Chapter 16 Kat
Have you ever tried to pack without knowing where you're going?
No, probably not, because only crazy people would do that. We’re leaving this weekend for two weeks to some unknown place, and I can’t even get a hint at what I should pack.
Alex’s wonderful answer was ‘if you have to bring things, bring a bit of everything,’ which somehow wasn’t as bad as Desmond’s, ‘whatever you need, we can just buy while we're there.’
One hundred percent won’t be doing that. So while they're all at the office, tying up any loose ends, I’m here at the house losing my mind.
“Mid-seventies, with a breeze.” My head snaps up, and I find Vince leaning against the doorframe, his eyes on Addy, who plays on the floor with her dolls.
“What?”
“Mid-seventies with a breeze,” he repeats, and this time, something in my mind grasps what he said, and I hop up.
Fuck, I could kiss him, but after last night, I’m honestly having a hard time even looking at him.
“Go, pack a little before they come back. I got the munchkin.” He nods to the hall, and that’s all the encouragement I need. “Nothing that isn’t clothes. The house is stocked, so just bring what you need.”
The house is stocked?
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this way of life they have.
It only takes me about ten minutes to toss a few things into a small backpack, and I hear them coming in downstairs as I zip it closed. I hope they won’t be mad at Vince. I really feel better, even just having this little bit of stuff.
“I knew he’d cave,” Alex says when he sees me walking down the stairs with my bag, a smirk on his lips that lets me know he really did call it.
“At least someone was willing to put me out of my misery.” I turn my nose up in mock anger, and he barks a laugh.
“Snotty today, are we, Kitten?” Des asks, wagging his brows at me playfully. “I like it.” He blows me a kiss that makes me giggle.
“Where should I put my stuff, and when are we leaving?” Nathan looks me over from head to toe before his eyes zero in on my backpack.
“You can leave it here,” he gestures beside the door. “We will take it with us when we leave in the morning.”
Speaking of.
“When are we leaving?”
“The plane will be ready at seven, so probably around five.”
“Ew, that’s so ridiculously early. What’s the point of having our own private jet if we still have to be up crazy early?” Des grumbles, and while I agree it’s early, I’m stuck on the other part.
“You guys have a private jet?” The shock and disbelief are clear because, well, I am in fact shocked.
I really shouldn’t be anymore, but I’m not sure I’ll ever truly get used to this lifestyle they have.
I quickly set down my bag and head back up the stairs to grab Addy from her room. If we're getting up that early, we need to eat and get to bed. I’m not a morning person, not by a long shot, and trying to get a five-year-old up that early probably won’t make it better.
Halfway down the hall, I pause, realizing what's going to happen.
I’m going on a plane…
I wasn’t sure where we were going, and while I still don’t know, they told me it’s enough to fly there.
I’ve never been on a plane.
“You shouldn’t do that. You're going to hurt yourself.” Vince’s voice pulls me from my fretting, and I blink to find him walking down the hall, Addy in his arms, excitedly telling him something.
I hadn’t even noticed them there or the fact that I was chewing on my lip.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Addy asks as they stop in front of me, her little brows pulling in concern.
“Nothing, honey, I was just thinking about tomorrow, that's all,” I assure her, and she smiles, but Vince doesn’t seem to be buying it.
“Don’t like flying?” he asks, eyes narrowing as he looks me over.
I hate when he does that. It’s like he’s looking through me, and clearly, he does it damn well.
“That obvious?” I ask, and he gives me a dead look that says enough. “It’s not that I don’t like flying—it’s more that I have no idea if I’ll like it or not.” My voice sounds small even to my own ears, and I look down at my feet, feeling silly.
I’m a grown woman, damn it. What kind of example am I setting for Addy?
“Don’t worry, Mommy, you can sit with me!” Addy all but launches herself from Vince’s arms to me, and thankfully, I’m used to it enough that I catch her.
“Thank you, honey,” I tell her, holding her close and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
She’s so sweet.
“I don’t love flying either, but somehow it happens often, so let's hope you don’t hate it.” Vince disappears down the hall, and I’m left with Addy in my arms, watching him go.
Here I thought that big guy would tease me or tell me why that was silly.
Guess even he has to have something he isn’t great with; lord knows it’s probably a short list.
I shake off thoughts of Vince and what he might be good at and get back on task. Feed, wash, and put the tiny terror to bed so that I can do the same.
We got this.
I actually don’t ‘got this.’
It looked incredible, nice, and cozy before we took off, but the takeoff and the actual nine hours in the air only solidified the fact that I do not enjoy flying.
At all.
“You should have told us you’d never flown, Kat.” I can hear Nathan’s distaste in his tone, but I can’t bring myself to look at him, mainly because if I open my eyes right now, I worry I just might puke.
“She looks a little green,” Vince says, and I swear I can hear the hard set of his jaw.
It’s silly, but for some reason, it makes me feel better knowing I’m not alone.
And just when I think it can’t get worse, it finds a way.
If I thought taking off and flying were scary, landing is terrifying.
“I never want to get on a plane again,” I say as we leave the plane, and I rush down the steps to stand on solid ground again.
Des chuckles and shakes his head, but I’m so serious.
“How would you like to get home then?” he asks, throwing his arm around me, and I groan because, from the sound of it, driving isn’t an option.
“Wait, where are we?” I ask, looking around, and while I can see stuff, buildings, and other planes mostly, it doesn’t give me even the slightest hint of where we actually are.
“Italy, Sicily to be exact.”