I stare.
“Okay, fine. Even when I’m annoyed with you. Which will only happen when I’m especially grumpy.”
“And I’ll choose you with every grumpy scowl.”
“Every day, Poppy Grace. I’ll choose you every day.” He kisses me softly. “Now come on,” he says, taking my hand. “Day one starts now.”
EPILOGUE
OLIVER
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking,” a voice says over the speakers.
Poppy and I swap glances immediately. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I say.
She elbows me. “He’s saying we’re at cruising altitude. Chill, Ollie Pop.”
I snort. “Can you blame a guy for feeling a little triggered?”
“Oh, right, because the last canceled flight wasso terriblefor you,” she says.
“Good point,” I say, leaning down to kiss her. We’re flying first class, so we don’t have to share the row with anyone, thank goodness. Turns out, after dropping two hundred thousand on a grand declaration of love, those millions in the bank feel pretty darn accessible now.
We can’t full on make out, but Poppy doesn’t let go of me after the kiss. Instead, she kisses along my cheek, her lips leavinga trail to my ear. “Now are you ready to tell me why on earth we’re heading back to Colorado?”
I close my eyes, reveling in the sensation of her lips on my skin. I will never get used to how good she feels. “No,” I say. “I told you it was a surprise.”
“But I’ve been waiting since Christmas!”
“Which was two days ago,” I say. “Chill, Elf on a Shelf.”
She wrinkles her nose, glares her cute little glare, and I can’t stop myself from kissing her adorable pout.
Can’t, won’t, same difference.
Poppy and I have spent every waking moment together since Evan’s reception last week, including Christmas. When I drove her back home that night, it was to find out her heater had gone out in her apartment. Her uncle offered to let her stay in their hotel, and her great aunt offered to let her stay at her place a few hours away, but my mom turned out to be the most persuasive.
“Absolutely not,” she said when she found out. “We have all this space. It would mean the world to me if she stayed with us.”
And Poppy chose to believe her.
A guy could get emotional over something like that.
The flight is both too slow and too fast. It’s too slow, in that I can’t wait to see Poppy’s face when she realizes what her present is.
Too fast, in that we haven’t had time to map out our entire future yet.
“Are you sure you need to visit your mom for a whole week?” I ask after we get our drink service—Dr Pepper for me, root beer for Poppy. Something tells me these drinks will be our tradition on flights for a long time.
She smiles and rests her head against me. I sling my arm around her shoulders. “We need the time together. But you could come?—”
“Done.”
She chuckles. “Just like that, huh? You want a week in Florida with me?”
I want forever with you, I think, but I manage to stop myself before crossing intoobsessive weirdoterritory. Yes, we’ve known each other for a lot longer than either of us realized, but as long as we’re both clear on where we’re heading, I don’t need to zoom out and see the entire route.
But if there’s a single detour, so help me …
