“Me, too. Well, we’re going to part three of your bachelor party.”
“Fuck, there’s more?”
Elliot clams up. Smug asshole. He’s not telling me. I check my phone.
ANA
Home. We shopped till we dropped.
I’m going to have a bath.
Then get ready to meet Kate.
I haven’t heard from you.
You know I worry.
Axxx
We were SKYDIVING!!
from 12,000 feet. You were right to worry.
But it was amazing!!
Reminds me. You need parachute training.
If I don’t see you—enjoy your night out.
But not too much.
ANA
Skydiving. Wow!
Glad you’re safe.
Parachute training?
Didn’t we do that last weekend in the Red Room? ;)
I laugh out loud.
“What?” Elliot asks.
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
Elliot drives back to Escala, though this time he lets me play some decent music from his phone. As we ride the elevator up to the penthouse he says, “You need to get changed. Something smarter.”
“What have you got planned?”
He winks.
“Asshole.”
“That’s a given.” He grins.
The doors to the elevator open, and I’m hoping to see Ana.
“My gear is in your spare bedroom. I’ll see you down here in half an hour. We’re leaving then.”
“Okay.” I’m hoping to catch Ana in the bath.
She’s not in the living room, and I worry that she’s left already, but I find her in the bedroom. Halting on the threshold, I watch quietly as she adds the final touches to her makeup.
Wow! Ana looks stunning. Her hair is styled in an elegant chignon. She’s wearing high heels and an off-the-shoulder black dress that shimmers. She turns, and is startled when she sees me. She takes my breath away. Hanging from her ears are her second-chance earrings. “I didn’t mean to spook you,” I whisper. “You look lovely.”
She smiles her warm, welcoming smile that’s full of love; it swells my heart, and she sashays toward me. “Christian. What a lovely surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you.” She raises her lips to mine, and I give her a quick kiss, then pull back. She smells of heaven and home.
“If I kiss you properly, I’m going to mess up your makeup, and peel you out of that elegant dress.”
“Oh, that would never do.” She giggles and does a quick twirl. Her skirt flares up slightly, revealing a little more leg. “You like?” she asks.
I lean against the doorjamb and cross my arms. “It’s not too short. I approve. You look great, Ana. Who’s going to be there?” I narrow my eyes, feeling at once ridiculously proud that she’s mine, but also territorial—she’s mine.
“Kate, Mia, some girlfriends from WSU. Should be fun. We’re starting with cocktails.”
“Mia?”
Ana nods.
“I haven’t seen her in a while. Say hi from me. I hope there’s food on your itinerary.” I arch a brow in warning. “Drinking rule number one.”
She laughs. “Oh, stow your twitchy palm, Christian. We’re having a meal.”
“Good.” I don’t want her getting drunk.
She glances at her watch. “I’d better go. I don’t want to be late. I’m glad you’re back in one piece. I’d never forgive Elliot if anything happened to you.”
She offers me her lips once more and I get another swift kiss.
“You look gorgeous, Anastasia.”
She picks up her evening bag from the bed. “Laters, baby,” she says with a coquettish smile, and she struts past me out of the room, looking like a million dollars. I follow her out and watch her join Sawyer and Reynolds in the foyer. I salute them, and they all file into the elevator.
I head back into my en suite for a quick shower.
Twenty minutes later, dressed in a dark navy suit and crisp white shirt, I’m in my kitchen, waiting for Elliot. In the fridge, I find some pretzels.
Fuck, I’m hungry.
Elliot appears in the doorway. He’s wearing a dark suit, a gray shirt, and a tie.
Shit.
“Do I need a tie?”
Where the hell are we going?
“No.”
“Sure?”
“Yep.”
“Why are you wearing one?”
“You get to dress like this all the time. I don’t. Changes it up for me. Besides, a suit and tie is catnip to women.”
What about Kavanagh?
Elliot smirks at my questioning look, and Taylor joins us.
“Ready, sir?” he asks Elliot.
Taylor drives us south on I-5.
“Where the fuck are we going, Elliot?” I ask.
“Relax, Christian. It’s all good.” He looks out of the window, seemingly at ease, while I drum my fingers on my knee. I hate not being in the know.
Taylor takes the turn off for Boeing Field, and I wonder if there’s some seedy strip club based around here. I glance at my watch: 6:20 p.m. He turns into Signature Flight Support and behind the terminal, sitting on the tarmac, is the GEH Gulfstream.
“What?” I exclaim to Elliot.
From his inside jacket pocket Elliot produces a passport. “You’re going to need this.”
We’re leaving the country?
Taylor drops us at the terminal entrance, and I follow Elliot into the building, bewildered.
“Elliot!” Kavanagh’s blond, surfer-dude brother strides up to my brother and shakes his hand. He scrubs up well in his pale gray suit. I note he’s not wearing a tie, either.