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Have you come clean yet? Does she know? Tick-Tock. -S
He wouldn’t be in this predicament if it were not for his meddlesome sister. He typed a quick reply.
Working on it. Several interruptions. Thanks for the added pressure.
Heads up. Houston, we have a problem. You’re needed at home base. Jason Becker has worked the board into a frenzy over your new development. They’ve demanded an emergency meeting. -S
Fuck. Just what he needed. He’d intended to write an email to the entire board apprising them of the new deadline on his marital statusandhis solution. But he’d gotten caught up in Juniper and forgot. He couldn’t afford those kinds of mistakes.
“What do you say?” Ivy looked between them.
“I’m sorry. I just received notice I’m needed back in Houston.”
“Oh, well. I guess it’s for the best really.” Juniper looked abashed. “I hope that doesn’t put a kink in your fun. But I’m on a time crunch to get Mr. Blackwood’s wedding on the roll for a wedding in two weeks.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow,” Juniper agreed, and her cheeks flushed a pretty pink when her gaze briefly met his.
“Rain-check? We’ll see each before summer ends, of course.”
“Of course! And no worries—you take care of what you need to do and we’ll put the wine on ice for later.” Ivy winked and waved goodbye, puppy and husband in tow.
Alone, he waited for Juniper to settle back in her chair. He wasn’t ready to leave, not when Juniper stirred such strange feelings within him. The girls he’d dated in the past didn’t come close to intriguing him the way she did and that both made him want to dig deeper.
“Come with me.”
He spat out his offer before he had time to rethink the idea.
“Where?” There she went with that nibble on her lip again and he wanted to kiss it, suck it between his own lips and see if she was as sweet as he feared.
“Houston. You’ll need to come with me. Please,” he added. The lie slid off his tongue with an amazing grace that surprised him. “We can wrap up the rest of the wedding plans on the plane. I’ll take care of business that cropped up suddenly and then we can be back here for your friend’s party.”
“And Gran’s birthday,” she added. “But I don’t think we’ll make Ivy’s.”
She seemed to consider his proposal for what felt like long minutes. “I would like to do the measurements for the bride’s dress personally. Help Stella move through that quickly as well as the bridesmaids’ dresses. Then we have the groom.” She nodded his way. “I can move through the rest of the details quickly with her help. Okay. I guess that settles that. When are we leaving?”
“Right now.” No way would he give her time to reconsider. Or himself, for that matter. Weddings could be planned from half a world away, but he couldn’t figure out one Juniper Winter any other way other than having her next to him.
CHAPTER NINE
She argued with herself for a full hour before Marshall showed up with his rental car and whisked her away to his private jet. But despite her inner monologue that teetered betweenyou’re out of your mindtothis just might work after all,she’d been outside her wedding shop promptly at one that afternoon.
“Comfortable?” Marshall asked and stretched his legs the entire width of the aisle.
“What? Oh, yes, thank you. I’ve never flown on a private jet before.” Everything screamed dollar signs. Burgundy pleated curtains with a golden cord framed small portals that let the early afternoon sunshine through. Their color matched the ultra-soft material of the plush chairs that looked nothing like the commercial flights she was used to.
Beige carpet covered every inch of the floor with more gold accents. And down the length of the aisle that led between the cockpit and the tail was the Blackwood name in bold black lettering.
Busy since the second he walked into her shop; she’d overlooked one detail that should have been first. Who exactly was Marshall Blackwood?
“It’s definitely a change from what I’m used to.” Turbulence rocked the cabin, and her nails bit into the soft armrests a little too tightly.
Another pocket. This one strong enough to rattle her teeth. She squeezed her eyes shut.
He moved from the small stretch of couch that lined the left side of the plane and joined her.
“It will smooth out in a second, sweetheart.” He slipped his hand over hers. “Nothing to it. Promise.”
