Rubi turned from looking out the windows facing the tarmac as if she’d just appeared, but in reality, she’d been standing in a corner behind the airline’s customer service booth. Relief nearly took Wes to his knees. His air whooshed out of his chest, and he bent at the waist, pressing his hands to his thighs to stay upright.
He straightened and started toward her, suddenly blank on what he wanted, needed, to say. How he’d missed her, he couldn’t begin to understand. She wore a deep red dress with a large abstract pattern of chocolate and black spread over the arm and the opposite side of the skirt. The dress was long sleeved but low cut in the front, and the material clung to her every perfect inch. Her spiked heels were black. She wore her silver bangles, a long silver necklace, and several silver rings. Her hair was wound into a pretty knot at her neck, secured with a silver clip, and dark, wavy tendrils framed her gorgeous face.
She sat in a chair at the end of the row and pulled a piece of paper from her purse, then studied it. Wes approached, but Rubi didn’t look up. He dropped both hands on the arms of the seat and used them to lower himself to his knees in front of her.
Rubi gasped and sat back. When her bright eyes met his, a frown of annoyance marred her face, but her eyes were red, puffy, her cheeks still damp with tears. The sight sucked the air from his chest.
“Baby…” was all he managed through the relief, the regret.
“What…?” she started, her frown vanishing. “How…?” Her mouth closed, eyes narrowed. “Lexi. Damn her. She promised. ”
“It’s my fault. I didn’t give her a choice. You know how impossible I can be. ”
/> “Yes, I do. ” She sat back, putting room between them. “Look, this was a whim, and coming was a mistake. I seem to be making a lot of them lately. Let’s just forget this happened. Forget the last week happened. We’ll go back to being friends. You go back to…whatever you were doing. But I have to go now. ”
She sat forward, but Wes didn’t move. “I know you saw me with Melissa, and—”
“I did. She’s way more your type. I get it. It’s fine. A relief, really. We’re all good. Let me get on the plane, Wes. They’re boarding—”
He leaned in and shut her up with his mouth.
Her lips were tight, unyielding. She pushed him back on the chest, eyes blazing. “Don’t even. ” She kept her voice to a whispered growl. “I’m not going to play games with you. I won’t share, and I won’t ever settle for being second in a man’s life. I’ve lived that way too long. And I know for a fact that I’m better off alone. ”
“Now boarding group number two on United Airlines flight 5612 to Los Angeles. Group two. ”
She pushed to her feet, but Wes grabbed her arms and pulled her back down.
“Goddammit,” she rasped. “Don’t make me throw a fit here. ”
“Melissa and I dated for a long time back in high school and college. ” He let the words spill out. “She kissed me, I told her I was seeing someone, and she apologized. That’s it. That’s all there was to it. ”
She considered a moment, the anger in her face draining. “It doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have come. I realized this was a mistake the moment I hit thirty-thousand feet. But I had forward momentum, so I kept going. Seeing you and Melissa just confirmed this was wrong. You looked so right together. I just realized we shouldn’t be trying to force something that isn’t, I don’t know, natural. Meant to be. We just need to let it go, Wes. ”
Panic flared in his veins, and determination settled in. “No way. ” The sound came out more menacing than he’d intended, but he felt her slipping, and he was holding on tight. “You made plane reservations. You found someone to take care of Rodie. You drove over an hour to the airport. Got on a plane. Rented a car. Drove all the fucking way to my parents’ house in a place you’ve never been before, then drove back to the VA. You are not making me believe this is a goddamned whim. If you want to go home, go. But you’re going to admit I matter to you before you get on that fucking plane. ”
“Of course you—”
“None of that friend bullshit. ” His vehemence made her wince, and she looked down at her hands in her lap.
“Is there a problem here?” A female voice made them both look up. One of the United representatives from the desk towered above them, a stern look on her dark face. Her gaze travelled from Wes to Rubi. “Do you want me to call security?”
She offered a tight smile. “No. I’m sorry. We’ll—”
“We’ll take it somewhere else,” Wes finished for her.
When Wes glanced up and around to figure out where they could have a private conversation, he found nearly everyone in the area looking at them. Fuck it. He didn’t give a shit. He pushed to his feet, grabbed Rubi’s suitcase with one hand and Rubi’s hand with the other.
“Now boarding group number three on United Airlines flight 5612 to Los Angeles,” came over the intercom. “Group three. ”
“Wes…” She tugged against his hand. “I’m going to miss my flight. ”
“You’re really going to miss it if we don’t talk. ”
She pressed her lips together but didn’t argue as he created a path through the lines of passengers and veered toward a virtually empty seating area near another gate. He released her luggage and pulled her into his arms. The feel of her body stretched against him was so good, it hurt.
“Damn,” he breathed. “I’ve missed you. ”
She pressed her face against his chest, slipped her fingers through his hair. And all he could think was heaven. This was the woman he wanted.