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One Yearand Six Days Later
“Don’tcouples usually want privacy for their anniversary celebration?”
Veronica glances up from the novel she’s been absorbed in since takeoff and follows my line of vision to Justin and Kendall. The happy couple is cozying up in adjacent bucket seats watching a movie on the big screen I usually use for video conferences when I’m in the air. “They celebrated last week in the Sierra Madre mountains,” she says.
“Spending Christmas providing basic medical care in a remote region in Mexico isn’t an anniversary celebration.”
She gives me a side-eye. “Forging their own path, remember?”
“Just like us.”
Her lips curve into a smile. “Exactly.”
“So, this trip, then, is…”
“Family time. You always say how you don’t get to see enough of Kendall.”
This is true. “And Tierney?”
The wedding planner is pacing up and down the aisle between the galley and the cockpit. She’s been on the phone for at least twenty minutes and has taken a half dozen calls. Why she agreed to escape the city with us for three nights in the middle of a busy holiday season is beyond me.
“Tierney wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
What? Sure, an all-expenses paid trip to a private island in the Caribbean with friends is great, but it’s not like Tierney couldn’t afford something similar on her own. Her business has grown exponentially, along with Veronica’s, over the past year, and they’re both well on their way to multi-seven figure annual revenue.
Veronica sets her book aside and slips her hand into mind. “I just mean that I don’t spend enough quality time with Tierney. I thought inviting her to tag along would be good for her. She needs a break and maybe she’ll meet a handsome stranger who’ll sweep her off her feet. Or at least keep her company in bed.”
I press a kiss to Veronica’s pink lips. “How private are these individual beachfront casitas? They’re not open air with palm fronds for a roof, are they?”
“No,” she says, her eyebrows coming together. “At least I don’t think so. But don’t worry, no one would think twice if they heard anything coming from our rooms.”
“Why’s that?”
She straightens, and with a wave of her hand, is quick to brush off my question. Too quick. “I just meant that no one will be paying any attention to us. They’ll all be absorbed in relaxing and enjoying the beach and the sun and the cocktails. Lots of cocktails.”
Suddenly she’s very thirsty and the seltzer with lime she’s been nursing for half an hour is finished off in one long sip.
“Hmm.” Something is up. I’m not sure exactly what, but I’ll figure it out. From day one I’ve been able to read my lovely girlfriend like a book. Over the past year, I’ve gotten to know every inch of her, inside and out, and fallen more deeply in love with her than even I could have imagined. I can usually perceive her needs and determine her wants before she realizes them herself. But at the moment, I’m drawing a blank. And it seems she wants it that way.
“Plus,” she murmurs, trailing a finger down my arm. “I brought the blindfold.”
My cock twitches, but I see right through her attempt at distraction. “I’ll put it to good use,” I promise her, not letting on that I suspect a thing.
With a dazzling smile Veronica picks her novel back up as Tierney reassures a client the revised table assignments have been taken care of. Kendall smiles at me from across the plane and I could be imagining things, but there seems to be a glimmer of delight in her eyes. The whisper of a secret I’m not privy to.
I lean back and close my eyes as we soar over the Atlantic. I’m a patient man and can bide my time until whatever’s going on reveals itself.
* * *
It doesn’t take long.Barely six hours later, once we’re settled into the spacious casitas suspended over crystal clear turquoise waters, Justin invites me for a beer on their patio. Veronica pretends to be pleasantly surprised by the suggestion but proceeds to suggest a pale blue linen short sleeve button down and navy chino shorts I don’t remember packing, to wear.
There’s a meandering path across the white, sandy beach to get to Justin and Kendall’s casita, which is thankfully out of earshot of mine. But just as I arrive, rather than join us, Kendall excuses herself to get ready for our New Year’s Eve dinner with the girls. On her way out, she grabs a makeup case and slings a garment bag over one shoulder.
Justin and I are on our second beer when the sun’s long rays cast the sky, all the way to the horizon, in gorgeous swaths of color. I’m about to comment on the view when Kendall, in a long floral dress and sandals, her hair twisted up at the back of her neck, breezes up the path. She gives a little nod to her husband, who takes his leave.
“Kendall,” I say, trying to get a read on her as my hunch as to what’s really going on tonight grows stronger.
“Dad,” she replies, trying to hide a wide smile. “Are you ready?”
