he shook his head. He had to stop thinking about Julia Chance.
He wanted nothing to do with her.
Julia’s eyes fluttered open and she stared around her, not sure why she was on a plane. Until her gaze collided with the broad-shouldered man next to her. Nick Rampling.
She straightened up, worried her sleeping might have made her look weak. Around Nick, she had to be careful about how she came off. After all, he was obviously a man of the world, experienced in all things.
All things…
She wasn’t experienced in that way, either. Not that Nick would ever find out. She’d gotten engaged in college and her fiancé had tried to force her into bed with him. But she’d resisted and had broken off the engagement.
When she felt Nick moving beside her, she stretched. “I’m sorry. Did I miss anything?”
“No. You must not have slept well last night.”
Julia looked away. “No, I was worried about my mother.”
“Are you worried about whether she’ll appreciate your concern?”
“No. I know she’ll appreciate it.”
“Trust me, Julia, I can tell you from experience, your mother will not want your interference. My father never does.”
Julia gathered her courage. “You make it sound as if he elopes every week.”
“Not quite that often.” Nick shrugged. “But I’ll admit this is the first time he’s ever chosen an older woman. However, if your mother looks anything like you, I’m not surprised.”
“I suppose you think I should be flattered, Nick, but I’m not. In order to marry her, a man should feel more than admiration for a woman’s looks. Looks fade. Her soul is always there.”
“And you think my father is in love with your mother’s soul? Right.” He looked as if he were about to laugh.
“Yes, I do, because my mother wouldn’t marry a man just because he flatters her.”
Her chin was in the air. She was not going to allow him to destroy what her mother must be feeling now. That was the very reason she was along on the trip to Los Angeles.
Turning toward the window, she ignored Nick. His opinion of his father’s behavior wasn’t encouraging. But she was relying on her mother’s behavior. She knew her mother would not be with Abe Rampling if she didn’t believe that she loved him…and that he loved her.
At fifty-two, Lois Chance was young enough to start a new life, but still old-fashioned enough to not sleep around with strange men interested only in a fling. She was a levelheaded woman who would have to have a good reason to do something impetuous.
The flight attendant brought warm, damp towels, much to Julia’s surprise. She watched Nick clean his hands with the towel, so she did the same and found it delightfully refreshing. The redhead took back the towels and returned with small cups of warm nuts.
They were Julia’s favorite. As she ate them, she looked over her shoulder and discovered that the door to the coach section was closed. “Are we the only ones receiving the towelettes and the nuts?”
“Yeah. They’ve got to give us some reason for paying the higher prices,” Nick said with a grin. When she stopped eating, he asked, “What’s wrong. Don’t you like them?”
“Yes, I do,” Julia said. “But don’t you feel bad eating in front of the others?”
He looked around with a frown. “Who? They’re all eating their nuts.”
“But not the passengers in coach,” she pointed out.
“Damn it, Julia, they don’t care about warm nuts if they get cheaper airfare!”
Julia nodded and ate another nut. But the difference in coach and first class still bothered her. “Are they being served anything?”
“They get a snack!” Nick snapped at her as if he’d had enough.
Why did he always seem to get irritated whenever she asked anything?
She stopped asking questions, stopped talking altogether.
When the meal was served, she ate her baked chicken in silence.
After a moment, Nick said, “Are you pouting?”
Julia looked up in surprise. “Why would you think that?”
He glared at her. “You stopped asking those ridiculous questions.”
“I don’t think concern for others is ridiculous. But it was obvious I was irritating you, so I stopped.” She took another bite of chicken and stared at the seat in front of her.
“Just like that? Because you figure out you’re irritating me?”
“Is that a problem?” she asked stiffly.
He stared at her before he said, “No. Not a problem. And I’m sorry I was so…impatient with you. I’m not used to having my lifestyle questioned.”
“I didn’t mean—Obviously I owe you an apology, too. It wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable. But our lifestyles, as you put it, are quite different.”
She was still avoiding his gaze. She almost jumped out of her seat when his warm hand settled on her arm. “W-What?”
He withdrew his hand at once. “I was trying to apologize,” he said.
“Not necessary. We have a deal. That’s all there is between us. I’m trying to make it as painless as it can be for both of us.”
Her response irritated Nick even more. What made her so perfect? She didn’t think they had anything personal going on? Why did she think he had let her come along? He could’ve managed without the information from her. True, he thought it might help to keep her mother under control if he had her along. But he could’ve managed just fine on his own!
She couldn’t be real, anyway. No woman worried about those less fortunate than herself when she was flying first class. At least, no woman he’d ever been with.
He figured she was putting on a show to convince him her mother wasn’t after their money. But she could give that up. He knew better than to buy her act.
When the flight attendant came to remove their meal trays, Nick realized Julia hadn’t finished. “Didn’t you like your lunch?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then why did you let her take your tray before you’d finished?”
She drew a deep breath. “I didn’t want to cause trouble.”
He closed his eyes, then opened them to stare at Julia. “Honey, you paid for first class. You can tell her to leave your tray until you finish.”
She
