A passenger in the first row stood up and stepped into the aisle.
Oh.
My.
God.
Ethan. He was here. Why was he here? How was he here?
Was I still asleep?
But he looked real. And as he passed each row, pink heart-shaped balloons bobbed up toward the luggage compartment. Soon, the entire first class section was a sea of pink. Except for the man dressed in black jeans and a blue shirt. The man who was supposed to be back in California but was somehow here.
He stood in front of me, but somehow, no words would come out of my mouth. Not when he smiled at me. Not even when he got down on one knee, right there in the middle of the aisle, and reached for my hand.
“Ethan…?”
“Katelyn,” he said in return, a gleam in his eye.
“How… when… why…?” I trailed off, unable to formulate a complete question.
Nevertheless, he answered that last one. “I think the why is pretty obvious. I love you. I know we haven’t known each other all that long. I know we didn’t meet in anything resembling a normal way. I know that this started out as a pretense. As make-believe. But it’s not an act any more. I love you with all my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don’t care how this started—I only care that it never ends.”
He paused as I blinked at him, tears obscuring my vision. I couldn’t say anything, but I squeezed his hand.
Ethan smiled at me, a devastatingly handsome smile, and if I hadn’t already been madly in love with him, that smile alone probably would’ve done it. He reached over and took a pink balloon from a middle-aged woman sitting across the aisle. She smiled at me as she let go of it.
The man I loved ran his fingers down the ribbon of the balloon until he got to the base. I had a brief glimpse of something silver, and then a moment later, he was holding up a very familiar-looking diamond ring.
“Katelyn Marie Barnes, will you do me the great honor of being my wife?”
My mouth opened but the words got stuck in my throat. Joy bubbled up inside me, and tears streamed down my face as I tried to steady myself. This was the most crucial syllable I’d ever utter in my entire life, and it was suddenly of the utmost importance to say it right.
I took a deep breath. Blinked back tears. Looked into the face of the man I loved with all my heart. And said…
“Yes.”
Cheers and applause broke out around us, and Gary appeared behind Ethan holding a tray with many glasses of champagne. But my eyes were only for one person. For the man who’d been my fake fiancé for so long. Finally, it was real. Or at least it would be after he put that ring on my finger.
I held out my left hand and he detached the ring from the ribbon. Then his hands closed over mine, bypassing my fingers entirely. I felt a hard, cool material and a moment later, he let my hand go.
I stared down at not one diamond, but dozens. Ethan had fastened the diamond bracelet around my wrist.
He smirked as I looked up at him. “You left so quickly the other night, you seemed to have forgotten that.”
Tearing up again, I remembered how difficult it had been to put that in the envelope with the ring. Ethan had given me that, and even though at the time I’d thought it hadn’t meant anything to him, it had meant something to me. Therefore, it had been really hard to let go of. And now I wouldn’t have to.
“Think you can handle one more diamond?” He held up the ring.
“Yes—especially since your grandmother’s ring is the most beautiful ring in the world.”
“That’s not hers.” Ethan chuckled as I blinked at it in surprise. “It’s your ring. She gave it to me so I could give it to the woman I love. Maybe that wasn’t the case the first time I gave it to you, but it’s definitely the case now.”
He slipped it on, and then I waved my fingers around, watching the light reflect off the diamond. “I love it.”
Leaning forward in my seat, I wrapped my arms around Ethan’s neck. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said. And he kissed me.
“To our future,” I said, clicking my glass against Ethan’s. Everyone in the first class section had champagne, but the balloons had been corralled by Gary and shut up in a compartment.
“To our future,” Ethan echoed, and we both took a sip. “I like the sound of that. For the longest time, I thought we weren’t going to have a future together.”
“Me too.” I shuddered at how heart-breaking it had been to know I had to leave Ethan. Now I didn’t have to anymore. But that raised a lot of questions. “Is it okay for you to miss work? How long can you stay in London?”
Ethan set his glass down in the cup holder in front of him. The one in front of me still had a pink rose in it. “We’re not going to London,” he said.
I cocked my head and looked at him quizzically. “I’m pretty sure we are. Wait, you didn’t hijack the plane, did you? Because that would be going a bit too far.”
“Just a bit,” Ethan agreed. “But we’re not going to London, we’re going to Chicago.”
“Yes, and then to London.”
“No, and then straight back home again. Have you forgotten? Today’s our wedding day.”
For a moment, all I could do was stare at him, my mouth open.
There was a glint in Ethan’s eyes as he chuckled at my expression. “You did just say you’d marry me.”
“But… but… we just got engaged a few minutes ago.”
“Yeah, but we’ve had plenty of practice with our fake engagement, so the real thing doesn’t have to last very long. Besides, you planned the wedding of your dreams. Wouldn’t you like to attend it?”
My mouth was still open, but I couldn’t help it. Did he really mean it? Despite the fact that I’d spent the last month preparing for this wedding, it still seemed so sudden.
“Kate?” Ethan was looking concerned now. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. But… I’d like to. I’m done waiting. I waited too damn long to meet you in the first place, and then I waited a whole bunch more trying to get up the courage to tell you how I felt. I don’t want to wait anymore—unless you do.”
Did I? The man I loved was sitting here next to me. The wedding of my dreams was scheduled for later tonight. There were no more lies between us, and we were free to do whatever we wanted.
And I wanted him—more than anything.
And if there was a way I could be his wife today, why wouldn’t I want that?
“Let’s do it.” Already, I was thinking about my beautiful wedding dress. And the flowers. And the decorations. It was like a weight lifting from my shoulders. All the amazing things I thought could never be mine, suddenly were. The most important of which was sitting next to me—Ethan.
His grin practically stretched from ear to ear as he leaned over to kiss me—a kiss that got so involved that we knocked over an empty champagne glass.
But when he was finished mesmerizing me with his talented mouth, I thought of something. “But what about the trip?”
“That’s why I didn’t ask you sooner, you know. I didn’t want to mess up your trip of a lifetime. But plans can change—sometimes they can change for the better.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we can be flexible. We can honeymoon in Europe if you’d like, but then I’ll need to head back to work, so I’ll fly you out to wherever Julie and Dan are. And then when I can, I’ll join you guys again. And you can fly back to California from time to time when I can’t get away. We can make it work—I know we can.”
“But how will we—”
Ethan put his finger to my lips, stopping my question. “I just happen to know three people who practically have advanced degrees in travel planning. I’m confident that we can work it out. Plus, money helps.” He smirked at me as I stared at him. “You’re about to become a very rich woman.”
Good god, I’d forgotten about that part of it. And about living the kind of life that Ethan liv
ed. Having that kind of freedom and power. It was too much to take in at the moment, so I focused on the part I understood—the travel. “It sounds great… but I hate to tell Julie and Dan that I’ve changed the plan again. And that I won’t be there for parts of it.”
An odd smile crossed Ethan’s face.
“What?”
“I’m pretty sure they won’t mind some alone time.”
“Are you kidding? If I’m not there to mediate, they’ll kill each other. They always argue like brothers and sisters.”
Ethan’s grin turned into a smirk. “I’m fairly certain they don’t feel like siblings anymore.”
“What do you mean?” I was honestly perplexed.
“They’re dating.”
“No!” The gasp of denial escaped my lips before I could help it, but my brain was already providing evidence. The way Dan had looked when Julie danced with Ethan’s cousin at the engagement party. The way they’d been spending so much time together. The way Julie had seemed like she had something she wanted to get off her chest the last few times I’d seen her. “I can’t believe it, but I’m happy for them.”
“Me too.”
“Even though you don’t like Dan?” Even though I was shocked at the news, I couldn’t help slanting a glance at Ethan. If he thought he’d been discreet about that, he was wrong.
“I like him a hell of a lot more now that he’s not going to be sharing a hotel room with you.”
“Sure, most of the times we won’t, but there might be a time or two when it’ll be easier to—”
Ethan cut in. “You’ll have your own room.”
Really? Was he that jealous? “Why?”
“So I can call you and make you do all kinds of naughty things over the phone.”
Wow, the look he was giving me right now—the only proper term for it was panty-melting. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait to hear his rumbly voice issuing wicked commands in my ear. “Works for me,” I said, and I grinned.
Twenty-One
Ethan
“Congratulations!” Julie’s voice was so loud that half the people pouring out of the gate stopped to look. “Let me see the ring.”
Kate laughed. “You’ve seen it before.”
“But that was when it was a prop in your web of deception. Now it’s a real engagement ring.” She turned to me. “Congratulations, big guy.”
Big guy? But loving Kate meant loving her friends, I supposed. With Julie, that wasn’t hard. With Dan… well… I’d be good. I eyed him now as he gave Kate a hug and then shook my hand.
“But where were you?” Julie asked me. “We didn’t see you when we got on the plane.”
“I was hiding in the first class restroom until you boarded.” Which had felt like it took hours. “What took you so long?”
“We were waiting out here. I thought you’d be in there, maybe under a blanket and wearing one of those sleep masks. I thought if we waited until the last minute to board, then there wouldn’t be a line and we could just move quickly to our seats without her noticing you.”
“Is that why you kept dawdling before the flight?” Kate asked.
“Yes.”
“I should’ve known you didn’t really have to go to three different stops to find a bag of cashews.”
Julie laughed and Dan cut in. “We knew you’d get your happy ending soon enough, so we didn’t mind torturing you a bit.”
Kate smiled. “It wasn’t torture. Torture was leaving this guy yesterday.” She looked up at me with a smile sweet enough to cause a sugar high. But I knew what she meant. Yesterday had been unbelievable. Waking up next to a goddess—and then realizing I’d have to give her up. Then figuring out too late that I’d do anything to make her stay.
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on that. The most beautiful woman I’d ever met had just agreed to spend her life with me. So I kept things light. “I think spending fifteen minutes in the airline restroom wins the torture award.”
“Oh come on. It was first class. There was probably a Jacuzzi in there.” Julie playfully pushed me away.
“Hey! Hands off my fiancé.” Kate stepped in front of me and put her fists on her hips, Superman-style. God, she was adorable.
Julie grinned at Kate. “You just love that you don’t have to call him your fake fiancé anymore. But you only get to say that for a little while longer. Once you guys get married, then he’ll be your husband.”
“Yeah, and then it’s a lifetime of nagging and no sex,” Dan put in unhelpfully. Yeah, he wasn’t ever going to be my favorite person in the world, but he was Kate’s friend, and Julie’s boyfriend, so I’d put up with him for both their sakes. “So, enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Which will only be for a matter of hours,” I said.
Both Julie and Dan looked at us in surprise. Kate quickly explained the situation. They looked stunned.
“Today? Really?” Julie’s face fell. “But I was going to be your maid of honor. I mean, I know it was fake before, but now that it’s real, I’d really like to be there.”
She was on the verge of tears, and my heart softened. She was such a good friend to my girl. I reached in my pocket and pulled out two envelopes. I handed the first one to Julie. “Two first class tickets back to L.A. on a flight that leaves in an hour. Gate B16, I believe.”
Julie gaped at me and then threw her arms around me, hugging me close. Kate laughed and pulled her back. “Go hug your own guy.”
“I will,” Julie said breathlessly, taking the envelope from me. Then she turned and hugged Dan. “We’re going to be in the wedding!” I heard her whisper.
He hugged her back. “But what about—”
I handed him the other envelope. “Two first class tickets to London for Monday morning.”
For a moment, Dan appeared shocked, and I wanted to gloat, but I made myself behave. “Thanks, man,” he said, taking the tickets.
“When you get to LAX, there’ll be a car waiting to take you to my grandparents’ house.”
“Won’t we all be together?” Kate asked.
“No, there weren’t enough seats on their flight.”
Kate’s eyes narrowed. “You mean there weren’t enough first class seats on their flight. Have you ever flown coach, Ethan?”
“Not that I can remember,” I said, and she laughed. As long as she thought that was the only reason we were flying separately, it would make the surprise that much sweeter.
Julie and Dan set off, and I led Kate out of the terminal to a waiting car.
“Where are we going? We’re going to have to go through security again.”
“Our flight leaves from a different terminal.”
It was a short drive, but I made the most of it by kissing Kate on her soft, sweet lips. God, I couldn’t imagine ever getting enough of this woman. I was absolutely certain I never would.
When we arrived at the hanger, Kate’s pink lips were swollen, and her eyes were glazed over. I held the door for her and she stepped out of the car, blinking in the bright sunlight.
“What’s this?”
In front of us was a gleaming aircraft. “It’s about time you took a ride on Grant Industry’s private jet.”
“Oh my god, really?” She took a tentative step toward the staircase set in front of the plane.
“Really.”
“But…” She looked from me to the jet and back again. “That has to seat at least ten people. Couldn’t Julie and Dan have come with us?”
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I squeezed her close against me as we walked. “They could have… but I bet they would’ve been pretty embarrassed by all the things you and I are going to do on the three-and-a-half-hour flight. It’s our wedding day after all.”
Kate stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at me. “That’s right, it is,” she said huskily. “Most people have the wedding during the day and the… consummation at night. But since our wedding is at night—”
“We can get a jumpstart on the ‘consummation’ as
you so charmingly put it, my bashful fiancée.”
We climbed the steps, and I greeted the captain and the flight attendant. Kate moved to the back and chose a seat while I spoke to the crew, emphasizing in no uncertain terms that once takeoff was complete, they were not to set foot in the passenger area.
Twenty-five minutes later, we were in the air, heading home, and I’d curtained off the back two rows. It only took me a few minutes to figure out how to retract the chairs and pull out the full-size bed. A short time after that, the woman I loved was lying naked in my arms.
I kissed her thoroughly, tenderly. Exploring every part of her mouth as she pressed herself against me so sweetly. She stroked my back and ran her pointed toes up and down my calf, opening herself up to me. But this time, I was going to take things slow.
Kate frowned in the most adorable way when I told her that. “But why?”
“Because the first time was fast and furious. This time, I want to get to know every inch of you.”
She grinned. “I’d like to get to know every inch of you, too.” She reached between our bodies and stroked my rock-hard cock. With supreme willpower, I pulled her hand away. I wanted this to last, and her soft, tantalizing touch was just too tempting.
Rolling her onto her back, I pinned her hands to the bed above her head, my knees straddling one of her parted thighs. God, how many times had I imagined her underneath me? Her looking up at me with hunger in her eyes—just as she was doing now?
I kissed her again, this time not limiting myself to her luscious mouth. Instead, I nibbled along her jawline, up to her earlobe, and down to her throat. Her breathing sped up and her chest heaved under me. She wanted this as much as I did.
Still holding her hands above her, I nibbled my way south, tasting, licking, and caressing as I went. When I reached her soft breasts, I teased her, rubbing the stubble from my jaw over her silky skin.
“No fair,” she said, writhing underneath me, but I didn’t let her go. Instead, I teased her for a few more moments before capturing a rosy nipple in my mouth. Kate moaned as I used my lips and tongue to worship her sensitive tip. She didn’t seem to want to wiggle out from under me now.
Mr Right Stuff Page 14
