“Groulx?” she proclaims, sitting forward in her seat. “Fuck off!”
“Thank you would’ve been fine.”
“Thank you! Honestly, this is so unexpected.” She palms her chest, and I can tell she means it.
“It’s nothing, and I agree; Nina needs the break.”
“Hmm, she said her mum has been calling again.” She hesitates, but I can tell she wants to say more. “How much did she get from him, exactly? The guy who sent the money, I mean. Was it enough to live off? She won’t ask you, but I know that if it was enough and she allowed them to live like they did, then Nina will lose the last bit of respect she had for her mother.”
I drop my chin, not knowing how much I should tell her. “It was enough, more than most get, that’s for damn sure. But it was always cash withdrawals, so who knows where it went every month.”
She nods her head in understanding, biting her lower lip. “She relies on us. Me, my parents, and Megan.” She stands and walks toward the door. “But this past month, her world has started spinning for an entirely different reason.”
I roll my lips, knowing she wants reassurance. “I won’t hurt her.”
“I hope not, because if anyone deserves happiness, it’s Nina.”
Some would say I took the cowards way out, although, with the way my heart pounds against my rib cage and the sweat that keeps forming on my palms, I’m pretty sure I didn’t. Not when I’m standing here on the tarmac ready to give her my world—a world she will never want, nor ask for.
As Vinny pulls up to the runway with Nina safely seated in the back, I know without a shadow of a doubt that it was the right decision.
She could never say no to Vinny.
I want to get the door and help her from the car, but I already know I’m pushing it. She will hate all this, and I have a weekend planned that’s full of it. Instead, I plant my feet to the ground, pushing back my shoulders and lifting my chin.
I’m ready for you, Pix.
She steps from the car in her gym tights and vest, her hair piled high on her head. And with the pink hue of the setting sun, I’m certain that she has never looked more perfect.
I struggle to gauge her mood as she walks to me, her thick hips swaying with each step she takes.
She stops short in front of me, her face emotionless.
Nina
His eyes pinch in at the corners as he looks down his nose at me, his chin held high. I want to argue, tell him it’s too much and that I won’t go wherever it is he planned for us to go. But what I want more, isn’t for me. It’s for him. Because the way he’s looking at me with so much uncertainty, that’s what makes me want to jump into his arms and tell him I’d follow him anywhere.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask.
“Can it be a surprise?” He crosses his arms over his broad chest.
“I kinda hate surprises.” I lick across my bottom lip, watching as his eyes follow the movement. “Would you like it if I told you I was going to suck your cock but leave you in suspense for hours as to where and how I planned to do it?”
“I—“
“Would be excited at the prospect and would want to know more. Am I right?” I eye his crotch, raising my brows when I spot his growing erection.
“Paris, Nina. I’m taking you to Paris.” He grumbles, pulling me to him by the neck and taking my lips in a bruising kiss.
“Okay, Bossman. Paris it is.” I say against his mouth.
It’s like a small flipping house. Far bigger than my apartment—and it flies. I’m standing beside a large round table on the far left of the plane, wondering if I will ever get used to Mason’s wealth.
I watch him, and as he speaks with the pilot— who’s wearing a polo shirt, cargo shorts and a backwards snapback—nerves flit through me.
Would it be rude to ask for his credentials?
He looks extremely casual.
