Cow.
Did he just say—that?
I mean, yes, we'd gotten married.But it was a fake marriage.There was no reason to consummate a fake marriage.Even though Nick had instructed us to do just that.It wasn't like we actually had to do it.Right?
I wanted very much to change the subject.So, I said, “We could barely make ends meet as it was.Buying plane tickets wasn't big on my list of to-dos.”
His head snapped toward me.“Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be.”He swallowed and sighed while squeezing my hand.“I'm sorry.I wasn't thinking.I hope I didn't make you feel—bad.”
Gosh.
Nice Stefan was so freaking—nice.
“It's not a big deal.Really.”He jerked his head toward the front of the plane.“We wait in line until it's our turn.And then the airplane starts down the runway and we take off.There's some pressure as we ascend into the air.But after that—” His eyes dropped to my lips.“It's all smooth sailing.”He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it.That sent shocks directly between my legs.
“Do you need another shot?”he asked, letting go of my hand.He picked up the whiskey again and started pouring into one of the glasses.
I smiled and said, “No.Do you?”
Stefan twisted the cap tightly on the bottle and put it away.Then he gazed at me briefly.“Oh, I definitely do.”Then he tossed back the entire shot in one go.
14
Francesca
Just like Stefan said—the takeoff was a little—dicey.Kind of like being on a fair ride.
Without the stomach-churning descents.I wondered if landing would be terrible.Would my stomach lurch?Would I feel like I was falling?
I guess I'd find out soon enough.What goes up must come down.And we were definitely in the air already.
Stefan unbuckled his seat belt.And then he undid mine.
I gasped and panicked—and clipped it right back into place.“What are you doing?”I asked incredulously.“Why would you do that?”I snapped at him.“Sheesh.That's dumb.”
Stefan wasn't mad, though.
No.
He started laughing.“I'm sorry,” he said with a smile on his face.“Really.I'm sorry.It's okay.We can take these off.See?”He pointed to a light at the front of the airplane.“If that's off, we're good to go.It's not like being in a car.”His hand slid to my seat belt.“I promise.You'll be fine.”
For some reason—I decided to trust him on this.I didn't think he'd bring me onto his plane only to try and kill me by undoing my seat belt.
“Fine.”I lifted my hands away and allowed him to unbuckle me.
He stood and offered his hand.“Come.I'll feed you.”
I wasn't going to lie.
Food sounded pretty good.After everything that had happened in the last day—and night—eating hadn't been a big priority.And while Eve's lasagna had been tasty—that was a while ago.
Reluctantly, I slipped my hand into his.He helped me up.I started walking, but it was more than cumbersome with this dress.“Hold on,” I said, leaning down to pick up the long skirt.Needless to say, it was more than a little impossible to do.Especially in such a confined space.“Gah,” I said and gave up with a flourish.“Let me go change since it's safe to move around.”I set my hand on Stefan's arm and tried to walk around him.Earlier, he'd taken his luggage—and mine—or more like whatever Giselle and Eve had packed me—and dropped it somewhere in the back room.I'd been too terrified to go exploring when I'd first boarded.But I assumed there was a bathroom back here somewhere that I could change.
“Not yet,” he said instantly.His eyes traveled down my body, giving me shivers.“Not yet.”He bent down and gathered my skirt into his arms just enough so that I could walk down to the back of the plane.There were a couple of couches here and what looked like a TV.
“Sit.”Stefan dropped my skirt and nodded at the back couch.“I'll warm something up for us.”
I wanted to tell him this was ridiculous.I needed to change out of this fabulous dress before I ended up ripping something.Instead, I took a deep breath and decided to do what he said.So—I sat down on the cushy leather couch and waited.
