Hollywood Remake (A Celebrity Love Story)

Chapter 42: Funny Girl

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the captain has NOT turned off the Fasten Seatbelt sign. We ask that you remain in your seats for the duration of the flight. We are expecting to encounter severe turbulence..."

Aidan groaned and clenched his jaw. He forced the contents of his stomach back down as the plane skipped and lurched through the sky.

He hated flying. Goddamn, he hated flying. He hated flying on a good day, but this? This had to be the worst flight he'd ever experienced.

He had hoped to look around for Kate before the flight took off. He'd had visions of some grand, romantic reunion, going down on one knee right there in front of an airplane full of onlookers. Someone was bound to put it up on Instagram. How many "likes" would that video get?

But there hadn't been time for any of it. The flight attendants were already in the middle of the safety demonstration by the time he jogged down the jetway and onto the plane. He'd been ushered directly to his seat without so much as a "Welcome aboard!"

That's what he got for flying coach. How many years had it been since he sat back here in the cheap seats? He rarely even flew first class nowadays – mostly chartered private jets.

He'd felt a tinge of worry when the ticket agent first handed him the coach-class boarding pass. What was he letting himself in for, exactly? No way he wouldn't be recognized. He had a pair of sunglasses with him, but they didn't do much to conceal his identity. Would he be mobbed by fans? Five hours of pictures and autographs, wedged into a seat the size of a sardine can? Probably the last public appearance of his career, and he was going to spend it conducting the world's most uncomfortable meet-and-greet.

He hadn't counted on the turbulence though. It was driving him crazy, not being able to get up and search the plane for Kate, but at least it was keeping his fellow passengers in their seats as well. Everyone was way too focused on not puking to worry about pestering him.

He felt the seat bottom drop away beneath him in a moment of pure freefall before the plane seemed to bounce and tilt upward again. Worst flight ever. Kate better be happy to see him at the end of this. Better be fucking ecstatic. He kept one hand poised to grab the barf bag out of the seat pocket in front of him.

"Oh dear," said the voice to his right. "You don't look so good."

Aidan sucked in his breath slowly and held it deep in his lungs, waiting for the wave of nausea to pass. He turned to look at the woman sitting beside him. A little old lady – must be pushing 80 from the looks of her – working away at some crochet project. She must have been the only person onboard who wasn't motion sick right now.

"Maybe this would help, dear?" She pulled a pack of spearmint chewing gum out of her bag and offered him a stick.

"Thanks," he muttered, grateful for anything to get the taste of bile out of his mouth.

She put down her ball of yarn and turned in her seat to face him, taking his acceptance of the gum as an invitation to chat. "I think the woman in that seat before you had the right idea, getting off the plane when she did."

"What happened?" Aidan replied. "Did she get sick or something?"

"Oh no. It was the strangest thing. We were just about to take off, and all of a sudden she just stood up and started taking down her suitcase out of the overhead bin. And then she turned to me out of nowhere and said 'Thank you,' and gave me a kiss on the cheek! Isn't that odd?"

Aidan crinkled his forehead. "You didn't know her?"

"Never met her before in my life! So I just said 'You're welcome, dear, but thank you for what?'" The woman lowered her voice in a confidential tone as she continued. "She was a little funny, that girl. And I don't mean funny ha-ha. She just gave me the strangest smile and said, 'Home is where the heart is.' That's all she said. Can you imagine?"