Chapter 8

|| A Year Later (The Present) ||

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our final descent to Vancouver, British Columbia. In preparation for landing, please return to your seats, fasten your seatbelts, raise your tray tables and ensure your seat backs are in the upright and locked positions. Any personal belongings which may have been used during flight, please make sure they are secured in the overhead bin or underneath the seat in front of you.” Joslyn said as she stood on the aisle in the middle, her eyes scanning the passengers.

When she looked satisfied with the fact that they were paying attention to her and already making adjustments, she continued.

“Also, please make sure to pass any remaining service items and unwanted reading materials to the flight attendants as they will be making one last trip through the aisles to collect them. We will be landing soon. Thank you.”

She smiled, earning a few ‘thank you’s  and ‘you're welcome’s as she headed towards the jump seat stationed before one of the emergency exit doors while trying to shake off that familiar and annoyingly persistent feeling of having those particular pair of eyes trained on her.

Joslyn had felt that piercing gaze on her even when she'd been walking down the aisles prior to her announcement, carrying out the final cabin check and making sure to cross-check what all the other flight attendants had done, which was her duty as the purser in charge. And the gaze had refused to leave her for the duration of the entire flight—in fact, for every flight she'd attended to in the past three months.

However, after the first few times of seeing the familiar man, she'd come to master the art of ignoring his presence as much as she could—that was until he'd repeatedly specifically request for her instead of relaying his needs to the available or nearest flight attendant to him.

Nevertheless, it was safe to say that she and this man had become quite famous amongst the cabin and even cockpit crew, and it didn't help matters that said man had to be Gabriel Nicholas Reid; one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Canada and the billionaire CEO of the nationally and internationally recognized real estate company, Reil Co.

And not to forget: her best friend's ex-boyfriend and a man she'd had quite a memorable one-night stand with, not that she'd ever admit that to him.

In less than fifteen minutes, the wheels of the plane had touched down safely on the runway and the plane was simply taxiing on the taxiway and heading toward the apron. Joslyn waited until the noise from the engine had subsided and after checking the local time, she rose to her feet once again, donning a smile both in required external politeness and internal relief.

She was finally home.

“Ladies and gentlemen, CanAero welcomes you to Vancouver, British Columbia. The local time is 7:50p.m. For your safety and the safety of those around you, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened and keep the aisles clear until we are fully parked at the gate. The Captain will then turn off the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign, indicating it is safe to stand.

“Please use caution when opening the overhead compartments and removing items since articles may have shifted during flight. Once again, please remain seated until the captain turns off the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign. Thank you.”

Another couple of minutes passed by before the plane came to a complete stop at the gate and Joslyn signalled to the other flight attendants to disarm the doors. “Flight attendants, please prepare doors for arrival and cross-check.”

Just as she said that, a ding resounded through the interior and the Captain's voice filled the air. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I am happy to inform you all that we have now safely reached our destination and that too fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. Thank you for flying CanAero airline and I hope you enjoy your stay in our beautiful Vancouver.”

Joslyn gestured for a flight attendant to open the door leading into the jetway as she instructed the passengers—some of whom were already on their feet, some rummaging through the overhead compartments for their belongings.

“Please take caution as you deplane. Do not rush and please try to offer help to those who require assistance. They will be deplaning first, so please let us all be patient. Thank you.”

Fortunately, most of the passengers listened to Joslyn's instructions and didn't rush, save for a few murmurs and complaints of tardiness here and there.

“Thank you and enjoy your stay.”

Joslyn exhaled in relief when the last of the passengers trickled out of the plane, her frame, which had assumed a professional stance for hours on end, finally sagging from the force of her ease. But just as she turned around, a noise akin to a squeak escaped her lips as she smacked headfirst into someone's chest.

Quickly apologizing, she took a step back as her gaze trailed from the expanse of broad torso before her eyes, moving upward to meet a strong looking neck and up to the sight of a jawline acutely chiseled enough to cut through diamond beneath that stubble, and up again, connecting with pink lips that are thin at the top and plump at the bottom, a straight nose and finally reaching those blue-green eyes.

Eyes which shone vibrantly and at alert unlike those of most of the other passengers including the flight attendants, which were heavy with fatigue and shadowed by the need to sleep for ages—Joslyn included; which was quite understandable considering the fact that they had just flown in from Edinburgh, UK.

Eyes that reminded Joslyn of the beauty of beholding the breathtaking turquoise color of the vast Atlantic ocean from the window of an airplane.

Eyes that reminded her of that night three years ago; that gave her that feeling of nostalgia from missing a time where her life had been akin to a bed of roses and not the thorns she'd been forced to live through and endure for over a year now.

Eyes that had hooded in lust and primal male satisfaction when their owner had driven her to the gates of heaven more times than she'd ever thought possible on that single night—a phenomenon that hadn't occurred with any man before him likewise after him, admittedly.

Safe to say that he had successfully ruined her for everyone else.

And lastly, eyes that had then widened in utter shock when he'd been introduced to her as her best friend's boyfriend.

Yeah, that mere thought was enough to snap Joslyn out of her Gabriel-induced trance.

Joslyn finally blinked. Once. Twice. And a few more times, breaking their heated stare but not quite severing the ever-existent tension and connection between them.

Clearing her throat, Joslyn shot Gabriel the same polite smile she normally gave the other passengers as she gestured out of the plane and toward the jetway. “Thank you for flying CanAero.”

Gabriel, on the other hand, remained completely still, occupied with staring down at her. Joslyn cleared her throat once again and chanced a quick glance around to notice that both of them were the subject of the attention of all the crew members as they hid in respective places in the plane. She shot them a glare but only a few of them (specifically the newbies) scampered off to begin grooming the airplane.

She returned her attention to Gabriel, who was still watching her but was now sporting an amused glint in those enchanting eyes of his. “Mr. Reid—” she began but was stunned into silence when the man before her suddenly grinned, revealing the existence of a lone dimple on his left cheek and thereby subjecting her to the force of his gorgeousness.

Joslyn thought she heard someone gasp in the background but she couldn't be sure because her mind had frozen at the sight of that megawatt smile—and to make matters worse, he took two steps closer to her, bringing their bodies into close proximity, one that made Joslyn feel the heat radiating off of him.

Their gazes collided, not that it ever even disconnected in the first place and after seemingly searching for something in her eyes and likely having found it, his grin morphed into a wicked smirk—one that made Joslyn suppress a hard gulp.

“Jos,” he breathed, leaning down slightly to whisper in her ear. “I'll be seeing you.”

And with those parting words (or whispered promise), Gabriel walked out of the plane, leaving Joslyn and some of the flight attendants, as well as the flight engineer who'd all come out of their hiding spots to watch after the man whose confident and self-assured steps took him further down the jetway before he soon disappeared around the bend.

“Damn, chief, that man is one drop-dead gorgeous specimen. A hunk through and through.” One of the flight attendants piped up and the others promptly nodded in agreement.

“Exactly, Josy, when are you gonna give your Cheerio some sugar? He's damn well earned it.”

Murmurs of agreement soon emanated from the rest of the crew members, eliciting a glare from Joslyn, who pushed her way through the little crowd of flight attendants and the lone cockpit crew member that had formed around her and walked back into the plane.

“Shouldn't you all be tidying up the plane?” She said, in a bid to change the subject but two particular flight attendants, who were the closest things she had to friends amidst the entire cabin crew, stepped closer to her, unrelenting.

“That man has obviously been frequenting most of the flights you've been attending in the past three months.” One of them, who went by the name Stephanie, said.

“And he's not just an ordinary man but the billionaire bachelor, Gabriel Reid!” Peter, her second flight attendant friend, pitched in as well.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he leaned down and lowered his voice so that only the three of them could hear what he was about to say. “At least that'll explain why you've been turning down flight engineer Mark's advances all these months.”

Stephanie's eyes widened as she made a noise of realization in her throat, snapping her fingers together. “That is so true, Pee, how come I didn't think of that? Especially after what happened between them back then,” she whispered conspiratorially.

“Well, this only goes to show that I'm the clever one between us both.” Peter retorted with a smug smile that soon morphed into a deadpan look when he voiced his next words. “And will you stop using that shitty nickname on me?”

Stephanie shrugged, assuming a nonchalant expression. “Who knows, Pee, Peanut, Peabody. Will I ever?”

Peter narrowed his eyes at her in warning and Stephanie, in response, bared her teeth to him in a mischievous grin.

Joslyn, utterly fed up with the situation, sighed as she shook Peter's lingering arm off her shoulders and moved from between them. “Looks like you guys aren't eager to retire tonight. I, however, am completely knackered.”

Both Peter and Stephanie snickered at her use of a British word, most likely in the spirit of having just arrived from the United Kingdom.

“I'm off to the airplane's lavatory. Gotta go make sure we don't have an ailing passenger in there like the last time. You two can keep chatting here if you like.”

Saying that, she began to head down one of the aisles and toward the back of the airplane but her friends just had to get the last word in. “You cannot and will not escape this conversation, Josy!”

All a tired Joslyn had in response to them was a peace sign thrown over her shoulder.