Beneath Your Beautiful: A Neighbors to Lovers Romance [COMPLETED]

1 - Love is in the air

Jaya was half-singing, half-Lamaze-breathing her way through her fourth rendition of "I Will Survive" when the passenger across the aisle shot her another side-eye. One that said 'I hope we crash just so you stop.'

What, not even an ounce of sympathy?

Jaya checked the timer on her smartphone: six hours and forty-four minutes until she was scheduled to appear on Trevor's late-night talk show.

But first, she needed to survive the flight. Her brother Gus, a Stanford-educated doctor, had advised her to stay off the Xanax, to take one "only if absolutely necessary." But one look at the slippery runway on takeoff, and she'd already taken two preemptively.

Four hours later, Jaya woke with a start when a meticulously groomed flight attendant poked her in the shoulder.

"Ye need to leave the plane." He talked in a thick Scottish accent, his gaze so scornful she tried not to shrivel in her seat.

Jaya gathered her belongings at snail speed.

"Guid cheerio the nou!" she said before she left the aircraft, saluting the flight attendant with a smirk that made the vein under his eye twitch.

Hah. It was good to be back in L.A.

The interview this evening would be her last before she could begin renovations on the fixer-upper she'd purchased before her departure.

When the driver pulled up in front of the studio where they recorded Trevor's show, Jaya's mind was still foggy from the sedative. Another glance at her phone confirmed she only had ten minutes to find her way back to reality.

Once inside, a pale woman in a red pantsuit and matching lipstick ushered Jaya through the narrow halls, telling her she'd be the last guest on the show.

Yes, thank you!

She threw a kiss up to the ceiling. At least she wouldn't have to feign interest in someone else's story. She was tired, jet-lagged, and still slightly high—not exactly the ideal state for a national television appearance.

"Our next guest is a sociologist and bestselling author who's here to talk about her latest book, the critically-acclaimed #PicturePerfect. Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to the very talented Jaya Lahiri."

Trevor Williams. That man had once given her the orgasm of a lifetime.

Jaya stalked toward the stage, which held a large, white leather couch and Trevor's desk. It had been almost six months since she'd seen him last. If his relationship status hadn't changed, maybe they could reenact that legendary night.

Yeah, right. She never went back for seconds, but that didn't stop her mind from fantasizing about it.

Jaya was undressing Trevor in her mind when she tripped over the step leading onto the platform. She would've fallen face-first into the lap of a dapper Noah Santino—male model extraordinaire—had he not reached out to steady her.

Dammit.

Because she still had some residual sedative in her system, Jaya shrugged off the incident and took a seat next to Noah.

"I guess that's why they call these 'killer heels,'" she said, showing off her shiny, crimson-red stilettos.

Trevor directed his dimpled smile at her. Like her brother Gus, he was Jamaican, but Trevor grew up in London and came to the States at twenty-one. The man had been unstoppable ever since, landing his own talk show three years later.

"Jaya just flew in from London," he told the audience before he returned his focus to her. "You hate flying, I recall."

"It terrifies me. But I survived, and I'm happy to see you again. Thanks for having me." Jaya reached across the desk and squeezed his hand, then glanced over at Noah and back at Trevor. "Did you invite him on purpose?" She jerked a thumb at Noah without looking at him.