Fight or Flight

I took in the crisp white shirt he wore along with the dark blue silk tie he was currently loosening. He had a slim, athletic build, more to my usual appeal than the man across the aisle from me. Yet he was doing nothing to my hormones. Which, as it turned out, was a good thing. My gaze snagged on his left hand as he tugged on the knot of his tie.

There was a white band around his ring finger.

The jerk had removed his wedding ring.

Between the one-night stand on my right side and this ass on my left, I was beyond exasperated.

“I’m Hugh.” He held out his hand to me.

I shook hands, even though I was quietly cursing him in my mind. I didn’t understand guys who got married if they had no intention of staying faithful. “Ava.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”

Ugh, he wasn’t even original. “Thank you.”

I thought I heard a grunt across the aisle, but I ignored it.

“You live in Boston?” Hugh asked.

He was giving me good eye contact, so much so it was like he was deliberately trying not to look anywhere else.

“I do. You?”

“Yes. Arlington Street.” He said it pointedly, with more than a hint of pomposity.

God, the guy lived across the Common from me. And he was basically telling me he had lots of money.

I don’t need your money, pal. There was no way I was telling him he could find my place just a ten-minute walk from his. “Nice.”

“We like it.”

Bingo. “We?”

“Uh …” He gave me another charming smile. “I have a dog.”

Did he just refer to his wife as a dog? “Oh, breed?”

“French poodle.”

I raised an eyebrow and Hugh gave a little self-deprecating laugh. “She was actually my ex-wife’s, but when she left me she also left La Roux.”

A laugh bubbled up out of me before I could stop it. “She named the dog La Roux? And your name is Hugh.”

He chuckled. “She had quite the sense of humor.”

Past tense. Really?

Okay, so there was the small possibility that this guy was recently separated … but my gut told me otherwise. Or maybe that was just my cynicism.

Thankfully, before my distaste started to show, the flight attendant arrived to offer us something to drink. I almost flinched at the sight of the champagne and opted for a water. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Caleb working away on his laptop.

The jerk didn’t even care some other guy might be flirting with me, and honestly … I didn’t want to flirt with this leech just to make a point to Caleb when I’d never see him again after this flight.

“You know, I think I’m going to use the restroom before we take off,” Hugh said.

“Sure.” I got up out of my seat to let him out, and this time he did let his eyes drag down my body.

Not so well mannered after all.

“Excuse me.”

I turned to see the flight attendant behind me and stepped back to let her past, only for my ass to bump into the guy behind me. I spun around, my cheeks flushed as I met Caleb’s gaze. “Sorry.”

He stared back, deadpan. “I’m familiar with having your arse in my face, babe. It’s not a problem.”

Thankfully, he had no one beside him to overhear. Still, I leaned down so none of the other passengers could hear me, and a pleasurable but traitorous tingle of awareness shot through me as our noses almost touched. “Well, treasure the memory, Scotty Boy.”

He gestured to the restroom beyond us, his expression neutral. “Planning on giving Vanilla there a look at it tae?”

“It’s a nice ass—it would be a shame to keep it to myself,” I taunted, and the dark look he cut me made my breath catch.

“A pain in the arse, aye. But I didn’t take you for being manipulative or a game player. But I guess what you said last night was right. Nobody really knows anybody else enough tae really trust them.”

My breath caught and I straightened, needing distance from him. “You were awake.”

“Aye, I was awake.”

I decided to ignore the fact that he’d heard me say something so personal and so revealing and went with being pissed that he’d deliberately pretended to be asleep. “You didn’t need to pretend to be asleep to get rid of me. I was leaving anyway.”

He shrugged. “It made it easier, though, right? No awkwardness.”

I moved back to my seat. I’d been planning on standing until Hugh returned from the restroom, but I didn’t want to be near Caleb. As soon as I sat down, Caleb shut his laptop and swung the table out of his way to stand up. I tensed, wondering what he was planning on doing, but he ignored me and stood in the aisle.

Despite myself, my eyes drifted to his ass, and I remembered rolling around in bed with him last night and feeling every finely crafted detail of his body. I was shocked by the bolt of longing and mourning that hit me in the chest as I realized I was disappointed I’d never get the chance to feel his lips on mine again.

The man could kiss.

And I didn’t mind the scratch of his short beard. There was something so erotically masculine about it.

The sound of the restroom door opening brought my gaze up and I watched as Caleb strode toward Hugh as he came out of it. Instead of giving him space to pass, Caleb knocked his big shoulder into him, making him stumble.

“Sorry,” Hugh mumbled, looking up.

Why was he apologizing?

Caleb didn’t apologize. No, Caleb cut him a look so chilling, I shivered. Then he disappeared into the restroom, having to duck and maneuver his large body in there.

“Whoa.” Hugh was suddenly at my side, wearing a wide-eyed look. “Big guy. Scary guy.”

I nodded and got out of my seat.

“Wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him.” He laughed as he slid by me.

Apparently, you already did, I thought, disoriented by the idea. Did it bother Caleb that I couldn’t care less about our one-night stand? Why would it? He was the one who’d pretended to be asleep so I could sneak out and avoid any awkwardness.

Hugh talked about his work as a lawyer in Boston, but I was only half listening. I was too aware of the guy in the restroom. I looked out for him in my peripheral vision as he stepped out of the bathroom, and suddenly I remembered that Caleb was afraid of takeoff and landing.

I shouldn’t care.

I really, really shouldn’t care.

Dammit.

“So, maybe when we get back in Boston, Ava, you and I could meet for drinks or dinner?” Hugh asked as Caleb returned to his seat. I shot Caleb a look and found him staring back at me in derision.

I gave him a dismissive look and turned to Hugh. And in a not so quiet voice I responded, “I don’t date married men.”

He looked stunned. “Married? I’m not—Why would you—?”

“You slipped your ring off while you were taking your jacket off, right?” I guessed.

He flushed guiltily, giving himself away.

“Yeah. There’s a white ring of skin where your band usually sits. Oh, and your pickup lines are awful.” I gave him a wide, carefree smile and slipped out of my seat.

Crossing the aisle, my e-reader in hand, I began easing my way past Caleb’s legs.

“What the hell?” He pulled his laptop toward him as I clambered by his knees and fell into the seat beside him.

“Don’t say a word.” I glared into his scowling face. “This doesn’t mean anything. You are just currently the lesser of two evils, and do not tell me you wouldn’t rather have me beside you to annoy you and distract you during takeoff.”

Caleb glared at me. “I dinnae need you.”

Inwardly I flinched. Outwardly, I smirked. “Yeah, you do.”

He sighed and glanced over at Hugh, who was staring at us in confusion. Caleb turned to me, his upper lip curled in a sneer. “Realized he was married, did you?”

“I saw the white band on his finger the moment he sat down.”

“I saw him slip it off as soon as he saw you.”

“And if I hadn’t noticed it, were you planning on sharing that information?”

Ducking his head toward mine, Caleb put on a patronizing expression. “I’m not your rescuer, babe. You want tae screw a slimeball, that’s your business.”