“I just don’t want to see him ever again,” she said firmly.
Fitz flinched as if she’d punched him. “Elizabeth, he’s a really good guy.” He reached out to touch her arm.
The last of her patience evaporated,
leaving behind a bundle of raw, exposed nerve endings. Fitz had obtained the reassurance he needed, and now she needed to be left alone. She yanked her arm away. “No. You don’t know me, and you don’t know what happened between us. I don’t need your input.”
He exhaled, eyes focused on the floor. “Fair enough.”
“Is that it?” she snapped.
“Yeah. There’s a porter at the foot of the stairs who will help you obtain your luggage, and we have a limo to—”
Elizabeth interrupted. “No, thanks. My sister is on her way to pick me up.” Without waiting for a reply, she stood and hurried through the door. Hopefully she would never see Air Force One again.
***
During the half-hour wait for Jane, Elizabeth contemplated whether she should have accepted the offer of the limo. The White House staff and press were long gone; Elizabeth stood in front of a red-brick building in the blazing July heat watching the flight crew and various Air Force officers service the airplane.
Finally, Jane’s Prius pulled up in front of her. Shading her eyes with her hand, Elizabeth couldn’t stifle a groan when she saw Lydia in the passenger’s seat. Of course, she loved her younger sister, but she wouldn’t have a high tolerance for Lydia’s particular brand of crazy today.
Jane hopped out of the car to open the trunk and help Elizabeth load her luggage, giving her a quick hug. “I’m sorry it took so long. This place is like Fort Knox. I was worried they wouldn’t admit me at all.”
Elizabeth swung her laptop bag into the back of the Prius. “What is Lydia doing here?” she asked under her breath.
Jane rolled her eyes. “Sorry about that. She locked herself out of her dorm last night.”
“Again?”
“I wasn’t planning to bring her this morning, but she was so excited about Air Force One.” Jane gazed at the plane. “Plus she wanted a chance to ‘ogle cute guys in uniform.’”
Elizabeth exchanged eye rolls with her sister. “At least my misfortunes provide an opportunity for my sister to drool over some beefcake.”
Jane climbed into the car while Elizabeth slid into the back seat. Jane turned to Lydia. “Honey, do you think you could let Lizzy have the front seat? She had a long flight.”
Lydia screwed up her face. “I’ll get carsick in the back seat.” Jane sighed audibly. “I will! If I so much as look at my phone one time I’ll be in danger of puking.”
“It’s fine,” Elizabeth said wearily.
Jane pursed her lips but said nothing as she steered the car toward the exit. Elizabeth considered the range of neutral topics. “I’m grateful I made it back in time for Mom’s birthday.”
“She’ll be happy,” Jane said.
“Yeah.” Lydia twisted around in her seat so she could meet Elizabeth’s eyes. “So does Air Force One have gold-plated bathrooms and barf bags with the presidential seal?”
Elizabeth managed to restrain an eye roll. “It wasn’t as luxurious as I expected—and more crowded. It was actually a lot like a regular airplane, but with more security.”
Lydia bounced in her seat. “Did the president chat you up? Did he ask you to dance again?”
“There’s nowhere to dance on an airplane.”
Lydia gestured impatiently. “You know what I mean! He totally wants to do you.”
“Lydia!” Jane exclaimed at the same time Elizabeth screeched, “What?”
“C’mon, Lizzy.” Lydia smirked. “He was totally checking you out during that ball thing.”
Warning klaxons sounded in Elizabeth’s head. She had to throw Lydia off the scent. “What are you smoking? This is the man who called me stupid and ugly.”