“You sure he doesn’t suspect anything?” I asked, folding a pair of jeans and placing them in my suitcase.
“Not a thing.” He assured me. “In fact, he’s been moping around extra hard today. I feel kinda bad for him, but a lot less so now that he’ll be seeing you tomorrow. We’re all excited!”
“I owe you a million cupcakes, Agent Sprinkles.”
“Affirmative, Officer Cupcake.” He cleared his throat. “Well, the eagle has landed, so I better run.” I heard Jax’s confused voice in the background asking who he was talking to.
“Thank you so much, Dal. You’re the best,” I said.
“I love you too, Mom. Talk to you tomorrow.”
I giggled as Dallas disconnected the call.
“Pizza delivery!” Ella’s voice called down the hall when she bustled through the front door. I heard Mama hiss her greeting as the door closed. “Mama, you’re gonna have to get over yourself since I’ll be the one feeding your hostile-kitty ass for the next two weeks.”
“In here!” I yelled, placing a folded T-shirt in the suitcase.
“I come bearing gifts.” She appeared in the doorway with a Victoria’s Secret bag in one hand and a pizza box in the other. She placed the pizza box on the dresser and tossed the bag in my direction. “Also, your cat is an actual psycho.”
“What is this?” I asked suspiciously, peering into the bag as though a bomb might go off inside it at any moment. I withdrew a sheet of the hot-pink tissue paper before extracting a black balconette lace bra and matching panties that didn’t look like they would cover much. I shot her a look and wadded up the lacy unmentionables, throwing them at her head. “Seriously?”
“Uh, yeah, I’m serious.” She laughed, catching the panties and throwing them back at me. “There’s more where that came from inside that bag. You can’t be heading off to LA with granny panties in your suitcase or, God forbid, on your actual body.”
“I don’t wear Granny panties,” I scoffed.
“Oh yeah?” She walked over to my suitcase, pulling out a modest pair of full-coverage underwear. “What do you call this little number that you picked up from Costco?”
“Don’t you dare take Costco’s name in vain.” I laughed, snatching the underwear from her hand.
“Costco is where you buy toilet paper in bulk,notsexy underwear.” She flopped down on the bed and began sifting through my suitcase. “Wow, you are prepared for all climates. Sweaters, tank tops, dresses,sexy lingerie,thanks to your best friend.”
“Thank you.” I raised my brow at her. “And yes, from what Dallas told me, we’ll be making our way across the country over the next couple of weeks.”
“If it were me, I’d have three suitcases for that two-week trip. Are you excited?”
“I am.” I nodded. “And nervous.”
“Because you’re gonnadoit?” She grinned at me mischievously.
I shook my head. “I don’t know if we will or we won’t. All I know is I feel all twirly and like my heart is going to fall out of my butt.”
“That’s love, my friend.” She stifled a giggle. “Honestly, I’m really proud of you.”
“For what?”
“For taking this chance. Not just on Jax, but on yourself. I know this has been a lot for you, and I know how scared you were.”
“Correction. Still am. What if I do this? What if I go all in, and it doesn’t work out?”
“What if it does?” She smiled and grabbed the sweater I was folding, tossing it back on the bed. “Come take a break. Let’s eat and catch up on last week’sGrey’s Anatomybefore you jet off to see McLoverBoy. I’ll grab the pizza.”
I followed her down the hall. “I’ll get the wine.” My stomach began doing flips because I knew that this time tomorrow night, I would be back in Jax’s arms.
I landed in Los Angeles right on time, and though I had every reason to try to relax on the plane, I’d been far too jittery to rest. I watched a movie, wrote down a few ideas I had for some songs, and stared out the window as I willed the time to go by faster.
After we landed, I found the nearest restroom so I could change into something far cuter than the sweats I’d worn on the plane. I rolled on some deodorant to hopefully prevent the onslaught of sweat that threatened to form before changing into a silky black camisole. I wriggled into a pair of jeans and my jacket before exiting the stall.
Ella insisted on some impossibly high heels that I regretted wearing the instant I put them on. I touched up my makeup in the mirror and fluffed my hair. Once I was certain no one was looking, I adjusted my boobs, making sure my lacy black bra was in perfect position. I appraised my reflection in the mirror, and I had to admit, Ella was right about the bra. With one last deep breath, I set out to retrieve my luggage, and then I was off to find Brady outside the lower-level baggage claim.
