In my two years of working for the Hunter family, I’d been inadvertently exposed to many of the perks of ‘high living.’ The wardrobe, the parties, the exclusivity. I’d once stood by and watched as a museum docent—eager to please—had actually removed a dinner jacket of John F. Kennedy’s that Nick had been admiring, and slipped it over his shoulders. (A jacket that, moments later, Nick had accidentally doused in champagne. But who was counting?)
Point was, although I wasn’t typically accustomed to being ‘spoiled,’ there were certain customs of the rich and the famous that I had come to very much enjoy.
None so much as the private plane.
“Well, that’s it for me.” I collapsed on a leather recliner the second we stepped on board, throwing my purse down beside me. “Wake me when we get back to Manhattan.”
Nick chuckled and took a seat next to me, nodding to the pilot that he was ready to take off. “See, you look like one of my girlfriends already.”
My lips twitched up in a grin, as I peeked out from beneath my complimentary sleep mask. “Tell me...does gifting me this plane technically count as ‘spoiling?’ Or is that a little above and beyond.”
He laughed again. Something he had been doing ten times more of since I officially said yes to his crazy little scheme. “You want the plane? It’s yours.”
“Perfect.” I tilted my head back like a lazy queen, calling out to the pilot. “In that case, Jimmy, I’m ready to go.”
Nick grinned indulgently. “It’s Ethan, actually.”
“Oh, Nicholas,” I took off the sleep mask and flashed him a smile, “how can I keep up with so many names that make your day-to-day life that much simpler?”
As he laughed yet again, a bemused voice crackled from over the speakers.
“Please take a seat as we prepare for take-off. In honor of Ms. Wilder, we’ll officially be experiencing a bit more turbulence than usual...”
I flipped him off with a grin as my phone buzzed in my bag. While Nick wrangled us two glasses of complimentary champagne (as if we needed any more to drink tonight), I dug around just in time to see my mother’s name light up on the screen. My face wilted for a moment as my finger hovered uncertainly over the two options to reply.
“Who’s that?” Nick asked, passing me a drink.
I ignored it quickly and stashed it back in my bag, surfacing with a grateful smile as I took my first bubbling sip. “It’s my mom. I’ll call her back later. Ironing out all the fine details of our arrangement is very important.”
His eyes twinkled as he held up his glass.
“In that case...to us. To wherever this crazy road may lead.”
Wherever indeed...
We clinked glasses and downed the champagne with the speed of two people who had long since numbed themselves to the taste of alcohol for the night. The glasses were refilled, and we leaned back comfortably as the plane took off and lifted through the midnight clouds.
“You should know,” Nick began with just the faintest hint of a slur, “this is already the most committed relationship I’ve ever been in.” He caught my sarcastic look, and shrugged innocently. “I’m serious. Nothing else comes close. Look at the contenders.”
“What about Janelle?” I reasoned.
Janelle Mirach was one of Nick’s only consorts that I had actually ever liked. Unlike the rest of the endless parade, she actually had a good head on her shoulders, and could match him at basically every level of conversation. If it weren’t for the fact that she’d been engaged to a European prince for most of their time together, things might have taken off. I was actually a bit sad to see her go. Sent a personal congratulations card to the wedding.
Nick shook his head slowly. “Janelle was just a friend. She was only ever just a friend.”
My eyebrows shot skeptically into my hair.
“The two of you had an awful lot of sex considering she was just a friend.”
He chuckled and took another swig of champagne.
“I fuck a lot of my friends. How do you think people get to be friends in the first place?”
...Nick al
ways had a rather unique way of seeing the world.
I shook my head and decided to let it go. I’d learned long ago that if I was going to be working with Nick, I was going to have to pick my battles carefully.