by Carla Krae
His eyes widened to comic proportions. “You show that to anyone, and I will kill you and hide the body.”
I grinned; glad to see him scared for once. “So paranoid. I’ve been the keeper of all your secrets for how long now?”
“Guess I picked the right girl for the job.” He tilted his head to kiss me.
I met him half way. “Mm-hmm…”
A couple hours later, we looked for lunch.
We blended into the crowd. In L.A., Jacob probably would’ve been spotted by now, but here, we could be just two more people on a New York street.
I shook my head when he tugged me into a McDonald’s. “We have all of New York City to choose a restaurant from, and you want to eat here?”
“Hey, just lookin’ for the first place I recognized.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on…” And I led him to a café Celeste and I found.
“Have you given my idea any more thought?” he asked.
“Huh? Oh…the trip.”
“You’ve had two days.”
“A day and a half.”
“Fine, a day and a half. So? How ‘bout it?”
“I don’t know…where would we go, really? And short notice?”
“Beth, you know arrangin’ it isn’t a problem. I’d ask you to stay at the house, but I don’t want us to get trapped inside. I want to put my time off to good use, and I’d like to do that with you.”
“We shouldn’t be talking about this in public,” I whispered.
He sighed, visibly frustrated with me. “Fine…”
Once more, I’d soured his mood. If he could just be patient…
Later, Celeste and I rode to the airport in a limousine courtesy of my boyfriend. With the paparazzi always prowling the terminals, Jacob had to say goodbye inside the car. The ride was tense.
“You two okay?” Celeste asked when we were seated on the plane.
I sighed. “He wants an answer about the thing. The going-away-for-a-month thing.”
“You don’t want to go?”
“I don’t know! Part of me does, but it’s also freaking me out for so many reasons. And he’s like a dog with a bone.”
“Wanna know what I would do?”
“I know what you would do. I wanna know what I’m gonna do! I kept checking for cameras all day. Couldn’t stop thinking about it. I tried to be subtle, but Jacob probably noticed. He thinks we can find somewhere private, but not too private.”
“When does he want an answer?”
“His vacation starts Monday, technically, so he’s already impatient with me. We struggle over my lack of the spontaneity gene.”
“I think you’re over-complicating the issue, sweetie. All you’re being asked to do is decide yes or no. Let him work out the details.”
“You mean give up control,” I translated.
“It makes them feel like men. Let your gorgeous boyfriend take care of you for a week or two.”
“What about you and Bob, huh? If Jacob has time off, then so do the rest of them.”
“We had a nice time…”
“And?”
“And, nothing. It was a vacation fling.”
“Uh-huh…”
“He has my number, okay? But I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“You liked him, though,” I prodded.
“What’s not to like? Handsome, intelligent, great with his hands, rich… We had fun, made some good memories, that’s all there needs to be. Stop deflecting.”
“Bitch.”
She winked. “Love you, too.”
When we landed, we went our separate ways. Daddy picked me up at LAX.
“Welcome home, Elizabeth.”
“Hey, Daddy.” We hugged.
“How was your week?”
I winced. “Interesting… Could I ask for some advice?”
“Shoot.”
“Well, Jacob starts vacation on Monday, and he wants to spend it with me.”
“Alright…”
“But he wants to go away, some place where people won’t recognize him much. For a month.”
“I see. And he asked you to accompany him that entire time?”
“Yeah… And I don’t know if I should go. It’d be nice to have time together without worrying about cameras, but that’s also a long time to be away from my work, and you, and my friends…”
“Hm. What kind of accommodations would be a part of this trip? Do I need to have a talk with the boy?”
“No. Separate rooms if I want. Cost isn’t really an issue, obviously.” I frowned. “Honestly, my head is still spinning from the start of this whole thing. Just, whoosh, here’s all this stuff to consider dumped in my lap. I keep feeling like I’m two steps behind. Did you and Mom start out easy?”
He laughed. “Hell, no. I was in the service at the time, and we spent most of our first year together sending letters back and forth. Once we married, I could bring her to the base I was stationed at…but, no, those early years weren’t the easiest. And when Andrew came along, then your mother wanted to stop moving around, so we fought all over again. We didn’t settle in the house here until he was eight, you know.”
“And I was a surprise?”
He nodded. “A welcome one, of course. Your mother always wanted one of each, but we were beginning to think she’d never get pregnant again. Then, you.”
“I remember you were gone a lot when I was little.”
“I traded one traveling job for another when I left the service. It wasn’t until your brother high-tailed it out of town as soon as he graduated that I realized I should have been home more. Of course, once you went off to college…”
“Bit of a gypsy, aren’t you, Dad.”
He considered that. “In a sense, maybe. Your granddad and his daddy before him were career military. I never considered being anything else until I met your mother. She lived in the same town all her life until she was twenty. Guess you kids got traits from both of us--you don’t like budging, and Andrew couldn’t wait to see the world. And now you have feelings for a traveling man.”
‘Feelings’ was an understatement. “Yeah…”
“Well, sweetheart, only you can decide if the risk is worth it.”
“Would you have been happy with just your career? Without Mom?”
“Settled in my ways, perhaps. Content, maybe. But not happy.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Any time, Elizabeth. I’m glad it wasn’t too late for us.”
“Me, too.”
Monday
Maria picked up the line when I called that afternoon and put me on hold while she found her boss.
“Hey, love.”
“Hey… I’ve decided. Can I come over?”
“Yes, absolutely. Can I have a hint? I want to prepare myself.”
“Ha, ha. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up.
He must have been pacing the entryway waiting for me, for he opened the front door as soon as I pulled up to the house.
“Someone’s impatient,” I teased when he pulled me inside.
He walked backward into the living room, holding my hands. “So?”
“I have some conditions.”
He nodded. “Alright.”
“Separate rooms, or at least separate beds. I can’t be away for a whole month, but I’m willing to go up to two weeks. And if it turns out to be a bad idea, we go home, no hard feelings.”
“But, you are coming with me.”
I nodded. “I’m putting the arrangements in your hands, Jacob. That isn’t easy for me.”
He looked grateful. “I know. Trust me, okay? It’ll be special.” He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Maria peeked in. “Ah, I’m making lunch for two?”
Jacob arched a brow at me in question. I nodded.
“Two, pet. Thanks.” Alone again, he tilted my face up to kiss me. “Minty.”
I blushed. “I brush
ed before I left. So, umm, where are you thinking of traveling?”
“Well, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to pay a visit to my mum. It’s been a while and I know she’d like to see you again.” He led me into the office. “After that, I was thinkin’ of some place tropical.”
I mentally gulped. Heat, sweat, revealed skin…
Trouble.
“Do you think we can go to your mother’s without being noticed?” I asked.
“It’ll take some secrecy, but I believe it doable. I’ve been there alone alright. The key is not tellin’ anyone where you’re goin’.” He handed me some brochures. “Look through these while I check on lunch.”
The locations in the brochures were all exclusive, expensive, and idyllic.
Romantic.
One could wonder if Jacob was up to something. My first thought was he shouldn’t spend so much on me. I stuffed that down and started considering the resorts based on their amenities. Since he’d chosen only sunny and/or tropical locales, there would be no escaping a shopping trip to supplement my wardrobe, especially since I wasn’t ready to publicly reveal the scar on my leg.
“Come eat before there’s nothin’ left!” he called.
Starving, I left the brochures on the desk and scrambled into the kitchen. “You just wanted to see me run in here.”
He grinned smugly. “Guilty. I was just tellin’ Maria she won’t have much to do this month.”
“You’re easy to work for, Mr. Lindsey,” Maria said.
I snickered. She winked at me, sliding a veggie plate across the island. I snagged a carrot, blinking innocently.
“Yes, I know I’m outnumbered, ladies. No need to hide your amusement at my expense.”
“He always gets a lot more British when he’s pretending to be offended,” I teased.
“Bite me.”
Giggling, I started to relax. The family-like rapport was comforting. Familiar. The three of us joked around like this in the early days before Jacob thought that more was more and never had the time.
Perhaps, if we made it to Thanksgiving…
He leaned in to kiss me when the phone rang, his private line. He groaned and left the kitchen to answer it.
She inched over to me and said, “It is nice seeing Mr. Lindsey so happy.”
“In spite of me, really. I haven’t been easy on him,” I confessed.
“Love is…as complicated as you make it, Elizabeth. You two have been circling each other for years. It was about time someone made the first move.”
I shook my head. “He didn’t know he wanted me again until I left.”
“Perhaps he didn’t know that he knew, but he knew. Trust me. Have fun on your trip, hm?”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he walked back in.
“That was my mother. She’d be thrilled to have us, as long as it’s not before Thursday.”
“What’s on Thursday?”
“It’s when she gets home.”
“Gets home?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, pet. We didn’ talk about it. Did any of the brochures catch your eye?”
Ugh, men never asked the right questions.
“Uh, they’re all very nice… It’s up to you, remember?”
“Well, yeah, but I still want your input, love.” He’d taken to touching me as part of his “reassuring boyfriend thing”, resting his hands on my shoulders or hips while making his point.
“Whatever you choose will be great. Really. If you let me do anything, I’ll just take it over, and you don’t want that.”
“True. Defeats the whole purpose of gettin’ you to trust my reservation skills.” He pulled a credit card out of his back pocket. “Take my card and pick up anything you need for the trip.”
I tried to hand it back. “Jacob, I can’t… I have my own money, you know. You don’t need to do that.”
“You can, I know, and I want to. The trip is on me, missy. No arguin’.”
“But--”
He silenced me with a swift kiss. “No. Arguing. For the next two weeks, I’m takin’ care of you. Deal with it.”
I pouted. “You don’t play fair.”
“All’s fair in love and war, kitten.” He folded my fingers over the card. “Go. Shop. Take a girlfriend before I keep you the rest of the day.”
I rolled my eyes. “Alright, alright.”
When he swatted my ass, I yelped and sped to the door. His laughter followed me out of the house. I barely got out of the driveway when he texted me to come back for dinner when I finished.
I’d never been crazy about clothes shopping. In high school, I was Tiny Skinny Girl, then Tall Skinny Girl, and clothes were too big, then too short. I was well into college before I had any hips to speak of and my boobs still didn’t fill out a top like I wanted. Packing for this trip was going to be interesting with two different climates to consider. This California girl would be cold in England. I had sweaters, though.
It was the swimsuit shopping that filled me with dread. My last suit had been bought the previous decade and probably sat at the bottom of a drawer since moving out of the cottage. I burned at the beach and didn’t own a pool, so what was the point? Now, with the scar on my leg still bright pink, I thought a wetsuit would be the only way to go.
Why couldn’t he want to go to a cabin in the mountains? There would be layers and covered skin and cozy chairs for book reading… Maybe there’d be freak weather and we’d get stuck at his mother’s house.
It could happen.
When it came to clothes, I needed my best friend.
“Finally!” I pulled Celeste inside my house.
“Are you hiding from your boyfriend again?”
“No. Kinda. He wants me to come back for dinner, but I didn’t say I would.”
She shrugged her jacket off. “Okay, so what’s the problem?”
“I told him he could plan everything before knowing he wants to go to the tropics. It’s almost summer south of the Equator.”
“Ooo, nice! White sand beaches, fruity cocktails, ocean breezes…very romantic--”
“Yeah, whatever. It’s hot down there—get it?”
“Ohhh! You’re having a wardrobe meltdown. Well, honey, you’ve gotta have a pair of shorts somewhere.”
“Hello! Big scar on my left leg ring a bell? The metal parts are so much fun to explain at airports, if you recall.”
“Oh, right. Wear Bermuda shorts, then. You can get away with it at your height, and--”
“Except I couldn’t find anything at the mall in October. Help? I’ve only got a few days before Jacob whisks me away, and shopping is your thing, so…”
“Say no more. I’ve got your back. I know just where to go.”
I sighed in relief and sagged into a chair. “Thank you. It was you, or the internet.”
****
Thursday
The chartered plane was scheduled to leave the airport at 8:00AM. Jacob was running late. He sent a car to take Beth on ahead while he showered. His PA was at the house for last-minute details.
“Everything I asked for on the jet?” he asked, rubbing a towel over his wet hair.
“Yes, sir. They are on schedule and awaiting your arrival.”
He pulled a lightweight sweater over his head and walked back into the bathroom. His carry-on sat open on the bed. A larger case stood by the bedroom door, prepared by Maria.
“Good. Take my suitcase down to the car and see if the coffee’s brewed?”
“Yes, sir.”
The PA grabbed the handle of the rolling case and left. Maria came in with a travel mug as Jacob threw odds and ends into his carry-on.
“Do you need help, Mr. Lindsey?”
“Do you know where my phone is?”
She took it out of the pocket of her dress and handed it to him. “You left it downstairs. Not shaving this morning?”
“I’m running late.”
“They’ll wait a few minutes. Miss Beth would appreciate the effort,”
she said.
He sighed and went back in to the bathroom.
“Better?” he asked, presenting his smooth face.
“Much. And your bag is ready.”
He kissed her cheek. “You’re a peach, love. I’d lose my head without you around.”
“I know,” Maria cheekily replied. “Here.” She handed him the mug. “Careful, it’s hot. Your guitar and suitcase are already in the car, and Beth’s driver called to say they arrived. Your assistant is waiting downstairs.”
He slung the bag over his shoulder and adjusted his leather jacket. “Keys, wallet, phone, passport…all present and accounted for.”
“Go. Have fun. Don’t forget the souvenirs.”
“Yes, pet. Thanks for the help this morning.” He rushed down the stairs. “And no parties!” he called over his shoulder.
She laughed and watched him run out the door.
Chapter Seventeen
Early even for what was expected, I waited anxiously on the plane and wanted to go already. I sat for a while, tapping my foot, then got up to pace the cabin unable to contain this nervous energy, and sighed, checking my watch again.
There were footsteps on the stairs and Jacob finally ran inside. The pilot met him at the door for an update.
“Hey,” Jacob greeted me. “Ready to go?”
“Yep. Did you sleep through the alarm?”
His hair was still damp. “No, just trying to keep everything straight in my head.” He stuffed his carry-on in the overhead and finished whatever was in the mug he carried.
“Right, all the planning. Well, they told me breakfast will be served as soon as we’re in the air, and the weather’s clear. My dad wanted me to tell you to make me go outside at least once. He seems to think all I do is read on my time off.” I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t you?” he teased. He kissed me, leaving me breathless. Wow. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Mr. Lindsey, Miss Lawson, if you could take your seats. We’ve been cleared to take off,” the attendant announced.
We parted and selected our captain’s chairs. I fumbled with pulling my seatbelt taut. He pulled a notepad out of his pocket and started scribbling something down.
They served breakfast once we were free to move.
“I remember you always wanted the window seat.”
