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We don’t talk much more about it. It’s late, and so we finish off our drinks and then settle down to try to get as much sleep as we can before we land.
But we stay as close together as it’s possible to get, wrapped around each other, and I think he’s as overjoyed as I am at the thought that, if nothing else, we want to be together.
A few hours later, we finally rouse and decide it’s time to start preparing for landing. I take a shower—a shower! On a plane! Soon after, the flight attendant brings us breakfast. Titus has scrambled eggs with chives on sourdough toast and veal sausages, while I have French toast with poached peaches and vanilla mascarpone, and we both have several cups of steaming hot coffee.
Finally, the pilot announces it’s time to get ready for landing, and we take our seats and buckle ourselves in. I look out of the window as the plane approaches Auckland. I’m coming home. New Zealand will always be the place I was born, and super special to me. But I’m surprised not to feel more excited. I don’t feel emotional. I can feel Titus’s gaze on me, as if he’s half-expecting me to be tearful, but I keep my gaze on the window, watching the approach of the city in the early-morning sunlight, and have to admit that my heart is still in England.
Once we’ve landed, we’re let off the plane first. I say a silent goodbye to our private suite, sad to see it go, and walk with Titus through the airport. We both have Kiwi passports, so it’s a relatively quick process through passport control. We wait for our cases, go through customs, and then we walk out into the arrivals lounge.
I come through first, and I’m not expecting to see anyone I know, so it’s a real surprise to see Mack standing up and waving.
I turn as Titus comes through and goes to take my hand, moving mine out of the way. He raises an eyebrow, and I murmur, “Mack’s here.”
“Oh.” He glances at me, but doesn’t say anything.
We exit the gate and go up to him. I’ve known him longer than Titus—since Huxley first brought him home when they were about thirteen. He was gorgeous then—a sprinter, long and lean—and he’s still gorgeous now, a rich, powerful, smart guy, who nevertheless always acts like he’s my uncle.
“Hey, you!” He throws his arms around me, and I give him a big hug. “Good to see you again, sweetheart,” he says. Then, over my shoulder he says, “Hey man, didn’t know you were arriving today.”
“Yeah, we got seats together as we were on the same plane,” Titus says easily, obviously picking up that I don’t want Mack to know about us, not yet.
“What are you doing here?” I say to Mack. “Not that it isn’t great to see you.”
“Huxley wanted someone to meet you, and Elizabeth has a scan this morning that he didn’t want to miss, so he asked me to pick you up.”
“Oh, is she okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. All routine stuff. She’s healthy as, and the baby’s fine.” He looks at Titus. “Want me to drop you off as well?”
“No, it’s okay, I’ll catch a cab. I’m going home first, then heading off to the office.” Titus looks at me and hesitates. I meet his eyes, and we exchange a small smile. “Catch up with you later?” he says.
“Yeah, okay.”
“See you later,” he says to Mack, and heads toward the exit.
I watch him go, then look back at Mack. He’s studying me, interested. Ah shit.
“Have you got a minute?” I ask. “Can I get a coffee?”
“Yeah. Come on, I’ll get us both one.”
We go up to the small coffee van and he orders two lattes. Then we stand to one side as we wait for them to be made.
Mack doesn’t say anything, but his eyes are alight with humor.
“What?” I say irritably.
“How long has that been going on?” he asks.
“How long has what been going on?”
He just tips his head to one side.
I scowl. “Mind your own business.”
“Does Huxley know?”
