Nodding in answer, I tell him, “Definitely still planning. Just stuck on the location at the moment. I have a few places in mind, but nothing seems to fit everything she’s looking for.”
Rayne falls silent again, and I leave him to it, knowing he’ll talk to me when he’s ready. When he doesn’t say anything for longer than I would have credited him for, I look over at him and cautiously ask, “You good?”
His expression shifts slightly, a thoughtful look crossing his face seconds before he says, “I’ve changed my mind.”
I frown. “About what?”
It takes a beat before he answers. “Korea.”
My fingers stop moving across my keyboard, pausing as shock renders me completely still. That single word grabs my attention almost as quickly as Maddie does when she’s wearing short shorts and an oversized shirt with no bra, because I know how big of a deal it is for Rayne to even consider heading back to South Korea after all he went through with his father. He was adamant we cross Korea off the potential list of places to take Maddie, but now he’s changed his mind, and I’m taking a page out of Maddie’s book.
Curious, I turn to face him, finding the guy already looking down at his hands quietly. I’m pretty sure he can feel me staring, but he doesn’t say anything, happy to sit in his own silence. Eventually, he finally says, “She’d love it there. The food, markets, all the shit she can photograph.”
A faint smile appears on his face, and I blink at the fucker, actually worried I might have walked right into the Twilight Zone or something. Who is this man, and what has he done with the real Rayne?
“She basically described Seoul when she last spoke about where she’d want to go,” he points out.
I can’t help my reaction, breaking out of my shock long enough to click my fingers at him and grin. “I fucking knew it.”
“She’d lose her shit in the night markets alone,” Rayne jokes, lips twitching.
I nod, baffled by this new change in him, but I answer with my own teasing. “How much do you wanna bet she ends up buying enough tiny trinkets to fill a suitcase?”
“I’ll put money on it. Wanna bet she gets emotionally attached to a street food vendor?” Rayne counters, and I actually laugh, knowing damn well our girl will one hundred percent grow an attachment to all kinds of things in South Korea.
Biting my lip as amusement battles with confusion in my head, I lean back into the couch and mutter, “What made you change your mind?”
The corner of his lip lifts a little, a soft look on his face I’ve never seen before as he says, “Maddie.”
There’s a long pause, and I think he’s not going to elaborate until he adds, “I want to show her where I came from. Not the bad shit, but enough for her to understand me a little better. And…”
He hesitates, and I wait patiently, already stunned by the amount I’ve heard Rayne talk in such a short amount of time. I don’t want to ruin it by putting my foot in my mouth and saying the wrong thing, so I button it and wait him out instead.
Sure enough, the silence drags on for a hot minute before he quietly admits, “I want to introduce her to my mom.”
I almost fucking choke on my spit, choosing to inhale at the wrong moment. I cough loudly, clearing my airways as best I can before I fully face Rayne. My chest grows a little warm, weirdly softening for the man, and I ask, “You serious?”
He nods once, and I know then how much it means to him.
“Can’t very well do that unless we go there, right? If I could have had it my way, Mom would have been buried here. Guess that’s the kick in the teeth I get for being young when shedied, right?” He snorts, an almost self-deprecating sound I don’t like hearing from him. “Anyway, if you haven’t already cemented plans yet, I just wanted to let you know you can add Korea back to your potential list.”
I stare at him for maybe half a second before turning toward my laptop with a dramatic flair I know would have made Maddie proud. I tap away on my keyboard, swiping the mouse several times, before turning it toward Rayne with a beaming grin that makes his lips twitch again.
On the screen are several options for hotels, flights, and other shit I’ve looked over but discarded when Korea wasn’t an option. Now that it is, a whole new avenue of research has opened for me, and I’m already itching to get back to planning this shit.
“Brother,” I announce, actually excited now that we have a location in mind. “Looks like we’re heading to Korea.”
Rayne laughs. Like, actually laughs, and I damn near drop my fucking laptop. It’s small, but it’s real, and honestly? I’d book a vacation hop all through South Korea if it meant I got to hear my brother laugh again.
The next three hours go by in pure chaos, my vacation-planning hat planted firmly on my head. With Rayne’s surprisingly helpful assistance, the guy points me in the right direction in terms of hotels, restaurants, tourist things, and everything in between, his knowledge of his home country serving us both incredibly well. By the end of those three hours, we’ve booked three different luxury hotels in three different locations throughout South Korea, the flights have been booked and paid for, a private photography tour has been booked, and Rayne and I have compiled an awesome list of places to take Maddie within those two weeks. We have an entire sheet lined with restaurants and cafés we know she’d like, several popularstores listed for her to visit, and a whole two weeks of sun, relaxation, good food, and a whole lot of fun mapped out.
By the time Bax finally texts that they’re heading back to Maddie’s apartment, Rayne’s and my bank cards have taken the best beating they’ve ever received. Not that it matters, since it’s practically pocket change between us. This is the first time either of us has found an excuse to finally spend some of the money we’ve accumulated over the years, our vacation barely causing a dent in either of our accounts, so it’s left me feeling a little giddy, like I’ve suddenly grown a new addiction to spending money on Maddie. Pretty sure she’d hate knowing that, though, so I’d best keep it under lock and key. I should also probably avoid disclosing just how long I’ve spent actually planning her two weeks away from work, because I’m sure my ears would receive a verbal tongue-lashing if Maddie learned how much time and effort was put into this plan.
But I’ll be spanked by the Hulk if it wasn’t worth every second and cent.
When we head to Maddie’s apartment shortly after I close the laptop with a fully planned vacation now waiting for her, the door swings open before we can even knock. Bax walks toward us with wide eyes, shaking his head slowly as he whispers, “Save yourselves.”
“What? Why?” I wonder instead of heeding the warning.
