Ash felt like he wanted to puke.
Before he could, however, a flash of lights wafted over the side of his private jet. He whipped his eyes up and saw a black town car coming around the corner. He recognized that car. It was the car he’d sent to fetch Kallie from her apartment. His heart leaped in his chest and a massive smile crossed his cheeks. A firm leg slid from the car before Kallie appeared, then the trunk popped behind her. He walked up to her with his hands in his pockets, trying to conceal the nail beds he’d been picking at for the past hour.
“Let me get your things,” he said.
He watched Kallie’s eyes sweep over the decadent jet. This plane was his. Not his father’s. He had a very specific taste that differed greatly from what his father considered luxurious, so it had been one of the first toys he’d procured for himself. It was the jet he took with him no matter where he went. Except for the island.
His father kept his own toys on the island.
“This doesn’t look like the one from St. Barts,” Kallie said.
“That's because it isn’t. That plane was my father’s. This one is mine.”
“I should’ve known you would’ve had your own toys,” she said with a giggle.
Ash watched as she slowly walked toward the plane. Her luggage was light. A stark contrast to any other woman he would’ve taken anywhere. It was yet another difference between her and them. Another difference that punched him in the gut for the mistake he’d made with her. He followed behind her, fearful she would come to her senses and turn to run. He watched her eyes sweep over the plane before they began to board. But the second she took a look inside, she stopped.
“Is something wrong?” Ash asked.
Then, he saw it. Her nervous tick.
Kallie’s hands began to tremble.
“Wow. This plane is ... um...”
“Too much?” Ash asked.
“I mean, if you like it. I just, it’s not necessary for us to fly on it. I can buy myself a coach ticket. Or us tickets. Both of us tickets. In economy.”
Ash’s heart sank. The opulence of his plane made her nervous. Just like the yacht had made her nervous. That should’ve been all the proof he needed right there. All the proof that she’d never been a gold digger in the first place. Ash caught her nervous stare and guilt pooled in his chest. He knew part of her reaction was what he’d done to her. How he’d turned his back on her. What he’d accused her of being.
“No,” he said. “And I want you to make yourself comfortable. Okay?”
“Are you sure? Because we can—”
“I’m sure,” he said as he took her hand. “I’m very sure, Kallie.”
She looked down at their connection before Ash felt her hand slip away. He watched her walk into the cabin and make herself comfortable while he worked to stow away her luggage. Kallie was nothing like how her ex had tried to paint her. That much he could see now. And he knew he had a hand in making her as nervous as she was. He hoped he wasn’t too late. He hoped that the care brewing between them had not been extinguished yet.
He hoped he could reverse the damage he’d done to their relationship.
“Okay, so I did some research on Bali,” Kallie said as she reached for her purse.
“Research?” Ash asked.
“Yes. I printed out some brochures as well that multiple places had online for research purposes.”
“Brochures.”
“Yep.”
Ash watched her pull a bunch of brochures rubber-banded together. She buckled herself into her seat as the plane began to take off, and she fanned them out in his lap. Housing options. Luxurious restaurants. Marketplaces. Sunset views. Tax benefits of citizenship. Visa and immigration guidelines.
Everything Ash would need to know when it came to settling in Bali.
“I looked a bit into those over-the-ocean bungalows, and most of them are owned by resorts. But, there are a few options that are already built, and even more land options for you to purchase so you can build whatever you want. So I went ahead and looked into contracting companies in and around the area that can help you achieve what you want,” Kallie said.
Ash watched her pull out even more brochures as the plane leveled out into the air.