’t like me,” he said easily.
“No they don’t.” Why disagree? The man was speaking the truth. Allister had already decided to hate the fellow. When Allister made up his stubborn mind, he didn’t change it.
“And what about you, Miss—and I’m glad it’s Miss, by the way—do you dislike me as well?”
“I don’t know you, Mr. Jones. And therefore I don’t have an opinion of you.”
“Some say that’s the greatest insult you can give a person.”
“Maybe for some, but I don’t take it as an insult. I prefer it, in fact, when someone doesn’t know me well enough to make a favorable or distasteful remark.
“Most of the time, if someone flatters me, they want something from me. If they dish insults, they want to take something from me that they were unable to earn on their own.” Ellie settled her back against the seat and clasped her hands in her lap. “Yes, I prefer it if someone doesn’t have an opinion.” Noticing Allister rising from his seat, she quickly added, “You’ll feel that way, too, by the time this flight is over.”
Seth leaned over and nudged her with his elbow. “For future reference, I like you, Miss. I like you a lot.”
At that very moment, Allister glared at them and she closed her eyes, awaiting the coming storm. “You’ll soon change your mind.”
* * * *
Allister was enraged. How had he missed Mr. Jones? What had the son of a bitch done now? Hidden out in the lavatory while they’d boarded the plane?
He tried counting the rows between himself and Ellie but there were too many of them. With his rage-o-meter zipping into the dangerous red zone, he tried to shrug by a few people in the aisle, but no one gave an inch. To make matters worse, his brothers and friends deliberately tried to slow his pursuit.
“Take a seat, Allister,” Mac said, standing up to stall him.
“Move, Mac.”
“It’s not worth it, man.” Mac didn’t budge.
“It’s not a coincidence he’s sitting beside her again.”
“Maybe not, but Ryan is two rows behind them and Bradley is a few seats straight ahead,” Mac said, pointing out the obvious. “Derek is right there, too.”
“Yeah I see that,” he muttered, his mind churning with an idea of how to move his brother out of his way. He took a sudden right and excused himself as he jumped over one passenger and then another. He then continued to make his way to Ellie.
Curt and Gabe met him at the halfway point. As if they could stop him.
“I’ll knock the ever-loving hell out of you if you don’t move,” Allister warned them.
Gabe said, “You’re not getting arrested here. This attitude problem of yours is downright ridiculous.”
“Handcuffs are the least of my worries.” He was furious, mad enough to kill. “Something is definitely off with that guy.”
“Go sit down,” Gabe said.
Curt added, “We could take ya, Allister, but we don’t want to. Just enjoy the trip and relax. Nothing will happen to Ellie here.”
“Take me?” Allister balked at that. “The only thing you’re gonna take is a seat.” He pushed Curt and Curt let him pass.
Gabe, however, followed him. Draegan and Harley picked up the effort of detaining him.
“Man, come on,” Harley drawled. “You’re acting like a little boy who’s never had his way with a girl.”
A few nearby passengers laughed. Great. His younger brother had made him look like an obsessive fuck.
“Harley’s right,” Draegan agreed. “Go sit your ass down.”
“This is a 757 aircraft. What are the chances he’d be seated next to Ellie?”