“Hey, babe!” I answer with a bright smile.
“That doesn’t look like packing, Sunflower.” His smirk makes the butterflies in my core come to life.
“I am just finishing up this box, then I’m heading home.” I give him my cutest smile, and he just shakes his head.
“Okay, well, hurry up and come home. I miss you.”
“I’ll be home soon. Love you.” Every time those little words leave my mouth, he glows from the inside.
It’s adorable that my big, bad Marine gets giddy when I tell him that I love him. I have recently convinced him to get more physical therapy, and his knee is slowly getting better. The limp is only obvious when he has been moving around a lot.
Pulling the final books out of this box, I place the Jenn Bullard Unhingedverse on the shelf with the Omegaverse books. Placing the empty tote in the stack of other totes, I grab my purse and set the security alarm.
The drive home goes by quickly. My summer playlist is blaring through the Jeep’s speakers. While I know that it is February and I cannot remember the last time I saw the sun, I am getting prepared for the warmth of Florida that I will feel tomorrow. Holy fuck, I am going to be in Florida tomorrow. That feels insane.
How did Callum know that I needed this?
Because he knows you.
Rolling my eyes, I park my Jeep in the driveway. Taking the path to the guest house and scanning my finger to get into the house, I see Nyx and Callum sitting on the couch. Each is scrolling on their phone.
“Were you waiting for me?” I laugh.
“You’re home!” Nyx jumps up and pulls me back to our bedroom. “Let’s pack.”
She knew that I would need help getting things together for this trip, so she agreed to help me the night before we left. Callum’s forest green suitcases are sitting on his side of the room. He has a matching set, one checked bag, and one carry-on. On top of his carry-on sets his old army backpack, which appears to be almost empty. Walking over to the bag, I look inside. There is only his over-the-ear headphones and the folder with all of our travel documents in it.
“I pulled the backpack out so we can put your Kindle, iPad, or anything else you might want access to during the flight, so it doesn’t get stashed away in the overhead bin.” Callum’s voice startles me.
Turning, I see he is leaning on the doorframe, just watching us. He gives me a sexy smirk before walking over to Nyx and whispering something in her ear that makes her squeal in delight.
“Secrets don’t make friends,” I say, giving them a little shit.
“Trust me, Ky. You will like the secret in a few days.” Nyx giggles and starts pulling clothes out of my closet.
It is a few hours later, and I am buried underneath a pile of clothes. Okay, maybe that's being a little dramatic, but I am pretty sure my entire summer wardrobe is out and piled on the bed next to me.
“Okay, that dress you bought the other week has to go. That’s your dress for the first formal night.” Nyx tells me like she has this all planned out.
What are you up to, bestie?
She pulls out the matching heels and some super cute accessories to go with the dress. Nyx continues to throw a few, less formal dresses in the pile with the formal nightdress. As well as a bunch of shorts and tops. There are no less than four different bathing suits and a couple of cover-ups as well in this pile.
“Nyx, am I moving on this cruise ship or just going for a week?” I laugh while staring at the pile.
“You need options.” Nyx starts rolling clothes and placing them in packing cubes. “Go gather the toiletries that you can pack now.”
I am pushed towards the bathroom while Nyx continues to pack. Packing up my makeup and any extra hair things I might want to bring with me, I look in the mirror. Even though it is the end of February, there is still a glow emanating from inside of me. I don’t think I have ever been this happy. While I am definitely anxious about this trip, I am so excited. I have the feeling that something is going to happen on this trip, but what that is, I have yet to figure out.
CHAPTER 51
KYRA
It is the first full day on the cruise ship, and I am living my best freaking life. The sun is warm, the drinks are frozen, and I have my favorite person is sitting on the lounger next to me. My Kindle is fully charged and is loaded to the brim with as many book boyfriends as a girl could ever want. This is perfection. Except that Callum is full of nervous energy, I can see he is trying to hide from me.
“Do you want to talk about whatever is on your mind?” I ask him as I place my right hand on his upper thigh.
Feeling his corded muscles bunch underneath my palm makes my core heat. He has been a ball of nerves; it has felt that way since we woke up this morning. Yesterday was great, we boarded the ship and got drinks and burgers. He even danced with me at the sailaway party until his knee started to bother. But even then, he just watched me from the sidelines. His eyes never left my body. This morning we woke up, and while he hasn’t been grumpy or anything like that, I can tell he is nervous about something.
