I glanced at Violet, expecting her to unbuckle Hazel and move to her usual seat across from mine. Instead, she took a seat right next to Hazel and buckled in.
Three rows back.
“What are you doing?”
She clicked the belt into place. “Sitting.”
“Your seat’s up there.”
“I’m sitting with Hazel.”
“Her seat is also up front.”
We had a bloody bassinet for this. One that attached right in front of our usual seats. The one Hazel had slept in on every flight since Singapore. But sure, make her uncomfortable in a car seat for four hours just to prove a point.
Violet pulled out her phone.
“Vi.”
She put headphones in.
My stomach dropped. She wasn’t moving. She was going to sit back here for the entire three-hour flight, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
The engines roared as we began taxiing toward the runway.
“Sir, please take your seat.”
I tore my gaze from Violet and moved to the front row, dropping into my seat. The flight attendant smiled as she passed and I tried not to scowl at her. She didn’t deserve the side effects of Violet being ridiculous.
I buckled in and twisted around one more time. Violet’s profile was turned away from me, her hand resting on Hazel’s carrier. Protecting her. Shutting me out.
The plane picked up speed, engines roaring as we hurtled down the runway. I faced forward, my jaw clenched tight enough to crack teeth.
Fine. She wanted space? She could have it.
For now.
She’d calm down once we landed. Once she’d had time to think rationally instead of spiraling about her father like he was some kind of villain instead of the man who’d finally given us his blessing.
She’d come around.
She had to.
The suite in Mexico City was identical to every other five-star hotel I’d stayed in over the years. Marble floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, and enough space for a small army. Under normal circumstances, Violet would have made some sarcastic comment about the ridiculous opulence. Today, she walked straight to the second bedroom without a word.
“Where are you going?”
She paused in the doorway, Hazel still in her arms. “To get her settled.”
“In there?”
“Yes.”
“Why not the main bedroom? That’s where her cot usually goes.”
For the first time since Austin, something flickered in her expression. Annoyance, maybe. Or exhaustion.
“Because I’ll be sleeping in here with her.”
