Rescue Breathing (4 page)

He starts to really crack up, throwing his
head back, before pointing at me.
“Olivia, I like you. I like you a lot. You're a
cool chick.” He scratches his chin as if deep in thought and then
raises his finger, indicating that some kind of epiphany has come
to him. “We need to get together in Seattle.”

My eyes open, big as saucers. “You want to
get together with me in Seattle?” While trying to be cool, I really
am surprised that he's asking me this.

“
Well, yeah. Why not? I mean, we're both
going to be in the same place at the same time. Where are you
staying?”

I pause for a second. This guy is great,
but I don't know him from Adam. Should I tell him where I'm
staying? Ah screw it. It's not like I'm giving him my social
security number. “I'm staying at The Fairmont Olympic. Where are
you staying?”

He starts to laugh a slow, sexy, 'I so
have you' laugh. “I'm staying at the W. It's literally across the
street from The Fairmont. This feels like fate.” He grins. “So now
you have no excuse not to meet me while we're there.”

I give him a look indicating that I'm
feeling a little railroaded, but at the same time I'm turned on a
lot. Having a man show some interest in me—and having some interest
toward him—feels so exciting.

“
Okayyyy…” I reply slowly, “I guess a cup
of coffee wouldn't be out of the question.”

He looks like he's won the lottery. “Now
that's music to my ears, Olivia.” Suddenly, he frowns and sits back
a bit. “Actually, I should probably ask the obvious question before
committing to going out with you. You don't have a boyfriend or a
husband”—he looks shy—“or a girlfriend, do you? I don't want to set
myself up to get my ass kicked, you know.”

I laugh. “I assure you, there is no one
waiting in the wings, male
or
female, who would be interested in kicking your ass. Your
ass is safe.”

He wipes the back of his hand across his
forehead in an exaggerated manner. “Whew. That makes me feel so
much better.”

“
I suppose I should be asking you the same
question. I mean, a girl's gotta be careful. Can't be letting just
any Joe in.” I raise an eyebrow to him.

He sits back, looking relaxed and
relieved.
“No, Olivia.
No worries about that. I'm not the guy looking for anything
serious. I just like having a drink with a beautiful woman. Is that
okay?”

I'm disappointed but make a real effort
not to show it. “Well it sounds like we're on the same page then.”
I wink and take a sip of my wine.

The bartender comes back, noticing our
empty glasses again. “Can I buy you another?” he asks.

“
No, no, I'm fine. Thank you. Two has got
to be my limit. I want to be able to make it in one piece to the
gate.”

The loudspeaker comes on and announces my
flight, making me jump. “Oh, that's me.” I pull my wallet out of my
purse and move to put a twenty on the bar.

Owen puts his hand over mine to stop
me.
“No way. Drinks are
on me. Now you owe me one in Seattle,” he teases.

I smile up at him. Contact, skin on skin.
His hand is calloused and warm, and I wonder what he does for a
living. His hand lingers longer than it needs to, and then as if he
has read my mind, he lifts it off. I put the money back in my
wallet.

“
Thank you. That's really unnecessary, but
thank you.” I smile up at him and suppress a giggle, “I guess
I
will
have to buy you a drink
then,
won
't
I?”

He nods, smiling back.

I stand and straighten my skirt then reach
down to grab my carry-on, pulling up the handle so I can wheel it
behind me. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Owen. See you in
Seattle, I hope?”

He takes my hand again and places a soft
kiss on the back. Oooh, his hands are rough, but his lips are so
soft. “My thoughts exactly. To more encounters of the pleasurable
kind. I'll find you at The Fairmont Olympic to collect on your
debt, Olivia Burke.”

I blush, shake my head with a smile, and
turn to walk out of the bar. I can feel him watching me, and when I
get to the door, I stop and glance over my shoulder at him. He is
indeed staring at me—with a cat-that-ate-the-canary look on his
face. I shake my head again, giggling, and leave the
bar.

I give my ticket to the woman at the gate
and start my descent toward the airplane. Normally this walk feels
a million miles long. I'm usually so nervous I'm hyperventilating.
But thanks to a few rapidly downed glasses of wine and a little
flirting with a gorgeous man, I'm nothing if not loose and
relaxed.

* * *

Thanks to the late decision to go to the
conference, I was forced to book a first
-class seat. Now
that
makes me happy. I find my seat. My big, fluffy, luxurious
leather seat. Very nice. I stow my luggage in the overhead bins and
put my purse underneath the seat in front of me. I have a window
seat, which I love. I slide in and buckle my seatbelt. Almost
immediately, a flight attendant is standing next to me. My God, we
haven't even taken off yet! She offers me a pillow, a blanket, and
a drink. I ask for another glass of wine, which she efficiently
gets for me. I sip it happily, now feeling extremely relaxed and
ready for a nap.

The plane is filling up quickly, but the
seat next to me still isn't taken. I cross my fingers, hoping that
it will stay empty. I just want to sleep, not engage in mindless
banter with some guy looking to shoot the shit for the next six
hours. I take another sip of my wine and cuddle under the blanket,
ready to go.

As I gaze out the window at the blinking
lights of the planes on the tarmac, I hear a familiar voice coming
from the front of the plane. Where do I know that voice from? And
then it hits me. Holy crap—
Owen.
Oh holy
Jesus, he's on this flight.

I lift a bit to peer over the top of the
seat in front of me and there he is, all six foot something of him,
throwing sexy smiles at the passengers he walks by. I slink back
into my seat, hoping I remain unnoticed.

Please don
't let him sit next to
me.

Please don
't let him sit next to
me.

Please don
't let him sit next to
me.

This mantra in my mind is slowly being
drowned out by my other voice.

Please let him sit next to me.

Please let him sit next to me.

Oh God, let him sit next to
me.
Please.

CHAPTER FOUR

Owen

“
This is the final boarding call
for American Airlines Flight 235 to Seattle/Tacoma International
Airport. All confirmed passengers should be on board at this time
through Gate 27. Doors will be closing in ten minutes.”

I'm lost in thought after Olivia left the
bar twenty minutes ago when I vaguely hear my flight being called.
“Excuse me. Did you catch what flight they just called?” I ask the
bartender with a slight tinge of panic in my voice.

He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly as he
wipes down the bar top. “I think it was flight 230 something to
Seattle? I'm not sure really…” he replies, never taking his eyes
off the ballgame on the TV screen.

I quickly check my boarding pass:

American Airlines Flight:
235
Departure: 6:40P  LGA-SEA Seat 5E

I look at my watch, which reads 6:35
p.m.
“Shit!” I quickly
dig out my wallet and leave $50 on the bar to cover the tab for the
drinks for Olivia and me. I grab my duffel bag from the floor and
take off in a full-out sprint towards gate 27.

“
You must be Mr. Maxwell,” the irritated
gate agent asks as I hand him my ticket.

I nod my head, slightly winded from my spike
of adrenaline and run to the gate.

“
We've been waiting for you. You're last to
board.” He scans my boarding pass and hands it back to me. “Have a
good flight,” he huffs and pushes me through the gangway
doors.

Well, nothing like making a
grand entrance onto the plane, Maxwell
. The flight purser has her hand on her hip and a
scowl on her face as I round the bend on the gangway. When she sees
me, she straightens up and smiles brightly. Her cheeks turn pink
and she darts her tongue out to lick her bottom lip.

“
Welcome aboard, Mr. Maxwell. Let me take
your coat while you find your seat and stow your bag,” she coos
sweetly. Sometimes my good looks really do work to my
advantage.

“
Thank you, Lissa,” I smile as I hand her
my coat.

“
How...how did you know my name?” she asks,
blushing yet again.

I point to her chest. “You're wearing
it.”

Lissa slowly closes her eyes in
embarrassment. “My nametag …”

I wink at her and start to reach into my
pants pocket to double-check my seat assignment.

“
You're in 5E,” Lissa says. “It's the only
open seat in first class.”

I raise my head and look down the aisle to
find my open seat.

You
've got to be kidding me.

I shake my head in disbelief as I see that
Olivia is sitting in the seat next to mine.

“
Have an enjoyable flight, Mr. Maxwell,”
Lissa smiles and walks off to hang up my coat.

“
I think the chances of that happening have
just increased substantially, Lissa. Thank you.” I walk down the
short aisle towards my seat.

Seriously?
What dumb luck do I have that I'm sitting next to
the girl of my wet dreams for the next six hours? Somewhere along
the way, I must have done something good in order to be this lucky.
I don't know if my smile could be bigger. However, my smile quickly
fades as I watch Olivia's face change from curiosity over who just
walked onto the plane to anxiety when she recognizes me to slight
horror when she connects the dots that I'll be sitting next to her.
Olivia pulls her blanket up and over her nose as if she's trying to
hide.

“
Hello, beautiful.
Looks like I'm sitting next to you,” I
greet Olivia with a smile as she cowers beneath her
blanket.

“
I guess so,” she replies, slowly lowering
the blanket to cover her lap, realizing that she looks a little
silly.

I toss my bag in the overhead bin and take
my seat. “You don't seem pleased that we'll be seated next to each
other for the next few hours. Wasn't exactly the reaction I was
hoping for to be honest. Should I ask someone to switch seats with
me?” I ask, a bit baffled.

“
No.” She reaches out to stop me. “That's
not it. I…
I just
can
't believe, of all
the planes going to Seattle and of all seats on this very plane,
yours is next to mine. What are the odds?” Olivia says, her hand
still grasping my forearm that's on the armrest. She quickly lets
go as if I've shocked her, like she's crossed a line.
Cross that line as
often as you'd like, beautiful. Pole-vault over it and somehow end
up on my lap
.

“
If you didn't believe in fate before, you
may want to start,” I reply as my eyes dart between her beautiful
blue eyes and her luscious pink lips. “So”—I clear my throat—“you
have business in Seattle. What exactly is it that you do, Olivia? ”
I ask as I settle into my seat and search for the two ends of my
seat belt.

She looks at me warily, like she's having
an internal conversation with herself about whether I'm trustworthy
enough to share such personal information. “I'm a psychologist
actually. I'm attending a conference in Seattle.
 
Then
I
'm going to spend some
time with my best friend, who lives out there,” Olivia says before
she takes another sip of her wine. “Your friend is getting
married?” she continues. “That sounds like it will be fun. How long
are you going to be in Seattle?”

“
The
marriage
being fun? For Travis maybe. I don't think marriage is
really my thing. Being tied down to one person? For the rest of my
life? Nooo thank you,” I scoff. “But this guys' weekend will be a
lot fun, for sure. Typical guys stuff mostly—too much drinking, too
much skin, and not enough sleep.” I look over at her and give her a
mischievous smile.

Olivia smiles back and shifts in her seat
to cross her legs.
A
portion of the blanket on her lap slips to the side of her seat,
exposing the bare skin above her knee.
Oh holy hell.

I lean against the armrest separating our
seats and look from her thighs to her eyes, making no apologies for
staring. “Wanna come along for the ride? Might be fun…for both of
us.” I give Olivia a wink and she flashes those beautiful blue eyes
at me like I've scandalized her. It's a look I could get used to
real quick.

Olivia looks up at me and bites her lower
lip. “I'm not sure you want me as a third wheel during your
debauchery. But thank you for the invitation.” As she speaks, she
pushes her blanket off her lap and starts fluffing her blouse like
she's hot or flustered, or maybe she's both. “A guys' weekend does
sound like fun though. More fun than a boring psychology
conference.”