Chapter 37 Audra
AUDRA
I still couldn’t believe I would be flying in a private plane.
Donovan appeared to take a much cooler approach, probably because it was second nature to him.
I looked forward to having him to myself the next few days and asking questions like what did his family do to own a private freaking jet?
He’d made a couple of insinuations as to not having a great relationship with his parents, but if he was using the family jet, it couldn’t be that horrible.
While I made our coffee, he got everything staged on the front porch.
It surprised me how well he and I worked in tandem.
It had taken years for Theo and me to reach that point, but Donovan and I just kind of knew what to do, and I couldn’t explain it.
I filled our travel mugs; his with black coffee and mine with the vanilla chai that he had taken the time to make in advance for me, and met him outside.
“Alright, you ready?” he asked.
“Yes! My first private plane ride!” I danced around like a fool because I just didn’t know what to do with myself.
That kind of enthusiasm should be illegal at that hour.
Donovan didn’t hesitate, and he matched my energy by grabbing my hand and spinning me.
Then, he took part in the dancing, making a fool of himself by doing the sprinkler and the bus driver.
To counter, I did the robot and the shopping cart, and the two of us were hysterically laughing, trying to outdo each other.
It was one of those moments in time that was unscripted and so unexpectedly perfect.
One that you’d see in some romance movie when the main characters were falling for each other. Except maybe that was our real life.
“You keep surprising me, Wright. I didn’t take you for a goofy dancer. Or any dancer really. But that bus driver was legit.”
“Can’t say that I’ve ever busted out those kinds of moves before a 6 a.m. plane ride.
Actually, I can’t say I’ve ever busted out the bus driver unless I was many, many drinks into a night …
like a decade ago. It’s you who surprises me, Audra.
I can’t believe the things I do around you,” he said as he shook his head with a smile that had his dimples on full display.
When our ride arrived, he opened the car door for me, but before he let me in, he kissed me in a way that made my knees buckle.
This was going to be an interesting trip.
The drive was quick, and before I could even register everything, we were at a private airfield, walking up the stairs onto the jet.
I was blown away. Even though the sun hadn’t fully risen yet, the entire sky was painted with peachy, purply morning colors.
The wind was blowing my hair all over, but Donovan called my name, and it stopped me on the middle step.
When I turned to look at him, he snapped a photo.
“My God, Audra. You look like a dream right now. With the sky looking like that and your hair blowing wild. My Beautiful Chaos, you are perfection.”
Feeling the blush rise in my cheeks, a smile spread across my face. I felt like a queen. Before I could even fully hold my hand out to him, he skipped the first two steps and grabbed it.
A woman about my age welcomed us as we entered the plane.
She smiled a fake saccharine smile at me, but when Donovan entered, she had stars in her eyes.
I mean, I got it, I had stars in my eyes when I looked at him, too.
I had a fleeting moment of jealously, but I had more important things to do.
Like check out the inside of a private jet.
Good Lord. It was all creamy leather with fancy wood accents, I mean, just beautiful.
It smelled like a new car. There were a couple of seats in the first section, but Donovan walked me back to where there was a table, and tried to plop me down there.
No way, I wanted a tour of this whole thing.
Before I could even utter the words, he read my mind.
“Let’s get up into the air and I’ll give you a full tour then, okay?”
Nodding, I put my seatbelt on, and he sat across the table from me and did the same.
“Hi, my name is Molly.” The stewardess appeared next to us, “I’ll be with you today. Can I get you something before we are in the air?”
He gestured to me with raised brows in a silent ask.
“I’m fine, thank you,” I answered.
“Nothing for me either,” he followed up.
“Your sister sent these for you and your guest, Mr. Wright,” and she placed a bag down and walked away. It had half a dozen bagels in it.
“Bagels?” he exclaimed to the universe as he stuck his nose in the bag and smelled it. “This earns her some major brownie points.”
“What’s with the bagels?” I asked as I registered the happy joy on his face. I’d never looked at a bagel that way before.
“New York bagels are my favorite, and they’re from my favorite bakery, a little mom-and-pop place in Brooklyn,” he smiled. “That was really sweet of her.”
“Is it true? Are New York bagels that much better?”
“I mean, obviously yes, but try for yourself. Let’s see, let me guess what kind of bagel girl you are.” He rummaged through the bag and pulled out a cinnamon raisin one. Holding it up to my head, he made a silly performance of it. “Yep, this is it. You are a cinnamon raisin kind of gal.”
“Got it in one.” Smiling, I leaned over the table to take a bite.
He looked at me, horrified. “Chaos,” he actually stuttered.
“Sweet Jesus, no. For these reasons, I call you Chaos. You can’t just bite a bagel like that.
” He exaggerated a shudder in his body, like I had committed a mortal sin.
“You need cream cheese, holy shit.” And he pulled a container of cream cheese out of the bag.
Laughing, I grabbed the bag from him to take my guess. There were two plains, two everything, and one blueberry. “I think you’re an everything bagel guy. And I say that because you can do … everything,” I chuckled. “Except…”
“Cars. Yes, I know. Now I have to learn, so you can’t hold this over my head for the rest of time,” he chuckled back. “But yes, an everything bagel is my first choice. No contest.”
He took his bagel and meticulously put cream cheese on it like it was a work of art. In my mind, I made a note to put New York bagels on my recipe list. I’m sure I could get close enough. After a few minutes of small talk, he pulled his computer out of his bag.
“I hate to do this, Audra, but I have to get one thing done for work. Is it okay if I work on it? It’ll make our time in New York much more enjoyable if I can get ahead on this one thing.
And I promise I’m not the person who works the whole time on vacation or anything, I just need to get this done. ”
I cut him off. “Relax, Donovan, I’m not worried.
I’ll enjoy my bagel and this entire experience,” I smiled at him, munching on my breakfast as the plane continued to climb.
To be honest, I was hoping to have his attention because I wanted someone to share in the giddiness I was feeling, but I understood.
Especially if it made the rest of the trip easier.
Staring out the window, I watched the world wake up.
The sun must have just peeked over the horizon, because the colors of the sky were even more spectacular than when we got on the plane.
Zoning out, I got lost in my thoughts. I couldn’t believe I was on a private airplane barreling to New York for forty-eight hours.
That I even said yes to this hare-brained idea.
Who was I? Plus, now that we had crossed the line, would I be able to do anything over the next two days besides try to get in his pants?
The fleeting thought of him driving into me had my body reacting already.
How was I going to keep my hands off him?
I glanced at him, and he looked amazing in his casual clothes.
Jeans that hugged his muscular thighs and a dark gray sweater that accentuated his broad shoulders.
I felt good in the new threads I was wearing too.
Dark jeans and a cream-colored flowy blouse looked like something that a person who took a private jet would wear.
This whole experience was really something else. How the other side lived.
“What are you thinking about so hard over there?” his voice interrupted my thoughts.
Snapping my eyes to him, I felt my cheeks burn as he gave me a curious half-smile.
“You’re supposed to be working, not being distracted by me. It’s been like five minutes,” I laughed.
“Yes, but I admit, it’s nothing but distracting with you sitting across from me.
There’s no way I’m going to be able to keep my eyes to myself.
” That half smile turned into a full-blown grin, and he looked at me as if he was trying to decide something.
“Trying to work was a bad idea,” he finally said as he shut his computer, got up to sit in the seat next to me, and put his hand on my thigh.
“What do you think? Is it too early to have a glass of bubbly? Would you think less of me if we had our first drink at”—he looked at his watch—“6:27 in the morning? You know, to celebrate this impromptu trip and maybe the last twelve hours? If they have it, does a rose champagne sound okay?”
“Does anyone say no to that?” I laughed because, although we were far from our kegs and eggs days, I didn’t see harm in a small glass to clink to. It might be the only time I would ever fly on a private plane, so I should live it up, right?
He called the stewardess over. “Molly, do we have Mailly L’Intermporelle Rose Grand Cru?” She nodded yes. “Can you please pour two glasses for us?” I noticed her note the way we were now sitting next to each other.