The Lilac Bottle

Chapter Two

I drummed my fingers on my armrests, jittery with excitement. I was on the plane at last, flying out of LAX on a nonstop flight straight to Vienna. Thank God Gram had driven me to the airport. She spent so much time driving back and forth delivering flowers to florists in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, she could do the drive in her sleep.

My hands shaking slightly, I pulled my perfume bottle from my purse and gave myself a spritz, the soothing lavender smell calming my thrumming heart. I breathed deeply and closed my eyes, letting the scent do its work.

I slowly opened them once I felt myself relax, and that's when I saw him board the plane.

He carried a duffle bag over his broad shoulders, flicking his tousled, sun-kissed honey hair out of the way to view his ticket better. I could see that his forehead was lighter than his tanned cheeks; clearly, he was a man who worked out in the sun. The boarding pass seemed tiny in his big hands, and I envisioned him sifting soil through those beautifully weathered fingers.

He glanced up, searching for his seat. I immediately darted my gaze back to my purse and busied myself with putting my perfume away and grabbing my book.

As he came closer to me down the aisle, I tried to force myself to read, but kept peeking at him through my lashes. Once he was by my seat, he paused.

"Excuse me, but I think...I sit here?" I heard him say. He had a deep, throaty accent. My heart quickened again. I whipped my head around, too quickly, with my most innocent "who, me?" face.

His back was turned to me, though. He was addressing the woman across the aisle from me.

"Oh," I heard the woman say, "Well, yes, I do suppose this is your seat." She sounded nervous. I tilted my head around, trying to remain inconspicuous.

"Yes?" the hot guy asked, confusion in his voice. I leaned forward to peer around him. The woman had her purse in his seat!

"Um, well, you see...my husband and I wanted to sit next to each other, but our tickets have us placed away from each other. Would you mind...perhaps switching seats with him?"

The hunk was quiet for a moment.

"Ah, okay, yes!" he said finally, understanding at last. Was his English not very good? "It is no problem. Where is your...husband?" he trailed off, looking around.

"He's right there." She pointed down the aisle. We all turned to look together. An older man grinned sheepishly at us from behind a few other passengers and waved. "He decided to make a last-minute trip to the bathroom before we boarded the plane."

"Ah, yes, but I mean...where is his chair?" the hunk asked.

"Oh, right there, sweetie," The woman bent around him and pointed at the empty seat beside me. My heart leaped. The hunk turned to face me, and our gazes met. His eyes were a delicious dark brown and I blushed at getting caught staring. I watched the corner of his mouth lift into a bit of a smirk. He knows I was listening, I realized.

I blushed deeper. "Um, yes, this seat is empty."

His lips spread into a full smile. "No husband?"

I shook my head and found myself smiling back. "No husband."

"Gut," he said and hefted his duffle bag into the compartment above. His shirt rose up and I saw a bit of his tan tummy peeking out above the waistline of his jeans, and a little trail of hair growing down from his belly button. I turned my head away, trying to ignore the flick of excitement I felt.

He plopped down next to me and buckled his seatbelt.

"Hello," he said once he was settled.

"Hello," I said back, then looked away. I was growing jittery again, excited by this cute guy's proximity. What else should I say? Should I introduce myself? Is it even worth the effort, since I'm probably never going to see him again after this plane ride? I began to lose courage.