I burst into full out sobs. Whether it was stress, hormones, lack of sleep, or the sheer emotion of being loved by James, I couldn't control myself. He leaned over and wrapped his strong arms around me. He smelled so good and felt so strong. I was safe when I was with him.
He ran his hand over my hair, making small soothing noises as he comforted me. I wasn't alone. I had James. Even if he couldn't acknowledge that the baby was his in public, we wouldn't be alone. But most importantly, he loved me.
The flight attendant from earlier stopped at our row, but James just held me tighter and waved her on.
“You know, it's customary to say something back when someone tells you they love you,” James teased once my sobs quieted.
I giggled through my tears. Leave it to James to make this about him. I sniffled, and looked up at him.
“I love you, too.” I grinned. “I thought it was pretty obvious by now.”
James laughed and pulled me back into him. I loved the way he felt wrapped around me. I tucked my head on his shoulder. For right now, I felt like I could do this. James would be with me every step of the way with the pregnancy and then he'd be as much of a father as he could be without jeopardizing his company.
It wasn't the fairy-tale ending that I imagined, but it was a good future. A real future. It was better than anything I could hope for.
“Close your eyes, Allie,” James said, smoothing my hair. “You should rest.”
“You don't get to tell me what to do,” I murmured, sleep already claiming me. It had been a long day and now that I had cried, I was worn out. I struggled to keep my eyes open but it was futile. With a sigh, I relaxed, letting James lull me to sleep with his gentle caresses and the hum of the plane engine.
Chapter Forty-Three
“Wake up, Allie. We're landing,” James said, his voice cutting through my dreams. For a moment, I hoped it had all been a dream. I hoped I would wake up in James' comfy bed without a care in the world.
But the soreness in my neck said otherwise.
I slowly blinked as the plane landed with a thud and looked around the airplane. James was half in my seat as the man sitting next to him had taken over most of James' space. I didn't mind, though, since that meant I could be closer to James.
I yawned and my stomach rumbled. I hadn't eaten anything since those few bites of artichoke dip. That felt like months ago. I sat up and rolled my shoulders, wishing I didn't feel so damn tired. It was probably just the stress of everything, but all I wanted to do was go back to sleep on James' shoulder for at least another week.
The plane slowly came to a halt and as soon as it officially stopped, everyone stood up and began reaching for their bags. The man in the aisle seat was one of the first up, and James let out an audible sigh as soon as he regained his own space.
“Fucking coach,” James growled shaking his head. “I can't believe I just flew fucking coach.”
I put my hands on my stomach. “It's okay, baby. Don't listen to Daddy's bad language.”
James glared at me. “You can't say stuff like that.”
“Sorry.” I rolled my eyes. “Don't listen to Uncle James' bad language.”
“Allie, I'm not joking.” James turned in his seat, making sure he had my full attention. “You can't say that.”
I sighed. “I'm sorry. I'll be better. Promise.”
“You better be.” James fixed me with his gaze. He lowered his voice, even though the plane was almost empty. “I'm serious. We're talking about a lot of people's jobs here, Allie. Not just mine. If my business goes down because no one wants to deal with the guy fucking his little sister, a lot of babies just like yours are going to go hungry.”
I felt my stomach rumble with hunger. My baby needed to be fed. I imagined what I would do if I couldn't feed him because my boss decided to knock up his sister. The gravity of it hit home.
“I promise,” I said, serious this time. I wouldn't do that to someone.
James watched me for a moment and then decided that I was sincere. “Okay.”
We quickly exited the plane, avoiding eye contact with the flight attendant from earlier. Her gaze followed us off the airplane, but she didn't say anything.
Springfield wasn't exactly a happening tourist destination, so the bland gray hallways of the tiny airport were empty.
“I'm going to stop at the bathroom,” I said. James nodded and leaned against the wall. He pulled out his phone and immediately started typing at a breakneck speed. I shook my head. The man was always working.
He was waiting for me when I came out and as soon as he saw me, he started walking. Walking next to James on our way to the baggage carousel, our hands collided. It took every ounce of strength I had not to grab his hand and hold on.