TWENTY-EIGHT
Rowan
“Will you please tell me where we’re going?” I ask, dragging my suitcase behind me through the house. Colt stops me and grabs the case from my hand, hefting it under his arm like it weighs nothing. “A hint even?”
“Something tells me you haven’t had many surprises before,” he teases, “considering how terrible you are with the concept of them.”
Not true; I had a surprise party when I was nine. I didn’t have to bring my passport for it, though.
We stop on the way out of the house to say goodbye to Macie. I give her approximately three hundred and forty-five hugs, with a big smooch on the cheek just in case, and we load our bags into a big black Escalade, similar to the one we took the night of our first kiss.
Myfirst kiss.
A pleasant shiver runs down my spine at the thought of that moment. I don’t let any other parts of the night revisit me, just that one. The best one. My favorite one.
I climb into the car, taking the seat next to Colt’s, and I stare him down. Maybe if I stare long enough and hard enough, he’ll crack and spill the details on this mystery trip I had to pack two fucking suitcases for.
At least, that’s my hope.
“I’m not telling you, Rowan,” he laughs, putting his hand over my eyes to cover them. “Quit looking at me like that.”
I throw my arms over my chest and put on my best puffy bottom lip, pretending to pout, but he still doesn’t break. The man is made of impenetrable steel.
We drive for what feels like an hour until we pull up to the largest airport I know of in the city. I expect us to get dropped off at the front doors, but the car keeps moving until we pass a massive fence covered in warning signage, and I’m almost certain we’re going to be arrested. This is illegal, isn’t it?
“Mr. Fowler! Great to see you again!” An employee says as the car slows to a stop.
I look up in surprise as Colt greets the young man, taking in the massive hangar before us.
One plane sits idle at the center, looking like it’s ready to taxi out onto the tarmac at any moment, and two others sit parked on either end of the massive space. At the side of the centered plane, a set of steps is lowered and several people stand waiting – I assume for us.
The driver of the Escalade steps out of the vehicle and moves to the trunk to unload the bags for us as Colt helps me out, taking my hand.
“Colt. You own planes.”
“Ever been on one?” He asks, completely ignoring the shock on my face.
“No, I’ve never been on a plane!” I whisper. “Where are we going?”
“On a plane,” he replies with a smartass look on his face.
Putting a hand at the small of my back, he leads me toward the steps, where a beautiful woman waits, wearing a smile and a uniform that suggests she’s a flight attendant of some kind.
“Miss Caldwell, welcome aboard!” She tells me.
“Oh, I— thank you.”
Colt leads me to the massive cabin, which is laid out like a fucking stretch limo or something. The seats are a light colored leather, arranged in pairs on either side of several wood tables that are built into the floor.
There are several TVs that look like they can be adjusted according to whichever seat their viewer is using. I don’t even have words for what it feels like to walk through this plane. It’s like microdosing being royalty.
As we get settled into our seats, that same nice woman strides over to us with that big, radiant smile on her face and asks, “Can I get you started on some beverages, Mr. Fowler? Champagne?”
“We’ll stick with sparkling water, thank you, Alice.”
The woman nods and leaves us while she gets the drinks – from where, I have no idea. Is this what every plane looks like? This thing is like a flying apartment!
Colt tells me nothing as we soar through the sky and I watch the world beneath us fly past in vibrant hues of green, spring finally waking up to greet us. It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.
