Page 67 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
CLAIRE
Ipaced Norah and Tony’s room. I felt like I was losing my mind. Never before in my life had I ever felt so helpless. There was absolutely nothing I could do to get him home safe. I couldn’t go looking for him. I couldn’t call and check on him. Nothing. This was the worst feeling ever.
I considered going back to my room. Norah and Tony were trying to keep me occupied, and I appreciated it, but it wasn’t working. And I was sure they had more important things to do.
The door opened and Norah stepped inside. “Anything?” I asked.
She held up a paper cup I assumed to be coffee. “Nothing yet.”
Tony walked through the door carrying a couple of to-go boxes. “I brought fortification.”
I sipped the coffee. “I should call the airport again.”
Tony pulled out his cellphone. The frown on his face was not good news. “Shit.”
“Shit? What? What does that mean?” I was frantic. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t have any service.”
Norah and I both went for our phones. “Me either,” Norah said.
“What if he’s tried to call and can’t get through?” I asked. “What if there was an accident and he can’t get help?”
“Relax,” Tony said. “Planes have those radar things. They can be found anywhere.”
That wasn’t exactly comforting. “We’ll use the landline,” I said.
“Good thinking,” Tony said. “Beauty and brains.”
I waved at the phone to get him to get moving. He had become the point person. I was grateful for him stepping up. I knew I would be calling the airport every three minutes and driving the people crazy. I waited, hanging on every word of the conversation once again.
He turned and shook his head after he hung up. “Nothing. He’ll call the room if he hears anything.”
I sank into a chair. “Every minute that goes by with no information makes me fear the worst.”
“Why don’t we go over the music list for the DJ?” Norah suggested.
She was trying to distract me. They were doing everything they could for me. “Sure,” I said.
It wasn’t long before the phone rang. I jumped and almost puked. Tony was on the phone in a flash. Once again, Norah and I were hanging on every word. Tony hung up and turned to smile at me. “He’s on the ground.”
“In one piece?”
He laughed. “Dark. Really dark. He’s in one piece. He landed a few minutes ago. They’re working on getting him a ride here. The guy said they were going to have someone bring him over in one of the airport trucks.”
I damn near dropped to the floor. I couldn’t believe how relieved I felt. I wasn’t even officially with this guy, and I was worried sick about him. “Thank God.”
Then the lights went out. “What the hell?” Norah groaned.
“No power and no cell phones,” I muttered. “We’re heading straight into hell.”
There was a light by the door and another plugged into the wall. “This is kind of exciting,” Tony said.
I shot him a dirty look. “You might think so, but Ryan is out there.”
“The airport isn’t far,” Norah said. “He’ll be here soon.”
“I should wait for him,” I said. “Thank you for hanging out with me all night. I’m going to go.”
