Free Bride by Design: Flights of Fancy by Alicia Roberts

Chapter One
    What was he doing here?
    I felt his eyes on me as soon as I sat down. A ripple of excitement and recognition coursed through my spine and I gave him a tiny smile before I put my head down and focused on my issue of Elle Décor.
    Green Eyes. That was the name I’d chosen for him, ever since that first day when I saw him having lunch on a park bench. I sat a few benches away, and when he finished his lunch, he walked past me and I felt a strange tingling sensation when our eyes met. His hair was dirty blond, he was tall and tan. His smile was always mysterious, hinting that he knew what was on my mind.
    I began having lunch there whenever I could, always sitting a few seats away from him, scared of flying too close to the sun. We never spoke, barely exchanged glances, but I looked for him during my lunch break and I was sure he looked for me. It had been the highlight of my day for the past few months.
    And now he was sitting here, a few rows away, in the domestic departures lounge at LA airport. I’m going to ignore him, I thought nervously, and I turned a page of my magazine.
    A young family walked up and occupied the seats opposite me. They were busy rearranging their belongings, their backpack zip had torn and they needed to put the contents away. The dad was trying to make sure the toddler didn’t start crying, and the mother was desperately trying to stuff things into her purse.
    “Use this,” I said, offering the mother my folded-up duffel bag. I always carried it in my purse for emergencies, but now it looked like they needed it more than me.
    I saw the relief in her face as she thanked me briefly and emptied the contents of the backpack.
    I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up, and immediately glanced down quickly. Green Eyes was walking towards me. Oh no. What was happening? Did I have spinach in my teeth, did I do something wrong? I stared into my magazine as if it was the most amazing thing on Earth, trying to ignore Green Eyes walking up to me with a strangely focused look on his face.
    And then he was standing right next to me, and I could smell his scent, cedar and cinnamon and something musky. He bent down to my feet, and I heard him say, “Here, you dropped this.”
    I looked up in surprise. He was holding my small notebook - it must’ve fallen out of my bag when I rummaged through it looking for the folded duffel.
    I blushed and felt relieved. What did I think would happen?
    “Uh, thanks,” I said shakily, smiling nervously. His voice was deep and melodious, and his eyes were crinkling with amusement.
    I watched him turn around and walk away, my body surging with relief and disappointment.
    Two airline staff were standing near the gate, and Green Eyes walked up to them. I saw him say something, and then I felt their eyes on me. Nervously, I looked down again and turned another page of the magazine. The three of them walked over to the counter, and after a few moments they all walked back.
    “First Class passengers may now board flight UA418 to JFK Airport, New York.”
    People sitting near me began to arrange their belongings in anticipation, as a small handful of people walked through the gates. Green Eyes was one of them - of course, he would travel first class, I thought, remembering my flight in to LA, squished into the tiny Economy Class seat and surrounded by screaming children and people with BO.
    After a few minutes, the announcer declared that families with small children and loyalty club members could now board, and when the final announcement for the “rest of the passengers” came, I joined the long queue of people who came last in the airline’s priorities.
    “I’m sorry ma’am,” said the uniformed lady when she looked at my boarding pass. “Could you come this way with me, please?”
    My heart sank. This would have to happen to me - what was wrong, did they think I needed my luggage scanned again?
    We walked up to the counter, and I felt the