I frowned. “Hey, that’s not fair. I had planned on going. I just backed out at the last minute.”
“Exactly,” she said and then pulled out her phone. “I got you two rooms at the nicest hotel in Kerala, a hired car, a translator, and dinner reservations at Masala’s Friday night.” She tapped her phone and mine buzzed. “Sent you the itinerary with everything you’ll need. Angel House is sending a representative to meet you at the hotel and take you to the orphanage Saturday morning. You fly home Sunday.”
It was Thursday, but it would take an entire day to get there. “What would I do without you?” I asked her.
“Take pity on some other mediocre assistant and pay her way too much money for a job she loves,” she told me.
I pointed a finger at her. “You’re not mediocre.”
But I was glad to hear she loved her job.
She spit out her tongue and then waved goodbye. “Marry her!” she called over her shoulder, and I rolled my eyes.
Chloe was always encouraging me to ask pretty women out on dates, but marriage was new for her.
The plane ride to Willow Harbor was short. Once we landed, I stepped out into the tiny one-terminal airport lobby to find Hannah and scanned the crowd. My heart flipped over in my chest at the sight of her. Her pretty blonde hair was in a messy braid, and she wore black yoga pants and a tight-fitting white T-shirt with worn Nike shoes. It was such a simple outfit, yet she still looked stunning.
“Excuse me, Miss Phillips?” I asked in a deep voice.
She turned in surprise and then grinned, smacking my arm. “You scared me with that God voice.”
I barked out in laughter. “God voice?”
She nodded. “That was really deep.”
She was funny. I think I loved her sense of humor the most.
“Our plane is ready,” I told her.
She nodded. “Your assistant didn’t give me an airline or anything, so I’ve just been waiting. I didn’t see anything on the information boards for India, but I figure we will connect through a bigger city like Denver.”
She was smart, too.
“Close. Chicago to Delhi to Kerala.”
“Chicago!” Her eyes lit up. “I’ve never been.”
I wanted to reroute all the plans then just to take two days to show her the Windy City, but I knew we couldn’t. I hadn’t gotten that pre-approved with my probation officer, and it usually took weeks to get a meeting with Cedric. I didn’t want to do anything to mess up my freedom.
She glanced at my outfit. “You’re dressed up. I wore workout clothes because if I’m going to be sleeping on a plane for twenty hours, I want to be comfortable.”
She was adorable. Everything about her. She had no idea she was about to have a lay-flat bed, her own TV, and a five-star meal. She could even shower if she wanted.
“I’m going to change into my comfy clothes on the plane,” I told her and then walked her over to the private airline entrance.
She glanced over her shoulder as we left the terminal and then back again to where we were headed. “Jack. Do you have your own private jet?” Her eyes were wide as she put it together.
I grinned. “Kind of. I only own fifty percent of it. My best friend and business partner, Jason, owns the other fifty.”
Her face fell. “Bummer. That’s lame. You only ownhalfa jet,” she said sarcastically.
I couldn’t help the grin that pulled at my cheeks. My face hurt around this woman. She was like sunshine in the middle of winter. And I’d been stuck in winter for years.
We checked in with the private stewardess counter and then walked onto the runway and up to my Dassault Falcon 7x. It was a six-seater with a pull-out couch in the back room and a full bathroom with a shower.
I watched in fascination as Hannah stepped on board, eyes wide, jaw slack. She kindly thanked the stewardess, Molly, for taking her bag and then ran her fingers over the leather chairs.
“This entire plane is ours?” she said, disbelieving.
