Riiiiiing.
For a few seconds, I could only stare at my phone, stunned and more than a little worried because I had forgotten to switch it to airplane mode.
Riiiiiing.
And then I remembered: this was first class, and apparently, one of the perks included having Wi-Fi connection.
I answered the call. “Hello…” I was hoping my voice would come out steady, but instead it wobbled in the end, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.
“Schuyler.” Ioniko’s deep, accented voice was strangely comforting, and I found myself closing my eyes and clinging to its sound. “Thank you for doing this.”
“I’m starting to regret it, to be honest.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re already forty thousand feet off the ground now.”
I swallowed hard. “I just don’t know…”
“There’s nothing to overthink yet, koukla mou.” Ioniko’s voice was soft and gentle. “You haven’t committed to anything—”
“Haven’t I?”
“If I could postpone my trip to Athens, I would—”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“But I’m also unwilling to give any other man a chance to make a move on you while I’m away.”
Oh.
“We’ll talk, we’ll compromise, and we’ll see where we go from there, ne?”
I nodded even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “Ne.”
“Good girl.”
The term should’ve been offensive, but even though it made me wrinkle my nose, I also couldn’t help feeling foolishly thrilled to it.
After not-so-subtly ordering me to feed myself and rest, Ioniko hung up soon after, and I found myself alone with my thoughts once more. But unlike earlier, I was no longer hysterical and it wasn’t as hard to breathe anymore.
Ioniko was right, I thought. Flying halfway across the world for a weekend getaway and discuss a potential fling might be overkill in my book, but it wasn’t in his, and both of us needed to learn how to compromise. He was already meeting with me halfway as it was, so now it was my turn.
About an hour before the plane was scheduled to land, I decided to give the onboard shower a try, and it was such an incredibly surreal feeling that I couldn’t help taking a quick photo of myself and sending it to Sara with a four word caption.
Can you believe this?
Sara’s answer was waiting for me when I was out of the shower.
Sara: You’re living the life, Mrs. Billionaire.
Schuyler: Shut up.
Once back in my seat, butterflies started fluttering their wings inside my stomach, and I was unable to keep still despite the opulent comfort of my chair. I tried to resume working, but my brain refused to cooperate, with images of Ioniko constantly flashing in my mind. Doubts and insecurities had also wriggled their way back into my thoughts, and I started wondering and worrying again about the dangers of (potentially) falling for a gorgeous Greek billionaire.
He’s him, and I’m me. This isn’t going to work, and I must’ve been out of my mind to think I had the slightest chance of holding his interest for more than a few days. Once he has me, that’s it, he’ll lose interest—
A knock rapped on the door, the sound hurtling me out of my thoughts, and I realized I had been staring unseeingly for some time at my window.
My window, which showed that we were already out of the runway and right next to the terminal.
There was another knock, and I quickly got to my feet. “Sorry,” I apologized as I slid the door open. “I didn’t realize—” My voice trailed off when I realized it wasn’t any of the cabin attendants waiting outside my suite.
Oh. Myyyyyyyyy. Gaaaaah.
Why couldn’t I get used to how gorgeous he was? Why? Why? Why? I tried to get my vocal chords to work, but it was just impossible, and my knees literally trembled as I watched a mind-blowingly sexy smirk curve over Ioniko’s lips. “You look like you want to kiss me.”
He…he…he was right, dammit.
Ioniko took hold of my hand and refused to let go even as the other first-class passengers gaped (they obviously knew him, and just as obviously wondered what the billionaire was doing with a girl like me) and the entire flight crew came out to greet us. It was my first time to experience what it truly felt like, being seen by people who knew Ioniko was, and I wondered if it would always be this uncomfortable and nerve-wracking.
“They all think you’re an idiot for dating a woman like me,” I told him as we ascended the airstairs leading up to the plane listed for our connecting flight and which would fly us all the way to Athens.
“So we’re dating now?”
I couldn’t help grinning, knowing that faux pas was totally my fault. “You know what I mean.”
“Ne,” Ioniko purred. “And it’s exactly what you said. We’re dating.”
I only rolled my eyes at that. He so wished it was going to be that easy—oh. We had reached the top of the steps, and one look around was enough to tell me that we weren’t boarding a commercial plane. This was a private jet, and the identity of its owner could be easily gleaned from the hand-stitched logo in everyone’s uniforms.