Heart Surgeon in Portugal Read Free Page A

airline?
    He certainly looked the part in his dark navy suit (Armani? speculated Ellie who really didn’t have a clue about that sort of thing) and striped silk tie. Silver-monogrammed briefcase tucked under his arm and laptop case in hand, he was moving down the aisle toward her and she found herself wishing the spare seat – for evidently there must be one – was next to her.
    She tried to peer at the monogram stamped on to the black leather but it was upside down and half hidden by his jacket sleeve. Okay, he’s attractive: broad shouldered, really tall, looks fit . Thick dark wavy hair, lips a bit thin, labial lines quite pronounced … not a softie.
    Ellie was trying not to stare too obviously - not that it mattered since just about everyone was looking. Mr Big’s progress down the aircraft was being monitored all the way, the women’s gaze avid, the men’s speculative.
    Mr Big stopped by the one free aisle seat she hadn’t spotted, two rows forward on the right. He ought to have smiled apologetically at the passengers he had kept waiting. But the cabin might as well have been empty; mystery man was focused elsewhere, intent on his own thoughts and oblivious to the scrutiny he was arousing. Only one woman didn’t look up, engrossed in her own affairs.
    Then he was bending over his seat and Ellie couldn’t quite see … now he was taking off his jacket revealing a perfectly-pressed A and K striped shirt.
    Mrs Big back home probably spent hours ironing his gear to perfection!
    Now he’s opening the locker over his seat. But it’s absolutely crammed full of stuff so he’s trying another … and he’s trying another … The plane’s engines were revving to full throttle and she could see the man frowning in irritation. A steward had spotted his predicament and was hurrying down the long gangway to help him so he could get seated and let the plane soar into the skies. Ellie smirked naughtily then her hand flew to cover her mouth because he was looking right at her! Two paces and he was by her side.
    ‘Excuse me,’ he murmured, and the deepness of his voice reverberated in her head, triggering some faint memory which filled her eyes with sudden homesick tears. As the stranger leaned over her, stowing away his black leather case, the cabin lights were blotted out and on a reflex she looked up at him with eyes welling with those unshed tears. For the briefest moment he paused, frowning perplexedly down at her…
    Then, ‘Everything all right, sir?’ she heard the steward’s voice asking. And he was gone, leaving Ellie wishing she’d done the safe thing and stayed home in Richmond.
    ‘Cabin crew prepare for take-off,’ came the Captain’s voice over the inter-com. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we now have our slot.’
    Minutes later the aircraft began trundling out of its bay and then - gathering speed - it was moving down the runway.
    Her palms damp with a ridiculous fear, Ellie forgot everything until they were safely sky-high with the seatbelt signs switched off. Her throat felt like sandpaper and she badly needed a drink but there was no sign yet of a stewardess with the trolley. She did hope it was just the rather squashed position she was in and not that wretched glandular fever making her pulses throb and her palms turn slippery with perspiration. There was a bottle of still water in her plastic carrier overhead…
    She slithered out of her seat and into the aisle, standing on tiptoe to make up for her lack of inches and aware that her tee shirt was exposing a wealth of bare winter-white midriff as she delved deep in the locker interior, trying to feel along the edge of what felt like her red case. Her right hand was now grasping thin plastic so Ellie tugged and pulled – and a black monogrammed briefcase slid right over the edge and plummeted downward on top of the unsuspecting people in front.
    Ellie had excellent reactions – the driving examiner had commented on this when she almost put him through