Cara Lockwood - First Class Sin

“Well, take the emotion out of it, and look at the facts. Half of them end in divorce. More than half of men and almost half of women cheat.” Juliana shrugged and folded her arms across her torso, trying not to look out the plane’s window as they taxied down the runway. Her stomach leaped. They’d take off soon. The plane rumbled down the tarmac, and then, suddenly, took off. She gripped the hand rests, her knuckles turning white. What’s wrong with you?

“What about dating? Relationships, then?” Law asked her. The cabin shook a bit as the plane fought the earth’s gravity. She was suddenly glad for the distraction of his deep voice. “So you don’t want the legal entanglements, then wouldn’t you want...companionship?”

The way he said it implied he might have more than a passing interest in the answer to this question. Law’s elbow grazed hers as his shoulders seemed to take up all the oxygen in the cabin. He shifted his long legs, stretching them out beneath the seat in front of him.

“It’s not my top priority,” Juliana admitted. The shuttering of the cabin finally eased. Thank goodness. She loosened her grip on the armrests. “Men can be needy. And they don’t understand my work schedule.” She shrugged, thinking about the last time she’d tried a relationship. She’d dated the man eight months, but she’d been traveling at least half of that time. She returned after a particularly hard project in California, only to discover he’d put up his profile on dating websites without telling her. When she confronted him with all the Facebook photos she’d found of him hanging with other women, he’d told her it was all her fault. She needed to pay attention to him more, as if he were a toddler in need of supervision. “Even when I do, I don’t have time for needy men. My work comes first. What about you? Do you want to get married?”

“Oh, yes. I definitely want to get married someday,” Law declared. “And have a gaggle of kids. And find my soul mate.”

“Oh, no. You believe in soul mates?” Now Juliana forgot entirely about her unease about being thousands of feet above the ground. “Like one person in a million, just for you, that kind of soul mate?”

“One in four billion, actually,” he said.

Juliana couldn’t believe it. This man, this smart, successful man, believed in the kind of fairy tales usually reserved for children. Did he arrange tea parties for his stuffed animals, too?

“You think there’s just one person. One , for each of us?” The plane rumbled up its ascent, barreling up to cruising altitude. But she was so intent on their conversation, she barely noticed.

Law shrugged. “Maybe.” This man, this reasonable, successful man, was a romantic. Juliana couldn’t believe it. He might as well have told her he believed in unicorns.

He shifted a little and his elbow touched hers. She didn’t move her own arm. She let the contact stand. He shifted again so his whole forearm touched hers. She felt the warm press of his arm against her, every hair on her forearm standing at attention. She might not be a romantic, but she certainly understood physical attraction. That seemed a much more reasonable idea: two people wanting to mate, barely different than animals, really, except that people liked to pretend it was something else. Like romance.

“I think it’s very possible we’re on this planet to find the person who’s made for us,” Law said, sounding like a cheesy Valentine’s Day card.

“Oh, geez. I think that’s a cop-out. It kind of implies you don’t need to do the hard work of getting to know someone. A person just shows up on your doorstep and— bam! —instant love.”

“It might work like that.” Law grinned. “It could be fate. Do you believe in fate?”

“Fate implies we don’t get a say in our own lives.” She shook her head. “I bet you buy a woman flowers on the first date. And insist on paying.” Juliana rolled her eyes. She felt the plane beneath them level out a bit. Cruising altitude almost reached.

“What’s wrong with flowers?” Law asked, puzzled.

“They’re pretty for a half second and then they die,” she said. “A waste of money.”

Law barked a laugh. “Well, then, I’ll make a mental note not to buy you flowers when I pick you up on our first date.” He pretended to scribble on an invisible notepad.

Juliana laughed. “Who said we’re going out?”

“We’re not?” Law challenged, eyes fixed on her. Did he feel the little snaps of electricity running back and forth between them? A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and she knew then he definitely felt it. And the way he was looking at her now told her he had no plans to ignore that electric current. “Are you sure about that?”

LAW KNEW HE was playing with fire. What was he doing, flirting with Juliana Hart? He’d had one goal, and one goal only, to evaluate the independent consultant working for AM Air, trying to figure out if she knew her stuff or if her work could jeopardize the sale of Blue Sky to AM Air next month. Law, the reclusive majority shareholder at Blue Sky, and acting CEO, wanted very badly for that sale to go through. He’d spent nearly fifteen years in the airline business, and he was done. He was ready to focus on his charity, and spend the rest of his forties enjoying life a little, maybe even starting a family. He’d spent his whole adult life up until this point working seventy hours a week, and that had to change.

That all started with the sale of Blue Sky, and the only thing potentially standing in the way was this little independent report, commissioned by the board of AM Air, to prove the merger would be beneficial. That report would be written by this troublemaker sitting in 34G.

She smiled at him, pink lips inviting as they broke to show him the hint of her perfect smile. Nobody told him the woman would be drop-dead gorgeous. That little detail had been left out of all the meetings when his senior VPs had cried into their beers and wrung their hands about the hard-charging consultant who didn’t take no for an answer. She even had a nickname: the ice queen. Distant, hardworking, demanding. He could see why so many of his colleagues were intimidated by her. Though, looking at her now, he couldn’t for the life of him understand why anyone would think she was cold. He’d known she was whip-smart, because she’d run circles around his entire management team. She intrigued him, and he was here to find out more about her.

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t ask you out right now.” He couldn’t help himself, actually. Apparently, he liked flirting with danger.

“Because I’d say no.” She grinned, softening the blow.

“Ouch,” he said, splaying his fingers across his chest. “That hurt.” He faked a cough. She’s tough and doesn’t need every man’s approval then , he thought. I like that.

“Come on. I’m sure you get turned down all the time.” Juliana’s smile grew bigger, her light brown eyes teasing. He was so intrigued by her. He suddenly wanted to know everything about her. The nearly three-hour flight seemed too short suddenly. How was he really supposed to get to know her during such a short time?

“Hey! Are you trying to make me feel better...or worse?”

“Worse,” she admitted. He had to laugh. She was surprisingly quick, and she kept him guessing. Few people managed to surprise him, but Juliana did.

Above their heads the seat belt light flicked off. They’d reached cruising altitude. She looked far more relaxed than when they’d begun takeoff. His mission to distract her from the ascending plane had worked, clearly. He’d been worried there for a minute. She’d been wound so tight, he thought she might burst. That little chink in her armor took him by surprise. She was afraid of flying but had taken on the report from AM Air, anyway, knowing that she’d have to crisscross the country on Blue Sky flights for months. He admired her more in that moment. That took nerve.