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“I have everything under control, father.” I let out a sigh, rubbing my forehead. “This is really none of your business now, anyway.”
“Like hell it isn’t,” he yells through the phone.
“I have to go,” I pull the phone away from my ear and throw it on the desk after ending the call.
Propping my feet up on the side of the desk, I glance at my watch. We still have half an hour before we need to leave. The sound of heels clicking against the marble tile draws my attention to the door. Natalia walks in with her auburn hair tied back in a neat bun and a red form-fitting dress. One of my suits lays across her arm, but as she gets closer she places it on the desk.
“Are you trying to make us late for the airport?” I ask as I snake my hand around her waist to pull her closer and look up at her with a devious smile. She lets out a surprised yelp when I slip my hand down to her ass and give it a squeeze.
“No, I came in here to light a fire under your ass so we can get going.” She playfully glares down at me and swats at my shoulder. “You’ve already made us late once today.”
“Ouch,” I stand from my chair and then lean down and press a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth.
“I’m leaving in five minutes, with or without you,” she calls over her shoulder to me as she walks back out of the room.
My eyes fixate on the sway of her hips as she walks away. Shaking my head, I focus on the task at hand. If I don’t get dressed, Natalia really will leave me behind.
Quickly changing into the fresh suit she brought, I rush out of the room. I find her waiting for me. “Perfect timing,” she muses before grabbing the handle of the suitcase and walking out the door.
Once we are in the car, I reach over and place my hand on her thigh, rubbing small circles with my thumb. “Are you going to tell me where we are going?” I ask, glancing over at her.
“Maybe once we are in the air.” She looks away from the window over at me with a smile. “Until then… no.”
I huff and continue the drive to the airport. This woman could be taking me somewhere remote to kill me, but would I care? No. Sure, it might cause a logistical nightmare for my father, but that’s his problem. Dying at the hand of the littlediabhalbeside me would be an honor. Chuckling to myself, I shake the thoughts from my head. Natalia wouldn’t kill me. She would miss me too much.
“Uh… Dec?” Natalia waves her hand in front of my face. “Where’d you go?” She asks.
“Sorry, I zoned out,” I shrug my shoulder and gently squeeze her thigh.
When we arrive, Natalia grins over at me. “Are you ready?”
“You’re not taking me somewhere to kill me, right?” I ask playfully.
“Honey, I could have done that at home,” she winks. Sliding out of the car, she makes her way toward our private jet.
Once we are boarded and ready for take-off, Natalia turns to face me. “I can’t keep it a secret any longer.”
Raising an eyebrow I give her a nod. “Do tell.”
“We are going to… a resort on a private island. It’s about forty miles south give or take of Saint Vincent in the Caribbean isles of the Grenadines.” Her eyes search mine as if she’s looking for my approval of the destination she has picked for us.
“That sounds lovely,mo ghrá.” I take her hand and give her a reassuring squeeze. “Thank you for this.”
“I figured we could use one last getaway before we are so busy we never get to see each other,” she mumbles with a shrug.
Just as I go to speak again, the fasten seatbelt light comes on. Once mine is fastened, I turn my attention back to her. “Will there be nights that one of us goes to bed without the other? Yes. But am I going to neglect my wife because that’s what we grew up watching? No.” I grab her chin gently and look into her eyes. “We are going to break the cycle our fathers and their fathers have set.”
The pure joy in her eyes is contagious and a smile spreads across my face. “I know it’s different because we will be working as a team, but thank you. That’s all I could ever ask for.” Her words are soft, but the emotion conveyed is louder than anything.
Up until my mother died, I watched her become a shell of a woman catering to my father’s every need. She would just sit and wait on him to come home. Despite having a housekeeper and chef, she made sure the house was clean and he had dinner waiting on him every night that he came home. I often wondered why she did it when it seemed like he couldn’t care less. I even asked her one time why she did it.“Declan, you will understand one day. Just remember that while your role in the family is extremely important, her role is important as well. Make sure to cherish her.”
“You might want to get some rest, we have a nine-hour flight, and by the time we get there it will be daytime.” Natalia’s words bring me back out of my thoughts. I look out the window to see that we are now in the air and the seatbelt sign is no longer lit.
“Only if you join me,” I say as I stand and hold my hand out to her.
Chapter twenty-seven
Natalia
