Page 87 of His for the Holiday

All I wanted now was to hold him in my arms for real, to wake up with him every morning, and to sleep next to him at night rather than staring at his face on a screen as we drifted off or got ready for the day. I really, really just hoped that he would be out soon.

As I looked around though, I realized the crowd had started lessening but Hawk still wasn’t here. My heart started pounding again when I checked my phone and realized I’d already waited for an hour. Then I waited for another.

It was getting real late, real fast now, and I tried calling him, but his phone just rang and rang. Worry nagged at my internal organs, turning them all into churning pits of dread as I glanced up at the board, but Hawk’s flight had gotten in so long ago that it wasn’t even on there anymore.

Where are you, love?

I pushed myself up on my toes and craned my neck when the crowd swelled again, another flight coming in and those families shrieking with excitement as their loved ones came out. Kids rushed to parents, significant others sobbed as they were reunited, old friends embraced warmly, and still, there was no sign of Hawk.

Just when I was about to give up, I heard someone calling my name. “Sutton? Sutt?”

I spun toward his voice, my hands flying to my mouth as I gasped when I finally saw him rushing toward me. Dragging a single, small piece of luggage on wheels behind him, he raced over from the other side of the arrivals terminal, looking no worse for wear even after what had to have been a long day of travel.

Hawk’s thick dark hair was swept out of his face, a single lock of it falling over his forehead in his haste to reach me. Wearing a perfectly tailored navy blue suit with a crisp white button-down underneath and a sky blue tie that matched his eyes, he still looked like he could’ve stepped right off the pages of a magazine.

Tears welled in my eyes as I finally broke into a run, meeting him halfway. He let go of his suitcase, catching me when I leaped and sliding his hands under my thighs to hold me to him. I sealed my lips over his. He kissed me hard, groaning in my mouth before he finally pulled away.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he murmured between furious kisses. “My first flight got delayed so I missed my connection. I’m so sorry. Shit, I thought I was going to miss you. Thank you for waiting for me, baby. I love you. Oh, and hi.”

I stared at him through blurry eyes, smiling against his lips before I hugged him again. “Hi. I love you. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

“Nothing would’ve kept me off that flight,” he murmured, still holding me before he blinked hard and finally seemed to realize we were still in the middle of the packed terminal. “I would’ve lost my mind if I didn’t get to see you today.”

“Same. Maybe you should buy a jet,” I joked tearfully. “That way, we don’t have to worry about commercial flights being delayed when you have to leave again.”

“Buy one?” he asked. “I have one. I was just saving the fuel so I could take you and Winnie to Hawaii this winter instead.”

“Are you joking?”

“About the jet? No. About saving the fuel, yes.”

I drew back and laughed, shaking my head as I stared into those eyes I’d missed so much. “How did I not know that you have a jet?”

“You never asked,” he said. “It’s not just mine, though. I bought it with a friend, which is why I didn’t take it. He’s going to Ibiza for the holidays and I was originally supposed to go with him, so we compromised. He took the jet and I didn’t go to Ibiza.”

“Ibiza for Christmas?” I arched an eyebrow at him, smiling as he took my hand after finally setting me back down on my feet. “Who does that?”

“Assholes who don’t have the love of their life waiting for them at the airport,” he teased, leaning over to kiss my temple before he reached for his suitcase. “I don’t have to leave again anytime soon, though, so we shouldn’t have to worry about next time just yet. I’m here to stay.”

“Those words are like music to my ears,” I admitted, tightening my grip on his hand as I led him through the terminal to the parking lot. “I didn’t know it was possible to miss someone that much.”

“Let’s just get home,” he said, the first rasps of exhaustion finally making themselves known in his voice. “I want you and your bed, in that order, and then I never want to leave either of those things again.”

I smiled, taking his hand and draping his arm over my shoulders as I snuggled into his side. “Same, but we’ll probably have to make space for Winnie in the bed with us if you’re never leaving it again. She missed you too.”

“I missed her,” he said, pulling me even closer.

Back by his side, I felt like I was exactly where I belonged and those red ants that had been living inside me all day finally disappeared. These last few weeks had been rough, but we’d made it and now we would finally get to start our lives together.

It really is about freaking time.

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