Chapter 18—Bobby
I look down at the incoming call and send Vinny to voicemail. I don’t have the energy to deal with him and any issues he’ll be bringing up right now.
The hardest thing I’ve done in a long time was this weekend.
When I forced myself to stay away from Willow and the girls, when all I wanted to do was spend time with them.
Having Willow in my arms is the best feeling in the world.
I’ve never felt that before. I’m lifted up and settled in all at once.
Feelings aren’t the problem, but I’ve never had them for a woman. Not like this.
I didn’t need to hold her again. Just being around her, and Lily and Ivy, was what I wanted.
But I forced myself to stay back. To give them time to deal with things.
Sure, I had my team in the building notify me of absolutely everything they did.
And I had a team on standby to follow them if they left the apartment. But other than that, I stayed away.
And when she sent me that picture last night, sharing their happiness with me? I folded. I told myself I had spent enough time away, and that would end the next day. I already had the perfect excuse lined up.
Claiming work as the reason is an easy go-to. I know it means a lot to Willow, and she won’t see the ulterior motive until it’s too obvious.
“Of course.” She nods as she switches off her mother duties and focuses on her other side—the numbers girl. I enjoy both, but my favorite part is her third side. When her focus is on me and nothing else.
My phone buzzes again, a text this time from Tommy: Stop ignoring the don.
I pocket the phone and look back at her.
“How was your weekend?” I ask once she’s settled in the car and Marco pulls out into traffic. I doubt the talk of work will take more than an hour or two, and I prefer to put it off for a bit longer. I’m soaking in her scent for as long as I can.
“It was fantastic. The girls and I had an amazing time at the spa, which I know you saw.”
“Yes.” I laugh as I stretch out my legs in front of me. “The picture spoke a thousand words.”
“I had no clue your building offered so many amenities.” Her eyes dart to mine and hold.
She’s challenging me, and I won’t tell her the truth. No matter how pretty her smile is or how much I enjoy her honey-blonde hair piled high in an elegant parted bun that somehow makes her look young and carefree.
My secrets are my own, and while she might suspect that I paid for her girls’ day, I will never admit that it was actually Marco who made it happen.
Yes, I might have added a few details, like the robes and the lunch package, but Marco put their names on the books should they ever need a service that weekend.
I think he felt guilty that his anger over what happened to Lily got the best of him, and despite wanting to make the PE teacher suffer for days, if not weeks, the man died after only a few hours of torture.
I also made sure they have standing appointments available anytime they choose to use the spa going forward.
“Hmmm” is all I say as I look ahead, but my entire focus is on her. I see the way her eyes shine a second before she blinks away any tears that might fall. I also note her soft smile.
“Thank you,” she whispers a second before I slide my hand over hers and hold it between us. Neither of us talks the rest of the way, and neither pulls their hand away.
This moment is exactly what I need to start my week. I feel like I missed out on so much with them, but this is enough to curb any wayward thoughts that they might not need or want me in their lives.
Her suspicions about my family made me a bit fearful. But this leads me to believe I have nothing to fear. Which gives me hope about what it could mean for us, and for our future.
Marco parks the car, and Willow’s face scrunches as she looks out the window. “Where are we?”
“Downtown Manhattan Heliport,” I say as Marco opens the door. I get out, holding my hand out to help her out.
“Why?”
“I have business in Jersey, and this is faster.”
Her hand slides into mine, and I hold it tight as I walk to the helicopter.
The door opens a second before I step in, pulling Willow with me before the door shuts.
Marco speaks to the pilot before taking the other side of the cockpit.
I busy myself with securing my seat belt and headset, then turn and do the same with Willow.
Her eyes are huge, and she’s still in stock.
I expected this reaction. Most people, especially women, have a similar response when they learn about this family perk.
Everyone knows I have money—most people in New York do.
But there’s money, and then there’s “a quick trip to Jersey and back by helicopter” money.
It doesn’t scream status, but I always find it sets me a bit higher than the rest.
“First time in a helicopter?” I ask over the headset with a smile.
“I don’t fly.” I barely hear her through the headphones.
“You need to speak up. We might have the door closed, but it’s going to get louder.”
As if on cue, the engine surges up, and a few seconds later, we’re taking off. I don’t pay my team to make me wait on the tarmac longer than I have to. I expect this quickness.
From the way Willow grips the seat, I know she didn’t.
“It’s just a small trip. Don’t worry. It’s just like flying in an airplane.”
I look out at the skyline and breathe in the comfort of flying high in the sky and not being stuck in traffic. There’s a peace in being above all that.
“I don’t fly.”
The second time I hear it, so does Marco. I see him turn just as I look at Willow. Really look. This isn’t shock at the expense. Not even fear of flying.
This is absolute terror.
“Willow.” My smile dies as I get in close, touching her cheek and hands. They’re as cold as ice, her breathing erratic.
“I don’t fly.” She keeps saying it over and over.
“Why, baby? Why didn’t you tell me? Why don’t you fly?”
What caused this panic in her? Made her look as if she’s seeing a ghost?
“My parents died in a plane crash.”
Shit.
Shit.
I fucked up. I so fucked up. I did this.
“Fuck,” Marco says, and I nod.
I grab the water bottle that’s always available on my flights and uncap it, moving it to her lips and tipping it back a bit.
“Drink some water.”
It dribbles down her lips, and I doubt anything goes in.
Crap.
“Look at me, Willow.”
Her eyes are open, but she’s not seeing me. She’s not seeing anything.
“Want me to turn around?” the pilot asks, but I don’t answer. I can’t think about anything but Willow and the way her whole body seems to have shut down before me.
“Focus on me.”
I don’t think for more than half a second before I lean forward and kiss her, giving her everything I can.
I don’t pull back when I feel her response, but rather double down on my efforts.
I slip my tongue between her lips and let it dance with hers.
When her arms wrap around me, I pull her close enough that there’s no space between us.
Growling low in my throat, I unbuckle us both and adjust us until she’s straddling me as I continue to explore her mouth. So many thoughts are running through my head.
She feels so good in my arms.
Finally, she’s mine.
Thank God the stylist I called picked out this tailored pantsuit for her.
Will she ever forgive me for what I’ve done?
“Sir, do you want us to turn back?”
The pilot speaks clearly in our headsets, and it cools me off just enough to pull back a second, giving her time to say something.
But the time between our lips parting and her reaching again for me is short.
As she wraps her arms around my neck, I pull her closer while motioning with my hand on her back for the pilot to keep going.
The flight is quick, and I know we’re already more than halfway there.
I push her headset off as I wrap my hand in her hair and tilt her head enough for me to devour her the way I want to. I open my eyes briefly and see hers are squeezed shut. She’s using me to forget about the flying, about her fear, and I’m only too happy to be used in such a way.
When we descend, her grip tightens around me as her legs squeeze my hips.
I hold on just as tightly, promising with actions over words that I’m not letting go.
When we land, it’s smooth, but I don’t let her up for air.
I keep my lips firmly locked with hers as I note the pilot and Marco shutting down the helicopter before exiting.
And when the silence overtakes us, I slow my actions and ease the tension in my arms that locked her in place.
She takes time to pull back, time I give her. There’s no rushing this.
After several moments, she slides off me and to the seat beside me, her head down, not meeting my eyes.
“I’ve got you. Don’t think—just breathe. What do you need?” I have to do something. Sitting here and not making this better for her is killing me slowly.
“I think I need to lie down.”
My heart aches. Not at her words, but at the scared little girl I can hear clearly in them. At the shell of a person who was so passionate just moments ago, withdrawing to the point that I know where Lily gets it from.
“Of course.”
I reach across her and tap the window once.
Marco is waiting with his back to us, and at my request, he opens the door and takes Willow’s hand to exit.
Hers are shaking, and I steady her with a hand on her back as she takes her first step down.
But when she stumbles and leans into Marco, I’m out in seconds, lifting her into my arms and cradling her against me as I walk with purpose to the waiting car.
The door opens before I get there, and I slide us both inside with ease. Marco also joins me in the back, and my driver here rounds the car and gets behind the wheel.
“Call Lewis and let him know of the change in meeting location. I want to get to the Hudson office so Willow can lie down. I’ll take the meetings there as well.”
Marco nods and speaks to the driver, then pulls out his phone to do as I ask. I don’t worry about it. All I care about is the woman in my arms. The one whose eyelids are fluttering open and closed.
“I’ve got you.”
She nods, and then her eyes close for good.
“Thanks, Lewis. I’ll get the team to work on those numbers now.
” I stand and shake the man’s hand. He was more than agreeable to changing the meeting last-minute, and for that alone, I’m willing to put in an extra 3 percent of stock in his favor.
After all, I’m only meant to invest in the company he came to me to look at, not take it over.
Which was the plan before I got here. I’d show him what I found, that he was floundering, and I could save him and let him keep 49 percent of his family’s business.
But after speaking with him, I’ve had a change of heart, as he seemed genuinely concerned for my passenger, who somehow everyone knew had a panic attack while in flight.
Not the part about her making out with me, but it’s hard to escape gossip from spreading when I carried an unconscious woman out of my car and into a building with numerous people wandering around.
Marco was the one to make sure the story turned in our favor and that nothing was uncouth in their eyes in regard to Willow.
Not that I let it slip who was here. I had her face tucked toward my arm and covered her as much as I could, but I refused to put her down until I was in my apartment above the offices below.
“Of course. Oh, hello, ma’am. I hope you’re feeling better.”
My eyes snap away from his to behind me.
I wasn’t about to have Willow stay up in the apartment alone, so we conducted the meeting in the living space.
I must have missed her coming out of the bedroom.
She looks rumpled, but from sleep, not my kisses.
Nothing seems off except that she’s standing at the entrance of a bedroom with her shoes off and her hair in disarray.
She still looks half asleep as she blinks at both of us in slight confusion before dipping her head in acknowledgment.
“I’ll get going. Let me know if you would like my physician to come see to your assistant.” Lewis, who’s getting more and more on my good side, shows himself out with little to no fuss.
Which is fine, since I can’t look away from the woman before me.
“How long was I out?” she asks.
“A couple of hours.”
She nods and takes small steps around the furniture to come sit where Lewis was earlier.
It’s a deep-cushioned blue couch. Not meant for business, but for resting after a long day of meetings.
It lets a person sink in, supporting them as they rest. Just like Willow is experiencing now as she looks around the place.
“Where are we?”
“The Hudson office.”
She looks up at me with pinched eyebrows. “The office is an apartment?”
I shake my head and find myself smiling as I sit down on the opposite couch, facing her. “No. This is a crash pad I have here, above the office floors below, in case meetings run long or weather prevents me from returning home. Like today.”
I hold her stare, waiting and watching for it to sink in.
A moment later, her eyes go wide and she turns her head to the window, then stumbles over her feet to get up and look out.
The entire sky is as dark as night. Lightning flashes across the sky, followed by thunder.
A change in wind has the rain pelting against the window for a moment, only to quickly change direction once more.
“Won’t it blow over?”
I stand and come over. Close to her, but still an arm’s length away.
I’m not about to assume what happened in the helicopter is something she’d want to duplicate so quickly.
Her actions then were ruled by fear and stress, not want or need.
I’m sure they were there as well, but they weren’t the driving factors.
“No. There’s a line of thunderstorms coming in from a hurricane to the south of us.
The hurricane won’t make landfall, but we’re getting storms that weren’t expected to reach us until later tonight.
All helicopter flights are grounded because of high wind gusts and low visibility, as well as lightning.
And before you ask, the tunnels are also shut down already due to flooding, and Midtown is already in gridlock.
There’s no way we’ll make it back home tonight. You’re not leaving. Neither of us are.”
Lightning skates across the sky to emphasize my point, followed by the windows shaking from the thunder that suddenly seems directly overhead.