The Bridesmaid by Julia London Page A

later, Kate sat with her arms folded tightly across her, mildly annoyed at the number of times Joe chuckled. If he was going to book a flight, she didn’t see why he didn’t just book it instead of chatting on and on with Brenda, whoever she was, who was probably old enough to be his mother.
    “Okay, we’ll book Kate onto that flight,” he said. “Hold on.” He covered his phone. “What’s your last name, anyway?”
    “Preston.”
    “Preston,” he said into the phone. “Just put it on my account. And yeah, I’ll take the next one.”
    “What next one? You’re not flying with me?” Kate asked.
    Joe grabbed her hand and wrapped his fingers around hers, holding it against his rock-hard thigh. “Great. Thanks, Brenda. I owe you those Maroon 5 tickets.”
    Rats. Maroon 5 was not a grandma band.
    Joe clicked off and beamed at Kate, squeezing her hand. “You’re booked on the last seat of that flight tonight, Kate Preston.”
    She gasped. “Are you kidding?”
    “Would I kid about something like that? Yes, for real.”
    “What about you?”
    “I’m going tomorrow. But I don’t have to be there until Monday. You needed to be there yesterday.”
    He was smiling. He was happy to have arranged it. Kate made herself smile. “Thank you. I owe you. Again.”
    “Not to worry,” he said. He looked at her strangely. “What’s the matter? I thought you’d be happy.”
    “I am ,” she said, nodding adamantly. “I just…” Really like you. Sorta don’t want this to end. Want to write a sitcom about two people who meet on a plane…
    Kate looked away from his silvery blue eyes. “You know what? I don’t think that tuna-fish sandwich was a good idea.”
    He laughed. “It was a horrible idea. I’m going to book a hotel room. After that, I’ll take you on in Words with Friends if you’re up to it.”
    Kate jerked her gaze to him. “Oh, I’m up to it,” she said, digging out her phone. “I am so up to it.”
    ***
    The hours, she was sad to note, flew by as they played Words with Friends until Joe lost juice in his phone. By that time, they were nearing the Phoenix station, slightly ahead of schedule. Joe had taken care of everything, including transport to the airport, and refused all of her efforts to repay him.
    They arrived at the airport in a transport van—Joe, Kate, their bags, and a crumpled pink garment bag. Kate didn’t have the heart to look at the bridesmaid dress now. She could see that one side of it wasn’t as poufy as it had been starting out and shuddered to think what else had happened in there.
    Joe got out with her, helped her with her bags. “So,” he said, shoving his hands through his hair. “I guess this is it.”
    “I guess so,” Kate said. She tried to smile. “I don’t know your last name,” she said.
    “Firretti,” he said.
    “Firretti,” she repeated, savoring the name a moment. “It sounds so…”
    “Intelligent?” he offered.
    Kate laughed. “I was going to say sporty.”
    Joe smiled.
    “So… you’re moving to Seattle.”
    “I am. And you’re staying in New York.”
    “Yeah,” she said softly.
    Joe touched her cheek with his knuckle. “I have to say, although you suck at navigating, I can’t imagine a better partner in this little jaunt across the country.”
    That made Kate feel warm and tingly all over. “And I should say that although you’re a terrible armrest hog, I’m really glad you ended up next to me.”
    Joe stroked her cheek, touched her earlobe, then reluctantly dropped his hand. “Take care, Kate. Call me if you need anything.”
    “Okay… but your phone is dead.”
    “Right. I’m going to charge it at the airport Hilton,” he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “In about thirty minutes, it will be good to go. So, call me if something comes up.”
    “Okay,” she said weakly. “You should call me, too. I can give you some tips about Seattle if you need them.”
    “I’ll do that,” he promised.
    There was