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Matteo’s secretary had contacted Phoebe for her passport number and checked them both in online As soon as they’d stepped out of the car the noise of the airport had overwhel The chatter of people arriving or leaving The thu of cases The toot of taxis

It was like a roaring in her ears

Matteo, of course, seemed oblivious He steered her to the priority security line and then in the direction of the first-class lounge First class They were flying first class Of course they were

She’d never been in a first-class lounge before It was luxurious and open, but bright and friendly with decadent décor and dra The seats were comfortable and the service impeccable

But the lounge had a mezzanine level with views across the airport If she was sitting down, the bottolass was smoked But when she stood upshe could see all the planes sitting at their gates, with others taxiing to and from the runways

Which hy her heart was currently in hernext to her

It was ridiculous It was irrational And she knew all that

Over the course of her life she’d been on dozens of flights But ever since Jason had died, just the glimpse of a plane made her uncomfortable

Right now, her skin was itching, her breath catching so inside her chest

She stood up and“Excuse me”

With her head fixed firht prints she made her way to the ladies’ room

The bright lights and white tiles were a relief Phoebe splashed some water on her face and took some deep breaths They’d be due to board any

Phoebe stared at the pills in her hand She’d never taken anything like this before