Chương 2
Not when his arm became stiff.
Not when Fiona shifted.
Not when the flight attendant passed.
He simply stayed there.
Blaire told herself she would move after a few minutes.
Then five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Then the exhaustion she had been carrying for months finally won.
She fell asleep.
When Blaire opened her eyes, sunlight filled the airplane window.
For several seconds, she forgot where she was.
Then she noticed Luca.
He was still beside her.
“You stayed still the entire time?” she whispered.
He glanced at his shoulder.
“I was afraid moving would wake you.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“Probably.”
She sat up quickly.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
“My daughter probably crushed your arm.”
“She has a stronger negotiation style than most executives I know.”
Blaire almost laughed.
Almost.
Then the plane touched down.
Passengers stood, reaching for bags and checking messages.
The ordinary chaos of arrival filled the cabin.
Blaire gathered Fiona's things.
She was halfway through putting on Fiona's jacket when a flight attendant approached Luca.
“Mr. Sterling, your security team has arrived.”
Blaire froze.
The name hit her before she understood why.
Sterling.
Her own last name.
A coincidence.
That was what she told herself.
The flight attendant continued.
“Your driver is waiting.”
Luca looked at Blaire.
For the first time since they met, he seemed uncertain.
“You really do not know who I am.”
Blaire slowly shook her head.
“No.”
He looked toward the open plane door.
Then back at her.
“My name is Luca Sterling.”
Her fingers tightened around Fiona's jacket.
“That is impossible.”
“It is not.”
“Sterling?”
“Yes.”
The surname sat between them.
A name Blaire had carried through marriage.
A name that had become complicated after David.
A name she had never connected to the stranger beside her.
Outside the plane, several people waited.
Not reporters.
Not fans.
Professionals.
Men and women who moved with quiet purpose.
Blaire watched them approach Luca.
The same man who had joked about a stuffed rabbit.
The same man whose shoulder she had slept on.
Now people stepped aside for him.
Luca lowered his voice.
“I am sorry.”
“For what?”
“For not telling you sooner.”
Blaire looked at him.
“Who are you?”
His expression tightened.
“I am the founder of Sterling Horizon.”
She had heard the name.
Everyone had.
The company appeared in business magazines.
Technology.
Finance.
Infrastructure.
A company large enough that politicians mentioned it.
A company attached to the richest private fortune in America.
Blaire stared at him.
“You are Luca Sterling?”
“Yes.”
The answer was quiet.
Almost uncomfortable.
Not proud.
Not dramatic.
Just true.
Before she could respond, her phone rang.
The number was one she had blocked three weeks earlier.
David.
Blaire ignored it.
Then it rang again.
Luca noticed.
“You do not have to answer.”
She looked at the screen.
A message appeared.
I know where you are.
The warmth disappeared from her face.
Because David had not known her flight details.
He should not have known.
Blaire looked up at Luca.
And for the first time since boarding the plane, she wondered if the stranger beside her was not the biggest surprise waiting after landing.
Maybe he was only the beginning.
Blaire looked at the screen again.
I know where you are.
The message had no explanation.
No question.
No attempt to pretend it was casual.
David had always been good at making threats sound like observations.
Her fingers went cold around the phone.
Luca noticed the change immediately.
“Is everything okay?”
The question was simple.
Blaire almost answered yes.
She almost performed the old habit.
The one she had developed during her marriage.
Everything is fine.
I am just tired.
It is not a big deal.
But Fiona shifted in her arms, pressing her cheek against Blaire’s shoulder, and something inside her resisted saying those words again.
“No,” she said quietly.
Luca waited.
He did not immediately offer solutions.
That surprised her more than anything.
Most people rushed to fill silence.
They gave advice.
They guessed.
They tried to fix things they barely understood.
Luca simply stood there while passengers moved around them.
“Is he the reason you left Chicago?” he asked.
Blaire looked at him sharply.
“How did you know I left Chicago?”
He glanced at the luggage tag hanging from her suitcase.
She followed his eyes.
For a second, she felt embarrassed.
Then she felt annoyed at herself for feeling embarrassed.
“I did not mean—”
“It is fine.”
But her voice had changed.
Luca noticed.
He lowered his tone.
“I am not asking because I am curious.”
“Then why?”
“Because someone knowing where you are when you did not tell them matters.”
The statement landed harder than she expected.
Blaire looked away.
The airport noise surrounded them.
Announcements echoed overhead.
Children cried.
People hugged after long trips.
A man nearby argued with someone on the phone about a delayed meeting.
The world kept moving.
That was the strange thing about pain.
Nobody stopped walking because your life had fallen apart.
“I did not tell him,” Blaire said.
Luca did not react dramatically.
He just nodded.
“Okay.”
“That is all you have to say?”
“What should I say?”
She almost laughed.
“I do not know.”
“That is usually a sign that people are expecting something impossible.”
His answer caught her off guard.
She studied him.
“You always talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like someone who has practiced every sentence before saying it.”
A faint smile touched his face.
“No.”
A pause.
“Only when I am nervous.”
Blaire looked at the billionaire surrounded by security personnel and found that answer strangely human.
“Nervous?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He glanced at her.
“Because I am about to explain something complicated to a woman who trusted me enough to sleep on my shoulder, and I am fairly certain she is currently deciding whether I am helpful or terrifying.”
Blaire wanted to deny it.
She did not.
Because he was right.
May you like
A security woman approached them.
“Mr. Sterling, we need to leave through the private exit.”
