Honeymoon Hunt

When the meal was served, she ate her baked chicken in silence.

After a moment, Nick said, “Are you pouting?”

Julia looked up in surprise. “Why would you think that?”

He glared at her. “You stopped asking those ridiculous questions.”

“I don’t think concern for others is ridiculous. But it was obvious I was irritating you, so I stopped.” She took another bite of chicken and stared at the seat in front of her.

“Just like that? Because you figure out you’re irritating me?”

“Is that a problem?” she asked stiffly.

He stared at her before he said, “No. Not a problem. And I’m sorry I was so…impatient with you. I’m not used to having my lifestyle questioned.”

“I didn’t mean—Obviously I owe you an apology, too. It wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable. But our lifestyles, as you put it, are quite different.”

She was still avoiding his gaze. She almost jumped out of her seat when his warm hand settled on her arm. “W-What?”

He withdrew his hand at once. “I was trying to apologize,” he said.

“Not necessary. We have a deal. That’s all there is between us. I’m trying to make it as painless as it can be for both of us.”

Her response irritated Nick even more. What made her so perfect? She didn’t think they had anything personal going on? Why did she think he had let her come along? He could’ve managed without the information from her. True, he thought it might help to keep her mother under control if he had her along. But he could’ve managed just fine on his own!

She couldn’t be real, anyway. No woman worried about those less fortunate than herself when she was flying first class. At least, no woman he’d ever been with.

He figured she was putting on a show to convince him her mother wasn’t after their money. But she could give that up. He knew better than to buy her act.

When the flight attendant came to remove their meal trays, Nick realized Julia hadn’t finished. “Didn’t you like your lunch?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then why did you let her take your tray before you’d finished?”

She drew a deep breath. “I didn’t want to cause trouble.”

He closed his eyes, then opened them to stare at Julia. “Honey, you paid for first class. You can tell her to leave your tray until you finish.”

She shrugged. “Now I’ll have room for dessert,” she said, a smile on her lips. “Believe me, Nick, I would’ve kept it if I’d been starving. But I’m not.”

The dessert was worth it, a rich chocolate cake drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce and topped with raspberries.

Julia didn’t hesitate to dig in.

“Now you can have two desserts,” Nick told her. “I don’t really want mine.”

Julia looked at him. “No, thank you. It’s very good. You should try some.”

Disgruntled, Nick picked up his fork and took a bite. He didn’t really want the dessert, but he was miffed that Julia had turned him down. Once he tasted the dessert, he decided to eat it.

“How much longer until we reach L.A.?” Julia asked as she put down her fork.

“We’ve been in flight a little over two hours…It should be about forty-five minutes,” Nick said. “You looking forward to seeing your mother?”

“Yes, I am. Aren’t you looking forward to seeing your father?”

“Not really. He’s going to be upset when he sees me.”

“Because he knows you don’t believe him?”

He frowned. “Why should I?”

“Because he’s your father.”

“But he doesn’t love any of them. He’s easily convinced. When I face the woman, she’s willing to be bought off.”

“I see,” Julia said slowly.

“So I guess your mother is going to come into some extra money very soon. Do you want to negotiate the amount now so we’ll have that out of the way when we get there?”