She took a deep breath and then another, battling her way through the unreasonable fear. Everyone told her it was safer to fly than to drive, but even knowing that was true didn’t do a damn thing to alleviate her fear.

“Are you okay?” Avery asked.

“Mmm.”

“You don’t look okay. You’re kind of green.”

“Can’t talk.” Sam pulled her hand out from under his and crossed her arms. She’d never understand how anyone managed to sleep on an airplane.

“You want to hear about the worst flight I was ever on? This one is nothing compared to that. It’ll make you feel better.”

She shrugged. She didn’t really want to hear about it but was desperate for any sort of distraction.

He told her about flying into a typhoon in the South Pacific, how the plane was repeatedly struck by lightning and how he’d been certain they were all going to die. At one point the plane lost ten thousand feet in altitude in the span of three seconds. People were screaming, stuff was flying around in the cabin and the pilots were urging everyone to remain calm.

“As if,” he said. “We were anything but calm.” He continued to regale her with hideous flying stories from his years in the military as they climbed to cruising altitude, where they found slightly smoother air. His South Carolinian accent was nothing short of lyrical, and listening to him gave her something to do besides freak out.

Sam was amazed to realize she had calmed down somewhat as he described the many ways the flight could be worse. “Thanks,” she said, looking over at him tentatively.

He studied her with honey-brown eyes that were filled with concern and affection. She wanted neither from him, so she sat up straighter in her seat and turned toward the window rather than look at him. Thankfully, he took the hint, and they passed the remainder of the flight in silence.

Sam had never been so glad to get off a plane in her life, including the thirteen-hour flight to Bora Bora. She choked back a groan thinking of how she’d be doing that flight again at the end of the month. At least they’d be on Air Force Two, which was a much bigger plane, and she was never as frightened to fly when Nick was with her.

They walked up the Jetway and into the terminal, where a woman let out a shriek at the sight of her. Fantastic.

“You! You’re the second lady! Oh my God, Henry! Get the camera.”

Sam kept walking, but the woman gave chase and took a photo of her that had to include Avery as he was walking right next to her. Doubly fantastic. Thanks to the scene the woman had made, other people jumped on the bandwagon, snapping photos and screaming and yelling and other obnoxious things that made her grimace.