Page 48 of The Virgin Playboy

“You bought me a bonnet.”

“You always complain about waking up to frizzy curls. The fact that you never owned one is baffling to me.” Examining the pattern, it was decorated in with whimsical musical notes, and considering Jaq hair always looked nice when she wore one, it was actually really thoughtful.

“This is so sweet. Thank you, Jaq.” One by one, we were up to our knees in wrapping paper. She’d managed to gift me a book bag that I really wanted, a beautiful camera set and a signed jersey from my favorite player, Ma’a Nanu, from the All Blacks, something I knew she'd used her connections in the industry to maneuver. The next two she opened were some custom Funko pops I got made resembling the both of us, as she remarked on Funko Graham's glasses.

“I can't! Look at how cute Baby Graham’s looks in his little glasses. It looks just like you,” she said, holding it up to me to compare. “Okay, maybe he's cuter,” she teased. “But Baby Jaq is really that bitch,” she beamed. We were down to the last presents for both of us, and because hers was flat, I talked her into opening the gift from me first. She took her time ripping it open, revealing a homemade box of index cards labeled 1000 Things I Love About You.

“Wait, you broke out the crayon box for me,” she fake cried up, pulling out a decorated card with reason #182 Your Shite Bridgerton accent,” she grinned, leaning into that said shite Bridgerton accent.

“Here I am thinking I'm doing it justice. Sorrows, sorrows, prayers,” she lamented, sending me into a fit of laughter. “I mean, you do have that colonizer blood in your veins, so if anything, it's your fault my accent hasn't improved.”

“Jaq, my dad’s Scottish,” I laughed.

“Okay so why he ain’t in Scotland, then?”

“Let me shut my arse up! You got me there.”

“Let's see,” she said, pulling out another.

“Number #68. The moment you press your lips together after you just put on lipstick. That is wildly specific, but I dig it. On to the next one,” she said, pulling out the next reason.

“#767 Awww…the way you hug me.” She responded by giving me a hug. “This is the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me. I’m going spend all day reading them.”

“No, don't go through them all today. Just look at them when you're having a bad day, or need a pick-me-up. I want some of them to be a surprise to you,” I suggested, as she pushed me eagerly to open her last gift to me. From the outside it looked like a card, but when I opened it, two plane tickets fell into my lap. Their destination, New Zealand. My brows furrowed in confusion.

“You brought me tickets to fly home?”

“Well, don't look too excited. I thought you might want to spend New Year’s with your family. Did you get a good look at the tickets?” she probed. Examining them, I learned that they were both round trip, but one had Jaq’s name on them. Once I put it together, my smile stretched wide.

“Wait, are you coming with me?” She nodded enthusiastically, and I couldn't contain my excitement when I pinned her to the ground, peppering her face in obnoxious kisses.

“Keen, keen, keen. There are so many places I want to take you, so many things I want you to try. The beaches there… you're going to love the beaches there. And the seafood. You haven't had good seafood until you've had it hāngi style,” I effused, as she put her finger over my lips to calm me down.

“Slow down, cowboy. Soon as you hit me with the triple keen, I know you’re about to start infodumping. I'm sure I'm going to love everything about your ancestral land, but you have plenty of time to give me every reason over the next couple days,” she said, ending it with a kiss to soften a blow. I was always rather hyper when I got excited.

“Thank you for thinking of this. I promise, my family is going to love you.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jaq

“This is the longest flight I've ever taken,” I yawned fatigue from the nearly 19-hour flight.

“Yeah, they're pretty brutal. Makes visits back and forth hard for everybody, but I promise it's worth it,” his smile equally exhausted.

Looking back through the aisles, then back at me, he wore a sinister smile. “Bet joining the mile-high club might wake us up a bit,” he suggested, as that sounded like a plan, but given it always looked more suspicious when the woman went first, I suggested he go first and wait for my special knock. By the time we got back to our seats, it was safe to say we’d both become official members.

“That was nice,” Graham spoke in his bedroom voice, draping his arm around my shoulder when I leaned in to rest my head on his. “Can officially cross that off my list,” he beamed.

“Honestly, same.”

“Seriously?” he asked, skeptical.

“It's not like I've ever traveled with a partner before,” I admitted, like it was no big deal.

“You're always so convinced that you can't have firsts with me, but life is surprising. New Zealand will have you experiencing a lot of firsts, so prepare yourself. It's nothing like New York.”

“I swear to God, Graham, if you mention the beach one more time,” I rolled my eyes, but was truly kidding.