Page 16 of Yours, Always
Perky shuddered and straightened back up. “I could’ve been in coach, but I bribed Amy to switch places.” She nodded to a passenger passing through. “First class is light today. I should get a break later. You never answered my question about the mile high club, honey.”
Greyson laughed. “I was curious about that name. A mile up and the flight has barely left the ground. What happens when we get to cruising altitude?”
She bent again and whispered in his ear. “Exactly.” Her eyes flicked to the phone on his lap then she walked away.
“Now those were some boobs,” Prudence remarked when he picked his phone back up. “The same one from earlier?”
“Yep, the same one.”
“So, you left your script at home and you…don’t have a cozy mystery novel to read. Howeverare you going to pass your time on the flight, Grey?” Prudence joked.
He rolled his eyes. “Dodging the flight attendant at every turn, I can guarantee you that.” He looked up at the sound of the airplane door closing. “Time to go. I’ll see you before you know it, Prudence.”
“Bye, honey,” Prudence jested and ended the call.
* * * *
Greyson exited the flight at a jog, his face red, grateful to be the first to get off the plane. It had been five long hours of sexual airplane puns and flight innuendo. He’d heard enough about cockpits and thrusters to last a lifetime. It had gone from amusing to awkward pretty quickly, and he’d ended up having to emphatically tell the flight attendant he was in no way interested. He had a cozy mystery novel, after all, and this was the only time he ever seemed to get uninterrupted periods of time to read.
He slowed down at the baggage claim, having déjà vu when he heard the familiar announcement to check your tags, remembering a scene from theAnother Day to Die, prequel toThe Day You Didn’t Want to Die, where he’d had ninety minutes to find a bomb in the luggage before it blew up the airport. That movie had led to direct comparisons to Wyatt Reed, having a similar plot to the movie that made Wyatt a household name,Velocity.
“I’m nothing like Wyatt Reed,” he grumbled.
“Hey, it’s Wyatt!”
Greyson stiffened as he heard the voice behind him. He stared straight ahead, ignoring him, and hoping the guy—one of the unwashed hippy types—would get the hint.
“Hey, Wyatt!” the voice called again.
Greyson rolled his eyes before he turned around. They didn’t look alike, he was twenty years younger than Wyatt and he couldn’t understand why they were constantly being compared. Sure, they were both badass action stars that had movies revolving around a similar plot…but that’s it. And Bradford. He supposed they had him in common, but that was a complete coincidence.
“Not Wyatt, dude,” Greyson said, and turned back to scan for his luggage.
“Oh, man, I’m so sorry. Almost created a mob thinking you were Wyatt Reed. It’s not him, everyone!” the hippy shouted to no one in particular as he walked away.
Greyson ducked his chin closer to his chest and counted the time until he’d be back in Amber Falls, but he still had a puddle jumper to catch from Logan to North Hampton Airfield and that wouldn’t take off for a few hours. His phone rang, and the charter company’s number showed on the caller ID.Speak of the devil. “This is Greyson Atwood,” he answered.
“Hello, Mr. Atwood, this is Mark from East Coast Charters. I know your plane isn’t scheduled to take off for two hours, but the flight crew is ready, and I was wondering if you’d be available to leave shortly?”
“Your timing is perfect. I just landed a few minutes ago and I’m at baggage claim. I’ll get my bags and head over.”
“That’s great. I’ll have an agent waiting to escort you onto the tarmac when you get here. Thank you, Mr. Atwood.”
He hung up the phone, a smile on his face. He was going to get to surprise Prudence by showing up in Amber Falls early.
Chapter Nine
Greyson’s charter flight from Logan was thankfully uneventful. The crew was both professional and ready to go as soon as he’d gotten on the plane, and he’d been able to get to Amber Falls hours ahead of schedule. He’d already been to his childhood home, the house Gabe was currently living in and fixing up, and was now at Gabe’s bar downtown, Finnegan’s. Greyson stopped outside the window, surprised to see Prudence already inside sitting at the bar.Same old Pru. Fire-engine-red hair that never seemed to stay in place. Not slight by any means, she filled out a pair of jeans nicely. His breath hitched in his chest.
Although he’d made up his mind that Prudence was the one for him, he was still surprised by the ferocity of his emotions. He hadn’t seen her in person for so long but he believed that even if his mind hadn’t been made up to make Prudence his, he truly knew seeing her face to face would’ve left the outcome indisputable. He shook his head and walked to the door, pulling it open and hearing the familiar sounds of the bar.
Prudence turned at the sound and jumped up from her stool when she saw who it was. “Greyson!” she exclaimed, and ran over to greet him, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing, almost knocking the gift bag in his hands onto the floor. “You were supposed to call!”
Greyson wrapped his free arm around her waist. “It’s good to see you too,” he joked, slightly lifting her off the floor then setting her back down and releasing his hold.
“Bro!” Gabe came around the bar. He reached his hand out for a shake then pulled Greyson into a hug, clapping him on the back. Gabe stood just a hair shorter than Greyson, his hair light to Greyson’s dark. They both had the same strong jaw, however.
“My flight ended up being early,” Greyson explained. “I dropped my bags at the house then walked over. I noticed Mrs. Crenshaw is still on patrol. She watched me from across the street the whole time. Come to think of it, she didn’t seem surprised to see me here.”