I thought my heart was owned by one little girl, and now, suddenly, it’s split in two. And Willow holds the other half in her hands.
A couple of hours later, I’m on the plane, seated next to a window, waiting for Willow to get on and sit next to me. I haven’t seen her yet this morning, what with getting caught up in a team meeting after breakfast to review the schedule for the coming week.
But instead of my girlfriend, I end up with my teammate. Monty plunks down in the seat next to me and looks at me with a grin.
“Kai was telling me he went to take a leak last night and heard some moaning from his neighbour.” His eyebrows do some ridiculous dance as I frown at him, determined not to say a word. “Weren’tyouhis next-door neighbour?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Willow finally board the plane, which spurs me into action. Fixing Monty with a glare that hopefully conveys my message ofshut the fuck up, I hiss under my breath, “I don’t know what you’re getting at or what Kai heard, butifthere was any noise, I’d hope there’s some sort of bro code on this team and everyone would know to keep their mouths shut.”
A manicured hand lands on Monty’s shoulder, and we both turn to look up at the most gorgeous woman in existence.
“Hello, boys. Monty, you don’t mind if I steal this seat from you, do you?” She gives him a winning smile, one I’m sure could melt icebergs if she tried.
“Of course.” Monty hops up and gestures with his arm toward the seat. “All yours.” As she sits down, he catches my eye, mimes a zipper across his mouth, and gives me a wink.
Internally, I sigh in relief. I hoped I could trust the guys to be cool with me and Willow, even in the face of an illegal hotel hookup, and it’s good to know that trust isn’t misplaced.
“Hey, you,” Willow murmurs, leaning in to brush her lips against my cheek.
Grabbing her chin, I turn her head, deciding to say hell with it and really put everyone’s acceptance of our relationship to the test. I kiss her properly. Long and deep. When we part, her eyes are glazed, her lips glossy and plump.
“Hey, yourself.”
“What was that for?” she asks with a quirk of her lips. I just shrug, leaning my head back against the seat, looking at her.
“Do I need a reason to kiss my girl?”
Her head moves from side to side. “No, but…”
I lean in and peck her lips again, briefly this time. “There is nobut, Cherry. I wanted to kiss you hello. Weren’t you saying last night since word has spread that we’re together, we don’t need to hide?”
Her soft smile is full of affection. “Fair enough.” She lets me pick up her hand and place it on my leg, our fingers twisted together. Lowering her voice, she tucks in close to me to whisper, “Did I really hear Monty saying Kai heard us?”
She sounds worried, so I give her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s fine, Cherry. If anyone wanted to give us shit, it would’ve happened by now,” I say under my breath. “Besides, even if they had caught us, it was worth it to finally feel you come apart around me again.”
Her inhale is audible, and there’s no missing the way her legs squeeze together. It makes me grin with a primal sort of pride. She’s my woman, and I can turn her on with just a few words. Fuck. Yeah.
The rest of the flight is uneventful. A few of the guys come up to chat, and no one says a word about Willow and I holding hands. It’s as if we’ve always been together. It’s normal, totally accepted. And I hope that’s enough to ease her worries about our relationship impacting the team in any way.
At the airport, we walk together to the small parking lot that’s reserved for the private jets. I escort Willow to her car, helping her load her bags in the back before gathering her in my arms.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” I ask, kissing the top of her head. She nods against my chest, her arms tightening. “Peyton wants you to come over again soon, too. Maybe another movie night.”
Her head tilts up. “I’d like that.”
I kiss her upturned mouth, softly at first, then taking it deeper because there’s no way I can stop myself from feasting on her lips. Sweet, plump, perfect. The vibration of my phone in my pocket makes me growl in frustration as I lift my head from hers.
“Goddamn it.”
Willow laughs and reaches into my pocket to pull out my phone. “It’s probably your mom.”
Glancing down, I see she’s right. It is Mom, asking what I want her to prepare for dinner. Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve her. She does so much. “I’m gonna tell my mom about us soon.”
“She doesn’t know?” Willow raises her eyebrows, and I cringe.
“Um, not exactly. I didn’t know what precisely wewere, so didn’t say anything. But now that everything’s good, I want her to know. I want you to get to know each other.”
Willow’s face softens into a grin. “Are you a mama’s boy, Ronan Sinclair?”
