“Um, so why are we doing this?”
He tilted his head slightly, like the question surprised him. “You were upset last night.”
The simplicity of it hit me hard. No one did things like this. Not for me.
“So you... chartered a plane?”
“You needed a pick-me-up.” He shrugged, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Cam,” I started, but couldn’t find the words to say how I felt.
He took my hand in his, pressing a kiss to my palm. “Don’t say anything. Just let me spoil you a little, okay?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice. I squeezed his hand, terrified that if I let go, I might wake up back in my bed, alone.
CAM
The pilot’s voice crackled through the cabin speakers. “Mr. Rockford, we’re beginning our descent into New York City. Current weather is cool and sunny, about sixty-five degrees. Should be a beautiful day.”
I kept my eyes on Emily.
She’d been dozing against my shoulder for the past hour, her fingers loosely tangled with mine, but the announcement jolted her awake. She blinked, confusion clouding her features as she straightened in her seat.
“Wait.” She turned to look out the window, craning her neck to see past the wing. “Did he just say...”
The clouds parted, and there it was. The Manhattan skyline stretched out below us, all sharp edges and gleaming glass, the Hudson River catching the morning light like liquid silver.
“Cam.” My name came out strangled. She whipped her head back to me, mouth hanging open. “New York? You brought me to New York?”
I couldn’t fight the grin. “Surprise.”
“But... how?” She shook her head. “When did you even plan this?”
Before I could answer, she unbuckled her seatbelt and scrambled across the armrest, nearly ending up in my lap as she peppered kisses across my cheek, my jaw, the corner of my mouth.
“You absolute lunatic.” The words landed warm against my lips. “This is insane. You’re insane.”
“You like it though.”
Her answering smile was worth every phone call, every string I’d pulled, every favor I’d called in to make this happen in less than twenty-four hours.
“Are you kidding? I love it.”
“Glad to hear it. Now put your belt back on so we can land.”
“Oh, right, of course.” She did just that, turning back to gaze out the window as we descended.
Once on the ground, we disembarked, climbing into the black town car that idled at the bottom of the jet stairs. Emily shot me a look that clearly saidof course there’s a car waiting, but didn’t say anything.
The driver navigated us smoothly off the private airfield and onto the expressway, the city rising up around us in stages.
Emily had practically glued herself to the window.
“Look at that one,” she said, pointing at some art déco tower I couldn’t have named if my life depended on it. “And that one. Oh my god, is that the Chrysler Building? Cam, that’s the Chrysler Building!”
“I see it.”
I didn’t, really. I was too busy cataloging her every reaction.
