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It should have terrified me. And okay, maybe it did, a little. The idea that I might have found what all my brothers had found. That person who made everything else feel less important. Callum had Victoria. Drew had Kensey. Micah had Grace. Hollis had Juno. Even Beau had Darcy now.
And maybe I had Lucy.
The thought settled over me like the heavy blanket Lucy dragged with her on her last sleepover. I wasn’t going to run from it. Not this time. Not from her.
The morning of our flight to Switzerland, I pulled up to Lucy’s apartment building at an ungodly early hour. The sun wasn’t even up yet, just a faint glow on the horizon that promised another perfect California day. She was already waiting outside, bundled in a coat that looked like it could survive an Arctic expedition, two suitcases beside her.
“You know Switzerland isn’t actually the North Pole, right?” I asked, climbing out to help with her bags.
“I’m not taking any chances.” She handed me the larger suitcase. “I learned my lesson in Alaska.”
“But we’re still in California. Aren’t you hot?”
“Nope. I’m storing up the heat.”
“Fair enough.” I loaded her bags into the trunk and opened the passenger door for her. She slid in and put on her seatbelt.
“So,” she said, settling back into the leather. “Tell me about this private jet situation. I’ve never actually been on one of your family’s planes before.”
“Really? I thought you’d been on everything by now.”
“Commercial first class, yes. Private jets, no.” She shot me a look. “Some of us aren’t used to this level of luxury.”
“You’re going to love it. There’s a full bar. A bedroom in the back. Enough legroom to do yoga if you wanted.”
“I don’t do yoga.”
“There are other activities that are similar to yoga that we can do.”
She laughed. The sound made me want to pull the car over and kiss her until neither of us could breathe.
I kept driving.
The private airport was a different world from the chaos of LAX. No lines, no crowds, no TSA agents making you take off your shoes. Just a sleek building with comfortable lounges and staff who greeted us by name.
The plane was waiting on the tarmac when we arrived. Lucy stopped walking when she saw it, her eyes going wide.
“That’s a plane,” she said. “That’s a very large plane.”
“It’s a Gulfstream G650. My parents bought it a few years ago. We had a smaller jet for a long time, but my parents were looking at the big picture. Big family vacations. And Dad said he was too old to sleep sitting up.”
She shook her head, but she was smiling. “Lead the way, rich boy.”
I took her hand and led her up the stairs. The interior never failed to impress. I’d been on this plane dozens of times. Brown leather seats. Polished wood with gold accents. A full galley kitchen. The bedroom was in the back, complete with a queen-sized bed and an en-suite bathroom.
Lucy stood in the middle of the cabin, turning in a slow circle to take it all in. “This is insane. This is actually insane. It’s like a flying apartment.”
“Wait until you see the wine selection.”
“There’s a wine selection?”
“A wine fridge that is always stocked.”
She laughed again. “I don’t know why I’m shocked. I’ve seen your family’s house. I know you people have money. But this is something else.”
“You get used to it.”
“I don’t think I will.”