Enchanted (The Accidental Billionaires #4)(6)

He hadn’t answered my call or my texts.

So I’d just . . . showed up.

I’ll play it by ear and see how everything goes. Maybe Owen did kind of set me up, but I don’t have to let that ruin this whole experience. Noah needs this vacation, and apparently he needs someone to help him get out and enjoy it.

As much as I was angry about how Owen had handled the situation, I was still worried about Noah.

At one time, the eldest Sinclair brother had meant something to me as an older mentor.

I wasn’t about to break my promise to try to get him to relax and pull his head out of his work.

Cancún was the perfect place for a person to lose themselves and shake off tension. The city was almost . . . magical.

The beautiful turquoise waters.

The warm breezes.

The gorgeous white sand.

And the food . . . OMG, the food.

I smiled. Generally, the cuisine was always a priority for me.

Just thinking about fresh fish tacos was making my mouth water, and we weren’t even in the air yet.

No doubt I’d return to the US after two weeks in Mexico with another few extra pounds attached to my already ample hips, but it would be worth it.

Maybe it wasn’t fair that a foodie like me tended to gain weight just by smelling something amazing, but it was fact. My already curvy body was probably about to get just a little bit curvier in the Mexican Riviera Maya.

Honestly, I’d stopped sweating the few extra pounds I carried a long time ago, so I blew off the thought of a slightly bigger ass. It was just the way my body was put together, and I loved to eat. I was fit, and that was all that mattered. Once I’d become a writer on travel cuisine, I’d given up fighting to keep the extra pounds off my hips. Truth was, I liked food way too much to worry about cutting back.

If I weighed being thinner on one side of a balance scale, and a plate of tacos on the other, the spicy food was going to win out every time.

“Welcome aboard, Ms. Lawrence,” the smiling redheaded flight attendant said as I entered the jet. “My name is Nita. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your flight with us more comfortable.”

“Thank you.” I smiled back at her, relieved that at least the flight crew had been notified that I was coming. “I’m excited about the trip.”

“You can have a seat anywhere and fasten your seat belt. We’re taking off shortly. Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.

“I can wait,” I answered as I brushed by her to get into the interior of the plane.

I had an approximately six-hour flight ahead of me. I could get something after takeoff.

I stopped short as I entered the seating area, completely astounded as I looked around Eli Stone’s private jet.

Holy! Shit!

My own parents were millionaires just like I was, so it wasn’t like I hadn’t ever flown private. On the rare occasions when I’d gone somewhere with my parents when I was younger, we’d always used a charter.

I’d just never gone private quite like this.

To say the aircraft was luxurious would be an understatement. The stunning décor reminded me of a luxury floating home in the sky.

There was a bar, with a table and comfy-looking chairs if one wanted to be seated at a table. The artfully arranged couches, both large and small, made up another seating area next to that one. The carpet was plush and spotless. It was a space made to be calming and comfortable for its owners.

Behind, there were reclining leather seats that would put anything first class on a commercial airliner to shame.

It was there that I saw Noah Sinclair taking up space in one of those padded recliners, his head down in his computer.

I slipped into a buttery-soft leather chair next to Noah and took a deep breath. I left one seat between us for comfort, but it really wasn’t necessary since the seats were well spaced apart. It wasn’t like being crammed into seats shoulder to shoulder on a commercial flight.

I loved the smell of leather, and the seat didn’t disappoint. I took a deep breath and let the scent soothe me.

I adored flying, because I knew it was always going to take me away to someplace new and exciting.

I looked at Noah, astonished because he hadn’t even seemed to notice my presence.

Is the man completely oblivious and deaf?

I fastened my seat belt with a lot more noise and ruckus than was really necessary for a seasoned traveler like me.

I coughed gently.

I fumbled around in my purse, looking for my e-reader.

I chatted with Nita as she passed by while we taxied.

I let out an enormous sigh when we were finally in the air, and I put my feet up in the recliner.

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

It was like Noah hadn’t even seen me or heard me.

He was still completely focused on his work.

“Um . . . Noah?” I said carefully.

No answer.

Louder, I queried, “Noah?”

Still nothing.

I took a moment to observe him. Even though I’d left plenty of space between the two of us, it wasn’t difficult to see the signs of wear on his handsome face, but I was also mesmerized by the look of intense concentration that I’d never seen before.

Granted, I meditated, but I still had some awareness of my surroundings.

It was like Noah didn’t notice anything happening around him at all.