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“Thanks, Case,” he murmured, angling his laptop away. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead as a field of invisible lilacs overpowered the coffee and stale air of the airport.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She shook her head as her free hand squeezed his knee. “Don’t, Austin...” A frown tugged at her lips. “Come on, we already talked about all this.”
His heart sank. Her willingness to overlook his biggest flaw rattled his soul.
“It’s me who should apologize to you...again.”She swallowed, shuffling her feet to hide her toes beneath his bag. “That morning, I umm, took a lot of my crap and insecurities out on you. It wasn’t fair. I asked you something very unfair.”
A flurry of warmth descended on his body, her words slashing at his heart. Leaning forward, Austin set his coffee on the floor and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer to his body. He shook his head. “Case, I forced you into it. All of it. I shouldn’t have pushed your buttons like that.” His laptop slipped from his knees, and Austin lunged to save it, the mayor of Chicago beaming her wide smile directly at Casey.
“Looks like you’re not done pushing though.” She pointed at the computer screen and grinned.
Shit!
His fingers clasped the top of the screen, ready to snap it closed. “I, umm...” he stammered before her hands yanked the device from his lap.
“Wait. Is this acompletedapplication?” Her eyes skimmed the screen, her fingers scrolling through his words.
His heart hammered in his chest, blood pounding in his ears with each scroll of her finger. “Case, before you get angry... I didn’t submit anything!” He exhaled as his cheeks reddened. “I was justthinkingthrough some potential answers. That’s all, I swear!”
Her gaze lifted from the laptop, scanning his face with X-ray vision. “So, this is like, done?”
“I mean, yeah, but...”
She smiled and clickedsubmit, the little pinwheel spinning with gusto. The wordsthank you for your submissionappeared on the screen. Casey shut the laptop and handed it back to Austin.
“Thank you,” she whispered and pressed her face into his chest.
Austin dropped the laptop to the seat beside him, pulling Casey fully into his embrace. His nose met her hair as he exhaled, breathing out a sigh of relief. “You’re not mad at me?”
She nuzzled into him. “No. Actually, I just might love you a little bit more, Austin Templeton.”
The overhead intercom crackled to life. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready to begin boarding flight 1219 to Los Angeles, California. At this time, we welcome passengers in Group A to approach the gate. Please have your ticket and identification ready.”
Their fellow passengers stood, stretched, and gathered their belongings, ready to make their way to the line forming at the gate. Austin reached down to collect his bag, but the sudden weight on his knee stilled his heart.
“Are we okay?” She squinted, the blue of her eyes clouding with a layer of tears.
He dropped his hand over hers and squeezed, lifting her fingers to his lips. He pressed a kiss to her soft skin and smiled. “Better than okay,” he whispered, tugging her upward to stand.
She followed and scooped up her bright pink bag, draping the strap over her shoulder. With a gulp of coffee, she stepped behind him, dribbling the brown liquid down her chin.
Austin grinned as she used the sleeve of her sweatshirt to mop up the mess. “Come on. Let me show you home, Chicago girl.”
For better or worse.
––––––––
The car from the airportpulled into the driveway of Austin’s extravagant red brick home. As the driver put the vehicle in park, Austin’s breath caught in his throat staring out the window at the luxury bachelor pad. His stomach churned, but his fingers gripped the car door’s handle, pushing it open as the familiar warm summer air of California kissed his skin.
“Oh, my God... this is your house?” Casey gulped and slammed the door. “Why would you ever move into my teeny tiny little apartment?” She held up her hand and allowed an inch of space to appear between her thumb and index finger.
After retrieving their bags from the trunk, Austin thanked and paid the driver and met Casey at the bottom of the porch steps. “Because you lived there, Casey girl.” He grinned and pressed his lips to hers.
Her cheeks flushed pink as she grabbed her bag from his grasp, following him up the staircase to the front door.
Austin tapped in the keycode and stepped inside, his gaze zeroing in on his favorite chair in the living room—still there, still just as he left it. He swallowed, dropping his bag to the floor as unease gripped his gut.How long have I been gone?The familiarity of home didn’t quite touch his heart the way it once did.
