“Look, it’s decent of you, but I couldn’t possibly—”
“Say no. That’s what you were about to say, right?” I smiled again.
“Well…no, actually.”
“Come on. I’ve already spent the money to upgrade you. The flight attendant took my credit card and everything. So if you stay back here, you’re just wasting my money.”
That seemed to get to her. She twisted her lips. “I never asked you to do this.”
“I know you didn’t. I did it because I wanted to.”
“Why would you want to?”
“Look, why don’t we continue this conversation up in first class, where it’s more comfortable? Once you settle in there, I’ll be happy to regale you with tales of why I made the offer.”
That got a smile out of her. Well, only a half smile, but I could tell she was holding back.
“I’ve never sat in first class before.”
“Then you’re in for a treat.” I opened the overhead bin. “Which one is your bag?”
“The plain black one.”
There were several plain black ones, but I quickly found the one with her name on it and grabbed it. “Get your other stuff and follow me.” I moved toward first class.
When I got back to my seat, I stowed her bag in the overhead bin and then looked behind me. She was holding her laptop case. I took it from her and put it in the overhead bin as well.
“I’ll keep that,” she said. “I thought I might do some work.”
“Nope. No work. Part of my treat. You’re going to sit in first class, let the airline staff pamper you, have a mimosa or martini or whatever your drink of choice is.”
“Red wine,” she said.
I arched my eyebrows. “Really? I love red wine too. In fact, it’s what I do for a living.”
She smiled shyly. “Yes, I know. Melanie says you’re a genius.”
“Melanie is overstating my prowess, I’m afraid.” Though my winemaking skills were well documented by the array of awards my wines had won. But I didn’t need to blab about that right now.
“That’s not what I hear. She said I definitely need to try your wine.”
“Unfortunately, I doubt my wines are stocked at the resort in Jamaica. When we get back, I’ll make sure you get a case of my finest.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Of course I do. If you like red wine, I have to see if you like mine.”
“That’s very generous of you. In fact, all of this is generous o
f you. I’m afraid I don’t understand why—”
I placed two fingers over her lips, which were surprisingly soft. “I’ve already explained that. Then again, we did agree to continue the conversation about why.”
Her rosy cheeks pinked up a bit more. “I’m just…not used to people being so nice to me.”
“Get used to it. We Steels try to be nice to everyone. Everyone who’s nice to us, that is.”
“I hear that,” she said. “I’ve been crossed myself.”