He smiled. “Good luck with that, but, uh, freaking out is allowed. It’s encouraged, even. Stroke a guy’s ego every now and then, would ya?”
I laughed, but then the hangar rose out of the flat gray landscape, sleek, private, and guarded. Alex rolled through security with the kind of ease that still startled me, flashing credentials and exchanging nods with military-personnel-lookalikes like they worked for him personally.
I didn’t think it would ever cease to amaze me how the world bent around him without resistance. The Westwood name opened doors and carried weight that even I hadn’t seen coming, and now, it was mine too.
Mind? Blown. Totally.
I was still reeling when Alex pulled up to a jet that was already waiting, beautiful in a way I hadn’t expected. It was all clean lines, glossy white, and had the Westwood emblem subtly placed near the door.
Strangely, it managed not to be flashy. Just assured. Like everything else in Alex’s life, including the man himself.
“This is yours?” I asked when he parked beside it, even though I already knew the answer.
“Ours,” he corrected easily, grinning at me before leaving the car when someone opened the door for him. “Feel free to freak out now.”
I swallowed hard and followed him onto the perfect swathe of tarmac, taking his arm when he offered it. My father had owned a jet once, back when Thayer money had flowed freely and before everything had gone to hell, but his had always been about function.
Business trips. Lawyers. Deals made in hushed tones while I sat quietly with a book, trying not to touch anything or get yelled at.
Although I wasn’t even inside it yet, this felt different already. Friendlier, somehow, like it was a ticket to adventure and freedom instead of simply a means to get from one meeting to the next without letting something silly like distance get in the way.
Alex watched my face as we climbed the steps, his expression soft and almost reverent, like he was seeing it all through my eyes. The door closed behind us with a muted thud, sealing off the world as I’d known it until just hours ago, when I’d found out that my husband owned a freakingjet.
The cabin opened up in warm wood and cream leather, plush and understated. Sunlight poured through wide windows, catching on the polished surfaces of the small sitting area, champagne already chilling at a table set for two.
There was space to stand in here, to breathe. I turned slowly, taking it all in. “Oh my god. This is incredible. Alex, how did I only find out about it today?”
Alex laughed. “I was hoping you’d react like that.”
“I feel like I should take my shoes off,” I said. “Or at least apologize to for wearing them.”
He stepped closer, his hands sliding to my waist. “The plane has survived Trent a few times over the last couple years whenever there’s been too much of a rush to wait for his. That guy carries dust and bits of ranch with him wherever he goes. You’ll be fine.”
I chuckled, reaching up and letting my fingers curl into his coat. I looked up into those brilliant green eyes that still made me go weak in the knees. “Does it have a bed?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Heat flickered in his gaze as he inclined his chin toward the back. “It does, but we’ll have to be seated for takeoff and I’ve had them prepare an early dinner.”
“I was wondering about that,” I said, glancing at the table as Alex guided me to a plush chair next to the window. “Won’t all that fall off?”
“Nope.” He pumped his eyebrows at me. “The table has specially designed grooves in it, but can we just call it magic and not worry?”
We settled in and the engines hummed to life beneath us. I smiled, leaning into his side. “Everything about this is magic.”
I felt the subtle shift as the plane began to move, taxiing and lining up. When we lifted off, the city dropped away beneath us. Chicago shrank into a patchwork of lights, steel, and snow. I pressed closer to the window, awed and honestly a little intimidated by my husband right now.
Alex moved in closer behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist and his chin resting against my temple. “Hey, are you okay?
“Yeah,” I said. “I just, uh, I never imagined this.”
He kissed the side of my head. “Well, get used to that feeling because now that the storm is behind us, I plan on spoiling you a lot more often. Besides, all of this is yours now too, Jane. If you want the jet, take it. The cars. The yacht. Whatever else. We’ve got a few other properties I’ll need to show you, too.”
I rested my head back against his shoulder and drew in a deep breath. “Whoa, slow down there, cowboy. Next you’re going to tell me that you own a castle or something.”
“I don’t, but Sterling does,” he said nonchalantly. “In Scotland. We should go there sometime too. He mentioned something about a property nearby being for sale.”
I laughed, but when I turned my head to look up at him, he seemed entirely serious and my laughter abruptly cut off. Oncewe leveled out, I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that his cousin owned an actual, honest-to-God castle and that he was contemplating purchasing one nearby.
Alex got up and went to pour us each a glass of champagne, like casually discussing the acquisition of residences meant for royalty was nothing. He handed mine over and we moved to the table. He raised his flute toward me.
