Oh shit. That did it. I immediately starting bawling, and it wasn’t pretty at all. Ugly criers, you can relax. I win.
I jumped up from my chair and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close as he could get to me with his contraption. “I l-love you too, Cooke. So much.”
He wrapped his arms around me and held me just like that for a long, long time. At least until the waterworks were done. Then the kissing started. So many lovely kisses. The man has the most amazing lips. They’re soft yet firm, and they know what they’re doing.
When it was time to leave for the airport, the black car appeared once again. Cooke rode along with me in the back seat, where we held hands and looked at one another almost the whole way. At the airport terminal, the driver parked the car, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Literally sick. I swallowed down the bile and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m g-going to miss you so much.”
Placing his hands on my cheeks, he said, “I miss you already, love.” Then he leaned in for another kiss. The final kiss.
I checked my bag and made my way through security. It took twice as long as it did in Des Moines. Not surprising, since Heathrow is massive. When I got to the gate, I heard my name over the loudspeaker. They were calling me up to the counter. Taking my carry-on with me, I waited in line. When it was my turn, I said, “I’m Quinn Maxwell.”
“Hello, Miss Maxwell. May I see your ticket and passport, please?” the woman asked.
When I placed both on the counter, she looked at them and said, “Thank you.”
I was starting to worry that I’d done something wrong. I watched her type on her computer for a minute, and then she printed something out. “There you go, miss.” She slid a new ticket toward me. “You’ve been upgraded,” she chirped happily.
“Upgraded?”
“First class.”
“First class?”
“Yes, miss.”
“Why?”
“Your name was flagged. It said you’d been upgraded.”
She doesn’t need to explain. I know what happened. One Mr. Cooke Thompson pulled some strings.
Me:Did you upgrade me?
Cooke: Aye. Only the best for my girl.
Me: **eye roll** Stop buying me things. With that said, thank you.
Cooke: You’re welcome.
Me: I love you. I miss you.
Cooke:I love you too. I miss you more.
I slept most of the way home in the most comfortable seat in the world. The food was good too. But I’d have given it all up to have Cooke by my side. No contest.
Chapter Forty-Seven
“So, how was it?” Tayler asks on the car ride back to Ames. She was nice enough to pick me up at the airport.
“Amazing.” I sigh. “Perfect. He told me he loved me.”
“Shut the front door!” she shouts so loud it makes my ears ring. “Did you say it back?”
“I did. I do love him.”
With her eyes back on the road, she smirks and says, “What’s not to love?”
I snort. “He’s not perfect.”
