“Of course not, baby. Come on over.”
Resuming his seat next to me, Zeke visibly relaxes, and I rub his back, needing that constant touch.
“Icannotwaitto see you two,” Eloise exclaims. “Zeke, how do you feel about leather?”
Chapter 28
Zeke
“Hey, Talon? I think you passed the short-term parking lot,” I tell my boyfriend, glancing out the window as the sign for the lot passes us by.
“I did,” he confirms with a smile.
“Isn’t that where we’re going?” I ask, totally confused.
I’ve never been to an airport. Never been on a plane, to a different state, or in a different time zone. There are a lot of firsts coming up for me.
“Nope,” he says, popping thePas he continues to drive deeper into the airport until finally taking the turn for private aviation.
His answer makes me pull my gaze from the window and aim it at his face.
“Ohmygod. Youownaplane?” I utter in disbelief.
“Four of them, actually,” he says with a wink.
Talon parks directly on the tarmac and tosses the keys to one of the guys from the Ricochet Ridge security team before climbing out.
Meanwhile, I open the back door of the SUV and reach for my bag when a man in a suit stops me.
“Just leave that, Mr. Hastings. I’ll take care of it.”
“Oh, uh, I don’t mind,” I tell the man, uncomfortable with someone else doing things for me.
Talon holds his hand out to me.
“Come on, let me show you around. They’ll take care of the bags.”
I’m torn, but only for a moment, and then I’m slipping my hand into Talon’s.
As we climb the stairs to the small jet, we’re greeted by a very pretty brunette with long legs and a friendly smile.
“Mr. Hastings, Mr. Devereaux, welcome aboard. May I serve you anything to drink while the captain and first officer complete their pre-boarding checklist?”
I look up at Talon, waiting for direction. I have no idea what the proper etiquette is here. I suppose this lifestyle takes some getting used to.
“Order anything you’d like,” he says. “We have a fully stocked bar onboard. There’s soda, juice, coffee, tea, and water as well.”
“But what are you having?” I ask in a tone I haven’t heard from myself in a while. The one that says I’m afraid of making the wrong choice. I hate it.
Looking at the flight attendant, Talon simply says, “I’ll have whatever he’s having.”
“Great, now I have to guess whatyouwant,” I mumble next to him, annoyed with myself and frustrated that he wouldn’t just tell me what to pick.
Talon places his hand at the small of my back.
“No, baby, I want you to pick whatyouwant. This trip isn’t about me trying to get you to conform to my life or my wishes. It’sabout experiencing it together and finding out who you want to be now that you have the freedom to choose. And you get to choose everything. Starting with what you want to drink before takeoff.”
“Just water, please,” I tell the flight attendant, feeling ashamed that my nerves got the best of me. I really hope that doesn’t happen in front of Talon’s family. “Sorry,” I tell him.
