Chapter 12

No wonder the flight attendants were so upset when they heard he got married, Fred thought.

Lucas continued down the checklist. “Standard instrument departure?”

“Set up done.”

“Visual meteorological conditions?”

“Clear.”

“Visibility?”

“14.8km flight visibility; clear of clouds; ceiling at 5700 feet AGL.”

After going through the checklist, Nancy came to the cockpit and reported, “Captain Nolan, all passengers have boarded. Here’s the list.”

Nancy had flown with Lucas enough to know he was very particular about the details. She handed him the passenger list she had confirmed earlier.

Many pilots wouldn’t even bother checking the passenger list, but Lucas insisted on doing so to minimize the possibility of unwanted accidents.

“Do the passengers look healthy?” Lucas flipped through the passenger list idly. When he spotted Ashlyn’s name, his lips curved up in a faint smile.

Finally, the plane was cleared on the runway for takeoff.

Lucas steered the plane onto the runway and sped up. The plane eventually lifted off and climbed steeply into the sky.

Right then, Ashlyn rested her chin on her palm and stared out the window at the clouds. After a while, her eyelids started to droop.

It’s so boring here. Why did he insist on asking me to come?

The cockpit was right ahead of her seat.

She imagined how Lucas was steering the plane in the cockpit with quick yet steady hands. Hmm, that sounds cool, she thought as her heart skipped a beat.

The plane had reached its cruising altitude, so the cabin crew relaxed and started chattering. The flight attendants had flown with Lucas a few times and knew Spencer was his assistant.

“Hey, is that Mr. White’s girlfriend?”

“She’s quite pretty. When they both boarded the plane, Mr. White waited on her carefully. He even asked me for a blanket so he could place it on her lap.”

“Is Mr. White that thoughtful and gentle? Wow, I wonder if Captain Nolan is this soft when he’s with his wife.”

“Well, you can ask him. He’s in the cockpit.”

“Of course not. Captain Nolan is too stern.”

The other flight attendants immediately cracked up.z Jenny came over and spotted the others laughing merrily. “Why are you guys laughing?” she inquired.

“Hey, Jenny. I dare you to ask Captain Nolan something.” The flight attendant inched nearer to her.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. They were fooling around.” Nancy nudged that flight attendant and glared at her.

Everyone here knew Jenny was infatuated with Captain Nolan for years.

Realization dawned on the flight attendant who hurriedly added, “We were talking about Mr. White’s girlfriend. We wanted to ask if Captain Nolan knows about his girlfriend, but we don’t have the guts to do so.”

“Oh, I see.” Jenny smiled and said nothing else.

At that moment, the captain’s voice rang through the speakers.

Lucas’ familiar voice was broadcasted over the system. It was a deep, husky, and masculine voice.

After English, he repeated his announcement in French once again. This was the first time Ashlyn had ever heard him speak in French.

His pronunciation was perfect and fluent.

Ashlyn leaned on the window and looked out at the starry night sky as she listened to his announcement.

Strangely, her heart fluttered as she imagined him working as Captain Nolan.

She couldn’t help but recall how sexy and husky his voice sounded in her ears when they used to spend passionate nights together. Her ears heated and reddened at that thought.