gown she’s wearing.
It’s a huge improvement from the tacky gown she wore for the ceremony. Maybe she’s not as tasteless as I thought.
“And you’re a special kind of asshole for thinking it’s okay for a man to go home with anyone he wants, whenever he wants, but tries to put shame on a woman who behaves the same way.” Shepushes another cracker into her mouth, though I think it’s more to keep from saying anything more than out of hunger.
“We’re going to be landing soon.” Darlene informs us.
Just as she turns to head back to the galley, we hit turbulence and she loses her balance, falling back toward me. In her attempt to catch herself, she trips over her own foot and falls into my lap.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” She bats her eyes at me, playing the innocent damsel.
I help her up on to her feet. “How long until touchdown?”
She flashes a wounded look. “Ten minutes.”
“Darlene, I need your help with the cart. It’s stuck.” The second attendant calls from the galley, and Darlene goes back to work.
“She could be less obvious,” Sienna mutters beneath her breath.
“No more obvious than walking straight into a waiter with a tray full of drinks.” Retaking my seat, I pull out my phone to alert my men on the ground when we’re going to be arriving. We’re early, but they’ll be ready.
“I had no idea you were at the club last night. I didn’t even see you until you came over after I walked into the waiter. And if I had known you were there, we would have gone somewhere else. Last night was supposed to be about forgetting about this disaster, not jumping in a night early!”
Everyone has a tell when they’re lying. It could be a wrinkle of their eyes, a fidget with their hands, or a change in pitch with their voice. She shows no signs of lying. So either she believes what she’s saying, or it’s actually the truth.
She groans, pushing her hands against her ears as the plane begins to descend. The plane dips again, and she grabs for the arm rests.
“It’s just turbulence.”
“I know that.” She shoots the words at me, scooting back in her seat and sitting straighter. Her knuckles turn white.
“We’ll be on the ground in a few minutes,” I assure her.
She nods.
