“We’re here,” Maisie blurted out as they got to the self check-in, and promptly silently berated herself for stating the bleeding obvious.
She poked at the screen, only misspelling her name twice, before she came to an awkward realization.
“Uh, just so you know – for the next few hours, you’re officially Brent Coleman.” She finally managed to bring her eyes up to meet Rhys’s. “Sorry.”
Rhys cocked his head a little, frowning. “Okay, that’s fine. But who’s Brent Coleman?”
Maisie bit her lip. “Um. It’s… it’s really not important.”
Rhys’s frown deepened a little, and guilt twisted its way through Maisie’s gut.
“Well, I mean, itkind ofwas, but it’s not anymore,” she babbled. “He’s… well, my ex.Verymuch my ex. In fact, if he were standing here right now, we probably wouldn’t be getting on the plane because I would have decked the stupid bast— theman. That’s why I have two tickets, with one free for you – we’re completely, totally,absolutelybroken up. For good.”
Rhys’s frown had slowly become a look of perplexity the longer she’d talked, and Maisie couldn’t really say she blamed him.
“So… you broke up?” he asked after a moment of awkward silence.
“Godyes,” she said. “In fact, if your Agency has a time machine alongside all its other fancy gadgets, I’dreallylike to borrow it so I could go back in time and tell my self of three months ago to never go out with him in the first place.”
There.
Shehopedshe’d made herself clear to Rhys on the subject of Brent Coleman.
“Right, so, I think I’m getting that you broke up,” Rhys said, but this time his voice was tinged with a little humor. “As weird as it is to be traveling under his name, I guess I can live with it. Unless they try and check my ID. But hopefully that won’t happen.”
“Do you think that’ll be a problem?” Maisie asked worriedly, taking the plane tickets as they popped out of the machine. That was just what they needed – getting hauled in by the feds!
“I think we’ll be right,” Rhys said. “Technically I could probably get Michael to whip me up a fake MyGov profile at least, but he’s not going to be awake for at least another ten hours, so that’s a no-go. I’ll just act natural. Easy as.”
“Hi there,” chirped a desk attendant. “Would you like any help checking in your bags?”
“No bags,” Rhys said smoothly. “But thanks.”
“Oh… I see, sir.”
The attendant let her eyes –rather obviously– drift down over the length of Rhys’s body, clearly appreciating what they saw, before she, just as obviously, let them take in Maisie’srather rumpled, scrubs-clad form. Her smile grew a little brighter, and her immaculate blonde coif, somehow, a little shinier, as she swung her eyes back to Rhys.
Excuse me?!
“Isee,” the desk attendant said again, only this time with a distinct purr in her voice. “And are you sure there’s nothing else I can help you with?”
“Nah, all set for now,” Rhys said, without even seeming to notice the eyes the desk attendant was making at him, or the predatory edge to her smile. “Thanks, though.”
Maisie supposed, even as she stared daggers at the side of the desk attendant’s face, that when you looked like Rhys, you probablydidn’tnotice these things. He probably thought this was just normal behavior, rather than a very, very obvious flirtation attempt.
“Well… well, if youdohappen to think of something, I’m just over there, at desk three,” the lady said, raising a flirtatious eyebrow, even though Maisie could see she was deflating a little in the face of Rhys’s obvious indifference. “I could even give you my personal mobile number, if you liked.”
“Probably no need for that, but thanks,” Rhys said vaguely, looking around. “Oh, but maybe thereissomething you could help me with?”
The lady visibly brightened. “Oh yes, of course – anything at all!”
“Is there somewhere around here we could get some breakfast? I’m starving.” He glanced at Maisie. “Aren’t you a little hungry too?”
Maisie nodded, and inched a little closer to Rhys’s side – even though she knew full well she was behaving ridiculously, and it wasn’t even as if Rhysbelongedto her, or that there was anything actually between them… even though Maisie remained a little confused on that point herself.
“Yeah, ravenous,” she said, as she edged as close as she dared to Rhys’s side. “I definitely could eat.”
“Oh… I see. Well, if you head over towards that kiosk and then head a little further, you should find some places that open early for breakfast,” said the desk attendant, who, realizing she’d been thoroughly rebuffed, had apparently decided to let it go and be professional. “Have a pleasant day, sir. Ma’am.”
