“That is cool,” I mused, my eyes shifting to the giant jet that would take us to the place she described.
“Since you’ve never been, we’ll have to take a trip up the incline to Mount Washington tonight. They have these overlooks where you can see the whole city from above.” Alyssa seemed very excited about our destination.
“Sure, sounds great.” I was checked out, trying to keep my panic tamped down.
“Oh!” she squealed, and I jumped with how tightly I was wound. “I forgot the best part!”
I was almost afraid to ask. “What’s the best part?”
She held her hands up dramatically. “They putfrieson their salads and sandwiches.”
My nose wrinkled. “Fries?”
Alyssa’s head bobbed enthusiastically, and she let out a loud moan that drew attention from a few of the players near us in the hangar. “Oh, yeah. Sooooooo good.”
I wasn’t so sure, but I would have to take her word for it. Canadians loved poutine, so I suppose fries covered in dressing wasn’t the craziest thing in the world.
She linked her arm with mine. “Seat buddies?”
We were the only two women in the press pack, so I didn’t think twice. “Sure.”
“I can’t tell you how great it is to have another woman coming on the road,” Alyssa admitted before lowering her voice. “Most nights, they’re like a pack of hungry wolves, and it gets harder and harder every year to fend them off.” She nodded toward our male colleagues.
Concern for my new friend trumped my internal freakout over getting on a plane. “They’ve never tried anything with you, have they?”
She waved me off as we trekked across the tarmac toward the waiting jet. “Nah. A few of them have hit on me, but when I turned them down, that was the end of it. Can you imagine how messy it would get if I caved? Talk about a hostile work environment.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. Wouldn’t know a thing about that . . .
“Anyway”—she continued to chatter—“I’m just glad to have someone to hang out with. And it’ll be exciting to share all my favorite haunts in the cities we visit.”
That was one aspect of the job I was looking forward to. My hatred of air travel had been prohibitive. I hadn’t traveled much to this point. Sure, I grew up a stone’s throw from New York City and had taken the train there many times. Then there was that one spring break trip to Florida with Dakota where we’d had to drive home after I freaked out on the plane trip down. But I wanted to expand my horizons, discover new places. This was my chance to do so without breaking the bank. The Speed provided the plane while my publication paid for my hotel and food expenses. It was the perfect situation.
When we reached the giant rolling staircase leading to the open door of the large plane, Alyssa let go of my arm. She stepped ahead of me, saying something about finding a good seat for us away from the guy who snores. My hand gripped the railing, but my feet refused to move, and my knees trembled so badly that the shockwaves were enough to make my teeth chatter.
“Problem, Miss Cooper?” A voice I knew all too well taunted from behind me.
Of course. Because today isn’t hard enough.
Thankfully, my irritation with Maddox Sterling was enough to overrule my terror, and I gritted out, “No problem,” as I took the first step up the staircase.
Crossing the threshold into the jet, I clenched my fists until my fingernails dug into my palms. The pain provided a reminder that I was alive. I could do this.
Alyssa waved from her perch near the back, and I pushed past the filled seats until I reached her.
“Window or aisle?” She gestured to the empty row she’d secured for us. The plane had extra-wide seats, featuring only two on each side of the aisle.
That was a loaded question, and I wasn’t sure which was worse.
A window seat meant I could look out at the world below as we climbed high into the sky, but if the wing broke or an engine caught fire, I’d have a front-row seat to my nightmare coming to life. An aisle seat would mean blissful ignorance, but not knowing if the end was near would only serve to ratchet up my anxiety.
It was an impossible decision, but one I was required to make. I couldn’t very well stand in the aisle all day. I definitely needed a seatbelt to secure me to this death trap.
“Window, please.” It was the lesser of two evils. If necessary, I could always slide down the window shade.
Alyssa winked. “Perfect. I was hoping that would be your answer. The aisle is better for me. I hate asking someone to get up so I can use the restroom.”
All of the overhead compartments were open, so I threw my overnight bag above our row and slid into the window seat. Holding my travel tote in my lap, I pulled out my earbuds and Dakota’s newest book before sliding the bag beneath the seat in front of me.
