Dad laughs. ‘I don’t get courtesy cars like this from my garage.’

Jesse smiles and leads me to the passenger side, pushing me down gently and buckling me in before adjusting the lap belt. I bat his hands away, earning myself a growl. ‘I’m not incapable.’ I mutter.

‘No, you’re very capable,’ he narrows annoyed eyes on me. ‘of driving me fucking nuts!’

‘You drive yourself nuts.’ I retort, pushing him away and shutting the door. I let the window down. ‘Bye!’ I blow my parents a kiss and watch as Jesse shakes hands with my dad and kisses my mum chastely on the cheek before making his way around the front of the car, drilling holes into me through the window as he does.

He slips in and starts the engine. ‘This weekend will be a lot more pleasant if you do as you’re told.’ he grumbles, pulling away from my parent’s house.

I wave them goodbye and turn in my seat to face him. ‘I can put a seatbelt on.’

‘But I want to do it.’ he mutters sullenly. ‘It’s my job.’

‘To put my seatbelt on?’ I laugh.

‘Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, lady.’ He starts flicking a few switches on the steering wheel. ‘It’s my job to look after you. No sickness this morning?’

‘No.’ I sigh. ‘You shoving a ginger biscuit in my mouth the second I woke up took care of that.’ I quip, bolting upright when the car stereo kicks in and Mr JT himself joins us. I turn eyes mixed with surprise and amusement to Jesse. He knows that I’m looking at him, but he’s ignoring it. ‘You had them put this CD in, didn’t you?’ I’m using every ounce of willpower not to grin.

He frowns at the road. ‘Don’t be stupid.’

‘You did. On the special request part of the form that you completed, you wrote… Please load the disc player with Justin.’ I pause. ‘Did you put a love heart and a few kisses on it, too?’ I’m most certainly grinning now.

He slowly turns un-amused eyes to me. ‘Do you think you’re funny?’

‘Yes.’ I reach forward and crank the volume up, and then start jigging in my seat, singing along and generally taking the piss out of my JT fanatical God. ‘Hey!’ I yelp when his fingers squeeze my hipbone and the music is suddenly low again. ‘I was enjoying that.’

‘You should. He’s a very talented man.’ Jesse states earnestly.

‘You’re a very talented man.’

‘I know.’ He shrugs. ‘We have a lot in common. He’s a great guy.’

‘You’ve met him?’

‘No, he keeps putting his requests in, but I’m too busy.’ It’s him concealing a grin now.

I laugh, and he slips his wayfarers on, but not before giving me a wink and a little jiggle of his shoulders.

Laidback Jesse. God, I love this man.

* * *

Jesse takes us on an adventure around the airport, dipping and weaving past cars, taking turns in the wrong direction and generally just seeming like he has no idea where he’s going. I watch the sign for the airport car park go sailing past my window and frown to myself. Then I look at the clock. It’s eleven thirty and we’re supposed to be flying in half an hour. We haven’t checked in, done security or anything.

‘Shit!’ I blurt, grabbing my bag up from the floor.

‘Ava, mouth! What’s up?’ He takes a corner too hard, and my hand shoots out to steady myself on the door.

‘Will you take it easy?’ I snap irritably. Would now be a good time to point out that his driving is stupid?

‘Ava, there’s no place you’re safer than in a car with me. What’s the matter?’ He doesn’t look at me, so he can’t appreciate the look of disbelief on my face, but then I swiftly remember why I was oh shitting in the first place.

‘My passport.’ I say, diving into my bag, looking in complete vain because I know it’s not in here. I didn’t put it in here, and my rummaging slows when I realise exactly where my passport is. He’ll go spare. ‘I’ve left my passport in my box of junk.’ I tell him, mentally cursing myself for not sorting that box out yet.

He reaches forward and flips the glove compartment open. ‘No you haven’t, but you have forgotten to get your name changed, Miss O’Shea.’ He drops it on my lap and tosses me a reproachful look.

‘So I’m travelling a single?’ I ask, opening it up and admiring my maiden name.

‘Shut up, Ava.’ He screeches to a stop and jumps out, making quick work of getting around to my side and opening my door. I would have done it myself, but I’m just staring out of the windscreen with my mouth slightly agape. ‘Come on.’

I look up as a well suited and booted man approaches with a man in a captain’s uniform. My passport is whipped from my grasp, hands are shook, paperwork and signatures are exchanged, and then our luggage is removed from the boot.

‘Are you going to sit there all day, lady?’ He holds his hand out to me, and I take it automatically, letting him pull me from the car.

‘What’s that?’ I ask, nodding at the toy-like plane sitting a few yards away from us.

‘That’s a plane.’ There is humour in his voice. I’m pulled towards the jet, not feeling any more enthusiastic as we get closer because it’s not getting any bigger, and I’m not filled with any further confidence when Jesse has to dip to enter the damn thing to avoid smacking his head. I halt on the ridiculously small amount of steps that will have me boarding, and Jesse turns to see what’s keeping me when our arms are pulled taut between us. ‘Ava?’

‘I’m not getting on that thing.’ I’m attacked by an unreasonable bout of fear. I’ve never been afraid of flying, but this little plane is really pumping the anxiety through my veins. I feel a little breathless, too.

He smiles, but frowns at the same time. ‘Of course you are.’ My arm is tugged gently, encouragingly, but I’m not shifting. In fact, I’m backing away. ‘Ava, you’ve never said you’re scared of flying.’ He re-dips and stands up straight, back on the outside of the jet.

‘I’m not. In big planes. Why are we not going on a big plane?’ I look behind me and see heaps of big planes. ‘Why can’t we go on one of those?’

‘Because they’re probably not going where we need them to.’ he says softly. I feel my arm go lax in front of me from where he’s getting closer, and then his palm is on my cheek. ‘It’s perfectly safe.’ he assures me, pulling my face away from all of the big planes that I’d like to board instead. I don’t care if they’re not going where we need them to. I’ll go wherever they take me.

‘It doesn’t look safe.’ I glance past him and see a perfectly positioned woman with perfectly styled hair, perfect make-up and a perfect smile. ‘It looks too small.’

‘Ava,’ His soft, re-assuring voice pulls my eyes back to his. He’s smiling down at me. ‘This is me, your possessive, unreasonable, over-protective control freak.’ He kisses me gently. ‘Do you really think I’d willingly put you in danger?’