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“What’s the problem with my seat?” Emma asked. “When I checked in, no one mentioned there being an issue.”

She was trying not to lose her patience with the attendant, but she wasn’t really in a good place. In a few hours, she would be far away from Addie, who truly was her best friend; Michael was terrific, but it wasn’t the same thing. Another part of her was struggling with how she felt about Nick, they had been through a lot and she felt like she left with no idea what her interactions with him were going to be.

“Unfortunately, the airline overbooked this flight and someone else had booked your seat before you.”

“Does this mean I can’t leave on this plane? I need to get home and I don’t have time to look for another flight.”

Emma was starting to get annoyed, but she didn’t want to lash out at the woman since she had nothing to do with the problem. The attendant asked her to wait a moment and disappeared to figure out exactly what was happening. When she returned, she directed Emma to follow her and proceeded to let her board the plane. Instead of heading to coach, the attendant turned left into the first-class section.

“Hold on,” Emma said as she stopped, “I don’t have enough money to pay for a first-class seat.”

“Don’t worry,” the attendant told her with a smile, “it’s all been taken care of.”

At this point, Emma just followed the woman as they entered first class. She was completely confused as to what had happened and how her ticket had already been paid for. There was no way she paid for it and the only one who would have would be Addie if she was on the flight; since that was not the case, she couldn’t figure out how she was getting that seat.

Emma wasn’t paying attention to anything around her until she got to the seat and was stunned to find someone she knew very well sitting there.

“Hi stranger.” Nick said with a laugh when he saw her face. “Welcome to first class.”

“What are you doing here?” Emma asked in surprise.

“Flying home.” Nick chuckled. “What are you doing here?”

Emma’s face turned red, it had been a stupid question to ask but when she saw his face, it was the only thing she could think of to say. She was caught off guard so much that all she could do was stand there in the aisle.

“Are you going to sit down?” Nick asked after a couple of minutes. “I think you need to be sitting for the plane to leave.”

“Sorry,” Emma said as she finally sat down and buckled her seatbelt. “I’m just a little surprised. How did you know I needed a seat?”

Nick explained that he had seen her in the waiting area when they were escorting him on privately and he arranged for her to have the seat next to him. When Emma asked how there was an extra seat, he blushed and admitted to her that he always purchased his seat as well as the one next to him; this way, he explained, he could have some peace and not have to deal with anyone beside him.

“Didn’t giving me the seat defeat the purpose?”

Nick smiled and assured her that he was fine with her sitting next to him. He explained that he usually fell asleep listening to music on the plane and promised her that he wouldn’t keep her distracted from the book she was reading. Although he wouldn’t have acknowledged it to her, he was actually happy that he had seen her, and he could get a little extra time being with her. He knew they were in an odd situation between being friends, being more than friends or just being acquaintances. Preferring one of the first two situations, he thought that maybe some extra time might help him figure out how he felt.

The pilot came on and quickly explained the direction they were taking, what the weather was in North Carolina and when their plane would arrive. The plane began backing out of the boarding area and the flight attendants were getting ready to start their drill of using safety equipment in case of a crash.

Nick looked over at Emma as they were talking and noticed that the color was draining from her face and she was gripping the arms of her seat as tightly as she could. Her eyes were closed, and she was whispering something to herself that he couldn’t hear. He was concerned about what was going on and lightly touched her arm to get her attention.

“Are you okay?” he asked when she looked over. “What’s wrong?”

“I absolutely hate flying,” she confessed, “I hate the thought of airplane crashes and just being off the ground scares the life out of me.”

Nick could feel the fear radiating off her and saw her experience something he had never seen. Normally, she was in control and easy going but this was a completely different side to her. In hopes of alleviating some of that panic, he took her hand, squeezed it and leaned in towards he ear. She started laughing when he began repeating what the attendance was saying in a Donald Duck accent. The woman gave her a dirty look, so Nick stopped; he could see that Emma was more relaxed and it made him feel better.

“Are you okay now?” he whispered.

“I am, thank you,” she replied with a smile. “I appreciate the humor.”

He smiled back and leaned back in his seat to get some sleep. Before nodding off, he told her to wake him if she got nervous or needed anything. She thanked him and settled in with her book as he fell asleep.