“Um, thanks,” I said. “I hope all goes well with your job.”
I wanted to kick myself. But what was the alternative? Open my heart up and risk rejection? I knew how I felt, but I had no idea what was going through Justin’s head. Or his heart. For all I knew, he and this heiress of his were a thing, or a potential thing, and his mind was already occupied with a night of fun ahead.
“Thanks,” he said. “Take care.”
With that, he leaned in and planted a fleeting, uncertain kiss on my cheek. The sensation of his lips on my skin was as electrifying as ever, and I felt a hot tear form as he moved away. I quickly wiped it away before he had a chance to see it, keeping my composure stony and calm.
Justin took one last look at me before turning and heading back to the car. Moments later, he was in the driver’s seat, pulling off. I watched his car disappear around the bend leading back to the main road, and that was that. He was gone.
A lump formed in my throat, and I took several long moments to compose myself before grabbing my bags and heading into the airport. I was gripped by regret as soon as I stepped into the cool interior of the check-in terminal. I wanted to drop my bags and run down the road, flailing my arms like a madwoman and see if I could catch his attention.
“To Sydney?” the very chipper girl at the check-in counter asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“That’s right,” I said. “And to Dallas from there.”
“Quite a journey ahead of you,” she said with a warm smile.
True, but after the journey I’d had over the last couple of days, spending fifteen or so hours on an airplane sounded almost heavenly.
I made my way through security and to my gate. Once there, I plopped into a chair and felt the minutes tick by. Magazines, internet, TV—I used every tool at my disposal to try and distract myself from Justin, from the man I was leaving behind.
It was no good, however. He was all that I could think about, and it was beginning to dawn on me that I’d very well just made the mistake of my life. A whimper escaped my mouth, and I shot my hands to my lips, hoping that no one had witnessed it. Being this open with my emotions was strange, and the fact that Justin had been able to bring them out of me seemed even more proof that there was something special about him, something that I couldn’t ignore.
But there was nothing to be done. He was gone, and that was that.
Sitting by the gate, waiting for the agent to call out when boarding began, I found myself thinking over and over about what my life would be like if Justin were a part of it. Settling down…it sounded so nice—especially if I had a man like Justin with whom to do it.
The agent called out that boarding was about to begin, and I prepared myself to leave Alice Springs, and Justin, behind. As I stepped into the jetway leading to the plane, I looked behind me one last time, secretly hoping that Justin would be standing there, ready to whisk me away like something out of a movie.
But, of course, there was no one. I sighed and headed into the airplane, taking my seat and settling in for the three-hour flight. The plane soon took off, and I watched the city of Alice Springs below disappear as we rose. The landscape shifted and changed beneath the plane, and I knew that though Justin and I weren’t meant to be together, I’d never forgot our adventure in the outback.
The three-hour flight passed quickly and without incident, and I soon spotted the towers of downtown Sydney appear in the distance. I was finally back to civilization, though the only place I really wanted to be was in Justin’s arms.
The plane landed, and the passengers disembarked, luggage in hand. Turning my phone on, I saw that I still had plenty of time before my flight to Dallas. The neon lights of the airport bar called out to me, and I decided a drink was in order.
I slid onto the tall barstool under the dim lights of the bar and flagged down the bartender.
“Something stiff,” I said simply.
He nodded, and I got the impression that something strong was likely a common request at an airport bar.
Moments later, a tall clear glass of something was placed in front of me. I took a long sip, the boozy taste making my eyes go wide. I allowed myself a small smile, knowing that this drink would do very nicely.
About a third of the way through the drink, however, a voice spoke from behind me. It was deep, resonant, and intentionally seductive.
“This seat taken?”
I turned, ready to tell off the sleaze who thought he could pick me up. But when I saw who it was, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
It was Justin. Standing before me, dressed in a stylish black suit, his typically tousled, sandy-blond hair slicked back behind his ears, a playful smile on his face, was the man I’d been thinking about all day.
For a moment I was convinced that it couldn’t be him. I looked at my drink, then back at Justin, wondering if I’d been drugged or was hallucinating or something. Then, I reached out and, just as I had at the hotel in Longbridge, poked him in the arm. Sure enough, he was really there.
“Justin?” I asked. “What…I mean…how…I mean—”
“So,” he said, “the seat’s not taken?”
I shook my head, coming to my senses, and gestured to the seat. He slid in with his typical grace and flagged down the bartender.
“A whiskey, please,” he said.
The bartender nodded and quickly poured him a drink. Justin took a slow sip, clearly savoring the flavor.
“Damn, that hits the spot,” he said.
I couldn’t believe it. He was acting like nothing was out of the ordinary.
“Justin…how are you here?” I asked.
“I flew,” he said, as though it were the most normal thing in the world.
“But I was on the plane,” I said. “And I sure as hell didn’t see you.”
“No,” he said, pointing toward the large window that looked out over the runways. “See that small plane over there?”
Sure enough, there was a private plane parked further back on the runway.
“That’s yours?” I asked.
“My client’s, to be precise.”
“She just let you take the private plane here?”
He took another drink.
“Long story short, I met her in Alice Springs, ready to be all apologetic about being so late getting there to protect her. I told her about the thugs who’d waylaid us, how they’d thought you were her. She was pretty surprised and asked me to describe the kidnappers. I did, and as soon as I was done, she threw her arms around me and gave me the biggest hug of my life.”
“Huh?” I asked. “She wasn’t mad?”
“Not at all. In fact, those thugs were the reason she was hiding out in Alice Springs to begin with. They were affiliated with a Sydney crime syndicate who’d been tracking her for a while. Once they ‘found out’ that I was in Longbridge, they assumed that I was meeting her there and made their move. And you know how the rest of the story went.”
“I sure as hell do,” I said.
“So, what with the kidnappers taken care of and all, she decided to head back to Sydney. And she brought me with her.”
“And now…”
“…and now I’m here.”
I didn’t know what to say. Without even thinking about it, I reached down and grabbed a chunk of the skin on my forearm and gave it a quick pinch.
“Did you just do what I think you did?” he asked, an amused smile on his face.
I shook my head in disbelief.
“This is...so surprising,” I said. “I got on that plane certain that I’d never see you again. And now you’re here, telling me…well, I don’t know what, exactly.”
“How about I don’t tell you anything?” he asked.
With that, he leaned in and kissed me.
The din of the airport bar melted away, and as our lips touched it, was just him and me, the rest of the world a faint distraction. I placed my hands on his body, pulling him across the distance between our two barstools.
After several long, impassioned moments, Justin slowly took his mouth from mine. The taste of him lingered on my lips and I smiled as I moved my tongue across them, savoring the taste.
I felt so overwhelmed that I instinctively reached for my glass and took a deep sip.
“Okay,” I said. “So this is all wonderful and everything. But that still doesn’t answer the question of what we’re going to do next.”
“I could always kiss you again,” he said with a smirk.
“As much as I love that as a short-term strategy, I think we might need to look a little further into the future.”
“Hmm,” he said. “Then I can kiss you again and again.”
I chuckled and brought my hand down onto his thigh.
“You’re making forgetting about everything else but you and me far too enticing, Mr. Gable.”
“You’d know a thing or two about ‘enticing,’” he said, giving my body a slow once-over, a hot blush running up my neck as he did.
“But,” he went on, “I think I might have something that will shed some light on what I have in mind.”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a plane ticket.
“It’s for Dallas,” he said. “Next one out. Which is the one I assume you’re taking.”
My eyes went wide.
“Back to Dallas?” I asked. “With me?”
“Courtesy of my client. I was about to foot the bill, but when she heard that it was so I could fly back with the woman I loved, she insisted on paying.”
“The woman you—?”
I broke off, not daring to speak the words.
Just then, the boarding call for the flight to Dallas sounded out over the PA system.
“Well,” said Justin, lifting up his drink and preparing to drain the last bit. “Ready to get on that plane, see where it takes us?”
I smiled.
“More ready than I’ve been for anything,” I replied.
We finished our drinks and stood up. Justin’s hand enveloped mine, and we turned toward the gate. Moments later, he and I were strolling hand in hand down the jetway. I couldn’t wait for whatever was to come next.
Epilogue
Six Months Later: Delaney
“What’s the day ahead look like, darling?”
Cup of coffee in hand, I glanced up from the pile of documents in front of me on the kitchen table. The loft apartment in downtown Dallas that Justin and I shared was filled with its usual morning light, the traffic of the bustling streets below a mellow, urban din.
“Papers, papers, and more papers,” I said before taking another sip of coffee.
Justin slid into the seat next to mine, but not before planting a soft kiss on my forehead, a smile breaking out across my lips as he did.
“What’s the story?” he asked, picking up one of the documents and looking it over, clearly unable to make heads or tails of the corporate jargon that filled it. “Looks like Horizon are really putting you through the wringer.”
“It’s the transfer,” I said. “Turns out that I was the only person at that place that can handle the job I had all on my own.”
“You mean the non-stop, jet-setting position that you’re leaving behind?”
“That’s the one,” I said. “The one that I’m ditching to spend more time with my handsome boyfriend, along with our friends and family.”
I flashed him a wink and went on.
“I didn’t realize how hard I was working, but when I told the boss that I wanted to have something that kept me in the States, he told me that it was up to me to find out who I wanted to replace me. Then he gives me a stack of employee profiles and tells me to get picking.”
“Oh yeah?” asked Justin, crossing his leg and sitting back.
“Yeah. So I say ‘sure, I’ll have one chosen by the end of the week.’ Then the boss says ‘no—I want you to pick three.’”
He raised an eyebrow.
“And I thought I worked hard.”
“I’d say you do,” I told him. “But now I’m stuck going over all of these recent college grads, trying to figure out who I trust for the job. And, I don’t know. I’m getting all wistful and stuff, thinking about how I was at that age, ready to start my romantic career of flying all over the world, wondering if the next city would be the one where I’d find the man of my dreams.”
Justin stood up, walked behind me, and wrapped his arms around my body.
“I’m betting that when you were imagining the glamorous city where you’d find this man of your dreams, you had in mind Paris, or London, or Shanghai—”
“Or New York, or Barcelona—”
“—but most certainly not Longbridge, Australia.”
I smiled.
“I wasn’t sure of the place, but I always figured that it would have a population of more than a thousand.”
“And that you wouldn’t end up stranded in the desert, running for your life.”
“That too.”
“Well,” he went on, “I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t be any happier with how it turned out.”
Warmth filled my heart.
“Me neither.”
He gave me another kiss on the cheek before returning to his chair.
“But,” I said. “Once I get all this business taken care of, you know what that means.”
“Yes, I do,” said Justin. “You’re going to finally stay in Dallas and stop jet-setting around the world.”
I never thought I’d be so happy to hear those words. But ever since Justin and I officially began our relationship a few months back, being here and building a life together has been all I’ve wanted. I didn’t need to be flying across the globe any longer—everything I wanted was right here.
“And speaking of business,” I said. “How’ve things been going with your new enterprise?”
I wasn’t the only one who decided that I was tired of the globe-trotting lifestyle. When Justin returned from the mission in Australia, he put in a call to his superiors to let them know that he was getting out of the elite bodyguard business. I was shocked when he told me—I figured he’d need time to get everything sorted out. But as I’d already learned, Justin was a man who didn’t like waiting around for what he wanted.
“Not bad,” he said. “Already got our first clients, and the team I’ve put together are some of the best ex-servicemen I could hope for.”
So now Justin was an entrepreneur. He’d founded his own agency, specializing in the sort of work he’d become an expert in over the last few years.
“And how’re you adjusting to life behind a desk?”
“Now, now,” he said, laughing lightly. “I’m no office drone—I work wherever I need to. I give the orders, coordinate with the clients, and make sure that all’s going according to plan.”
“Ah,” I said, taking on a seductive tone. “So, you’re the mysterious voice on the other end of the line when the secret agents call in?”
A smirk formed on his lips. I think he liked the sound of that.
“That’s right,” he said, going along with the game. “I’ll be sitting shrouded in shadows, my voice masked with one of those distortion programs.”
“Oh, you should come up with a codename. Maybe ‘Mr. X’ or something.”
“Does that mean you’re going to be my femme fatale assistant?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “You might have to work on your Russian accent.”
I laughed at the mental image that conjured up.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll stick to the fast-paced world of oil investment. Less chance of ending up kidnapped by mobsters.”
“Fine,” he grinned, giving my leg a pat. “If you want to be all boring about it.”
Justin got out of his chair and I took a quick look over him. He was dressed in a pair of well-fitting dress slacks, a crisp white button-up, and some shiny shoes. An ink-black tie completed the look. I couldn’t ever imagine getting tired of seeing him all dressed up and ready to work.
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br /> “And we’ve still got our big after-work plans for tonight?”
“We sure do,” I said. “If you think you can squeeze it in.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
This had been one of the more surprising developments that had taken place since Justin and I had begun our relationship—the fast friendship that had developed between his mother and mine. The two women had hit it off instantly, both of them bonding over their shared experiences of spending decades in rural Texas.
“The whole family’s going to be there for this one,” he said, gathering up his things into his black messenger bag and preparing to head out. “You think you’ve got the stamina for that?”
“Of course,” I said. “It’s Friday. I think I can handle a little family craziness if we’ve got the weekend to look forward to.”
“Atta girl,” he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. “Not to mention I think I more than anyone should know about what kind of stamina you have.”
I liked the sound of that. Justin leaned in and gave me another kiss that turned from a warm goodbye into something else entirely. His hands moved over my body through my work clothes.
“Mmm,” he moaned, pulling his lips away and checking the time.
“What’s the matter?” I said, disappointment in my tone. “No time for the sort of breakfast I’m really interested in?”
“Can’t today,” he said. “Got a client meeting in a half-hour. Showing up late with my hair all messy probably isn’t the best way to get this working relationship started off.”
I had to agree, as much as I wanted to finish what we’d started.
“Okay,” he said, planting one last kiss on my lips before turning his body toward the door. “Time to go. For real.”
“See you tonight,” I said.
“The Westchester at seven,” he confirmed with a grin.
And then he was gone. I took my coffee and stood up, sipping it as I stepped out onto the balcony, the morning air fresh and warm. It was a lovely late-spring day. The sun was bright, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the occasional light breeze was just cool enough. The city was alive as ever, and I was eager to get the last day of the week started.
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