Chapter 3

Ten days later, a boisterous group arrives at LAX for the flight to Aspen. The only thing detracting from my euphoric mood is the weather forecast coming from Aspen, where a blizzard has been threatening all week. We’re leaving a day earlier than planned, hoping to get there before the storm materializes, but the predictions keep changing and the various models are giving differing information. My parents and sisters Annie and Aimee as well as their families will be flying up on Christmas Eve, the same day Natalie’s sisters are due to arrive.

My stomach is in knots. I’m not a huge fan of flying in the best of conditions but knowing we could be flying into a storm doesn’t sit well with me, even if I trust the pilots who’ve worked for us for years. They moved up our time of departure hoping to outrun the storm.

Natalie, who holds Fluff on her lap, senses my anxiety and keeps a tight hold on my hand, even after we are buckled into our seats. “Relax. You’re on vacation, and everything is going to be fine.”

All around us, happy-sounding voices discuss plans for skiing, snowboarding, sledding, snowman-making and other winter activities. Aileen’s kids, Logan and Maddie, are so excited for Christmas and the trip that Kristian warns us they might spontaneously combust. Maddie was concerned about Santa finding them in Aspen, but Kristian assured her that Santa always knows where she is. Aileen and Kristian shipped gifts to the house in Aspen on Santa’s behalf. Like me, he’s looking forward to his first Christmas as a family man, and we’re all excited about having the kids with us for Christmas morning. Next year, we’ll add two more little ones to the family—ours as well as Jasper and Ellie’s. Those are the two we know about so far, but with everyone in our group pairing off and falling in love, the baby boom is apt to continue for quite some time to come.

Fine by me. More people to love.

Across the aisle from us, Addie is cozied up to Hayden, who has an arm around her. I keep waiting to hear that she’s expecting, too, but so far, there’s no news on that front, and Nat tells me I’m not allowed to ask her. Behind us, Leah and Emmett are giggling and whispering the way they do these days, and in the last row, Sebastian, who is Hayden’s childhood friend and the manager of our BDSM club, sits alone, gazing out the window. He jokes about being the eleventh wheel with us, but claims he has no desire to be attached to anyone. I don’t see him settling down any time soon, even if the rest of us are. His philosophy has always been why would he want just one woman when he can have all the women? That used to be my philosophy, too, until I found the woman in the most unlikely of places. I run a finger over the small scar on my arm where Fluff bit me that first day. I wear that scar like a badge of honor, a reminder of how life can change in a matter of seconds.

“Where the hell is Marlowe?” Hayden asks.

“She said she’d be here,” Leah replies.

“We’re on a time crunch with the storm looming.” I glance at Leah over the top of my seat. “Will you call her?”

“Yep.”

If she doesn’t arrive soon, we’re going without her. She can catch up when lover boy arrives from France. I can hear Leah’s side of the conversation and catch enough to know they’re coming.

“Five minutes,” Leah confirms. “Rafe’s flight from Paris was late getting in.”

I hate that he’s coming with us, but I’d never say so to Marlowe. I just keep hoping she’ll realize she can do much better than a phony charmer with a French accent and a questionable past. And yes, I had Gordon, our director of security, look into the guy and didn’t like some of what he uncovered, especially the part about his ex-wife claiming he was violent with her during divorce proceedings. He was never actually charged, but somehow Gordon found out about it, telling me it’s not something that would be revealed in a routine search, which I’ve also done.

In order to bring this info to Marlowe, I’d need to confess to having had her boyfriend investigated. No one else knows I did that, not even Natalie, who’d be pissed with me for butting into Marlowe’s life. But with every instinct I have telling me the guy is no good, I have no regrets about having Gordon take a look at him. Rather than start an international incident with one of my best friends at Christmas, I’ve decided to take a wait-and-see approach. I’m living proof that people can grow and mature over time, and I want to give Rafe the benefit of the doubt for Marlowe’s sake. I hope I’m wrong about him.

Marlowe comes up the stairs and onto the plane, red-faced and out of breath from the dash through the airport. Unfortunately, Rafe is right behind her, equally winded and red-faced.

“So sorry to hold you all up.” His English heavily accented with French inflections. “All my fault.”

It’s telling that none of us have anything to say to him. I wonder if she notices that or if she’s so besotted, she can’t see the forest through the proverbial trees. He’s been in France the last three weeks, and she’s been looking forward to his return while the rest of us dreaded it. Our only hope is that she grows tired of him before she does something stupid like marry him. God forbid. Hayden and I would have to be held back from throwing ourselves between the two of them before they could say “I do.”

“Let’s go.” I signal that we’re ready to the steward who will keep us in cocktails and snacks for the flight. He notifies the pilots, and a few minutes later, we’re taxiing out to the runway.

My anxiety is through the roof. I want everything to be perfect for Nat, including the flight. With everyone else in high spirits, I try to relax and enjoy the time with my favorite people. But as it turns out, I was right to be anxious.

The flight is super bumpy from the minute we take off, and the atmosphere onboard the plane becomes much more subdued when the pilots ask us—and the steward who was supposed to keep us in booze—to remain seated. Fuck. I hate this. I can handle takeoff and landing like a pro, but turbulence freaks me out. There’s no breakdown lane up here, and as we bounce around, I fear I might get sick.

“Babe.”

I look over to find Natalie paler than usual. She doesn’t like this any more than I do, but she’s calmer than I am.

She looks me in the eye. “Breathe.”

I take a couple of deep breaths that help to calm me ever so slightly.

The plane hits a big bump.

“Fuck,” Hayden mutters.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

“Flynn.”

I look over at him and lift my chin. Addie has her eyes closed and her lips are moving, as if she’s praying.

“Should we be doing this?” Hayden asks.

“I assume the pilots will tell us if we need to divert or turn back.”

Imagine the headlines if the five Quantum principals go down in a plane together. Jesus. That’s a cheery thought. I hold on tight to Natalie’s hand and offer a few prayers of my own as we bump and roll through the clouds for more than an hour before we hear from the pilot again.

“Sorry for the rough ride, folks. We’re not finding any smooth air up here, and we’re hearing it’s going to get worse the closer we get to Aspen.”

I can’t imagine it getting any worse than it is right now.

“We’re going to land and figure out a plan. Sorry about the inconvenience.”

At this point, inconvenience is the least of my concerns. We begin to descend, and the turbulence gets even worse. It’s so bad, I wonder how the plane doesn’t disintegrate. Behind me, Aileen and the kids are crying. Kristian tries to comfort them, but I can hear panic in his voice that fuels my own.

This fucking sucks.

Every minute feels like an hour as we move through dark, stormy clouds. Just when I think I can’t take it for another second, we break through the clouds and the ground appears, shrouded in fog and mist. I have no idea where we are, but I’ve never been so happy to see the ground. Five minutes later, the pilots execute a flawless landing.

As relief floods my system, the others cheer.

“Thank God,” Natalie whispers.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. I may never fly again after that.

The PA system crackles to life. “Welcome to Saint George, Utah, where the local time is four oh two p.m.”

I look across the aisle. “Addison.”

Addie leans forward so she can see around Hayden.

“What do we know about Saint George, Utah?”

“Nothing yet, but I’ll get right on it.”

She whips out her iPhone and starts clicking away.

I turn my attention to Natalie. “Sorry about this, sweetheart. It’s not exactly what I had planned.”

“It’s an adventure, and what does it matter where we are? We’re all together, and we’re alive. There’s a lot to be said for that.”

“Indeed, there is.” I decide right then and there to let go of my plans and preconceived notions about the perfect Christmas and let it unfold in whatever way it’s meant to. I’m with Natalie, my sister and my closest friends, and we were safe after a harrowing flight. I couldn’t care less what happens next.