Janine arrived at the airport long before her flight was scheduled to leave. She spent an hour drinking coffee and leafing through fashion magazines, several of which she took with her to give to Pam later.

A cup of coffee in one hand, she approached the airline counter with her passport in the other. The bag she had draped over her shoulder accidentally collided with the man standing next to her. An automatic apology formed on her lips, but before she could voice it, that same man turned to face her.

“Zach,” she cried, nearly dropping her coffee in shock. “What are you doing here?”

CHAPTER FIVE

“You think this is intentional, don’t you?” Zach demanded. “It’s obvious you’re the one running after me. You found the note I slipped under your door and—”

“I checked out just before midnight so I couldn’t possibly have read your note,” she said angrily. “And furthermore I left a message for you.”

“I didn’t get it.”

“Then there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“To say the least,” Zach muttered. “A misunderstanding…” His tone was doubtful, as if he suspected she’d purposely arranged to fly home with him. She launched into an indignant protest.

“Excuse me, please.”

The interruption was from a uniformed airline employee who was leaning over the counter and waving in an effort to gain their attention.

“May I have your ticket and passport?” she asked Janine. “You’re holding up the line.”

“Of course. I’m sorry.” The best thing to do, she decided, was to ignore Zach completely. Just because they were booked on the same flight didn’t mean they had to have anything to do with each other. Evidently they’d both panicked after their encounter in the garden. He was as eager to escape as she was.

Okay, so she’d ignore him and he’d ignore her. She’d return to her life, and he’d return to his. From this point forward, they need never have contact with each other again. Then they’d both be satisfied.

The airline clerk punched something into her computer. “I can give you your seat assignment now,” she remarked, concentrating on the screen.

Standing on tiptoe, Janine leaned toward the woman and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Could you make sure I’m as far from Mr. Thomas’s seat as possible?”

“This flight is booked solid,” the attendant said impatiently. “The only reason you and your…friend were able to get seats was because of a last-minute cancellation. I’ll do the best I can, but I can’t rearrange everyone’s seat assignments just before the flight.”

“I understand,” Janine said, feeling foolish and petty. But the way her luck had been going, Zach would end up in the seat beside hers, believing she’d purposely arranged that, too.

They boarded the flight separately; in fact, Zach was one of the last passengers to step onto the plane.

By that time, Janine was settled in the second row of the first-class section, flipping through the in-flight magazine. Zach strolled past her, intent on the boarding pass clutched in his hand.