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 Jam
es 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.
But there were other people at stake here. Other families. So I kept my hands to myself.
“Why did you come back here?” James asked as we stood waiting for the baggage to arrive. “I thought you'd be going to New York, not home.”
“Right. Because Nicole is the person I want to see right now,” I replied.
“Fair enough,” James agreed. “Do Mom and Frank know you're coming?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Nope. I totally forgot to call them.”
Right then, the baggage arrival light went off and a small alarm filled the room. Luckily, my bags were the first ones off the plane. I assumed James didn't have any bags, especially since he hadn't planned on taking the flight at all.”
“Good. Then we don't have to call and cancel with them,” James continued, scooping my bags from the carousel.
“I can carry those,” I offered, holding out my hand. James glared at me, glancing at my stomach. I dropped my hand and let him carry it. He started walking and I followed him out of the airport, unsure of what he meant by not having to cancel.
Outside, James navigated to a waiting town car. I figured it was one of the texts he had sent out while I was in the bathroom. I was glad he had it. I had been planning on just taking a taxi and asking Dad to cover it again. Like at Christmas.
“Royal Crown Hotel,” James told the driver. I raised my eyebrows at him. It was the nicest hotel in all of Springfield, which given that it was Springfield wasn't all that impressive.
“So, no parents?” I asked.
“No parents,” he confirmed. “Not with what I want to do to you.”
I licked my lips. “Yeah?”
He reached over and pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes and back behind my ear. His hand brushed my cheek with the motion. Electricity flowed through me at his touch.