Page 38 of Miss Belief

Teagan

It was clear Reid harbored some residual guilt over his relationship with Shelly and the fact he’d hurt her by going back to Vanessa. He was far from ready to move on from his latest breakup with her. Reason number—well, I lost track—that he was not the guy for me.

Ten years from now, he would probably have a house in an affluent suburb and a beautiful wife who volunteered at the private school where his two perfect kids attended. She’d have naturally straight hair, great table manners, and impeccable taste in designer clothes. He wouldn’t have to worry about her dropping C-bombs or sharing depressing stories of her childhood. She’d eat brie, probably on a motherfucking carb-less cracker made of locally sourced seaweed. He’d be happy, and maybe even thankful to have gone through his current heartbreak, as it had brought him to a better future.

And me—most likely I’d be back in LA, paying half the rent somewhere with my sister and niece while we saved up for a house of our own. I didn’t begrudge my sister this plan since I owed everything to Tory, but there were times I wished I could choose to do anything I wanted.

As far as dreams went, becoming an esthetician might not seem ambitious. But then again, I’d be so content to work for the joy of a chosen profession instead of being constrained to chase the money.

We boarded the flight, and I was quick to realize business-class travel on an Emirates flight was a whole new level.

“Sorry, first class was booked,” Reid apologized while placing both of our bags in the overhead carry-on bin.

“Oh, yeah, this business class is seriously roughing it.” I took my seat, smelling the rich leather and stretching my long legs out in front of me.

He sat down in the chair beside me. “The A380 is a nice plane with these newer business-class cabins.” He went on about the model of the plane, giving details from the engine to the upgrades before suddenly stopping. “Sorry, nerd alert.”

“I found it fascinating.”

He chuckled. “Sure you did.”

“No, actually I did. It eases my anxiety to hear this plane is new. Now then, what kind of movies do we get to choose from?” I picked up the remote and pressed the on button for the flat-screen television in front of me.

“Aren’t you planning to sleep?”

It was a sixteen-and-a-half-hour flight from Dubai to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From there, we’d transfer to a three-and-a-half-hour flight to the Turks and Caicos.

“Yeah, I’ll get some sleep at some point.” But currently I was a kid in a candy store as I perused all of the movie options.

As the loading of the plane continued, the flight attendant appeared, dressed impeccably in her uniform and wearing a perfect smile which didn’t hint at the early morning hour or that we were about to be trapped together in this thing for the next sixteen hours.

“Good morning and welcome. Can I offer you anything to drink before we take off?”

Reid deferred to me, always the gentleman.

“Um, ice water would be great,” I said.

“Make it two ice waters, please,” he requested, and the attendant went to fetch our drinks.

“She was pretty, nice British accent.” All this talk about my type of guy had me wondering what was Reid’s type of woman—aside from his ex.

He thumbed through his magazine. “Was she? I didn’t notice.”

I chuckled. “That’s a great boyfriend response.”

He flashed a grin and took my hand, kissing the inside of my wrist in an unexpected and intimate gesture. The touch of his lips against my skin sent shivers racing down to my toes.

“From here on out, you’re stuck with me.”

“Yep.” My mouth popped the p on the word as I took my hand back and tried to fight the butterflies in my stomach. My eyes automatically tracked forward toward the open door. It represented my last chance to escape this journey to heartbreak.

But luckily, the flight attendant returned just in time, distracting me from my worry over spending the next few days with Reid. She brought our drinks and little white ramekins of warmed nuts. Nothing convinced me to stay and see this thing through like warmed, salted nuts. I let out a resigned sigh. Perhaps they were “calming nuts.”

“You okay?” Reid asked, causing us both to laugh. We were in grave danger of wearing out that particular question.

“New plan. We need a code word or phrase, so we won’t have to use those words all weekend.”

“Hm.” He sipped his water. “How about, are you thirsty?”