Chapter 11 What He Wanted
WHAT HE WANTED
Arik was pacing in his hotel suite.
He hadn’t seen Natalie since their dinner on Tuesday night.
They had texted and he knew she hadn’t changed her mind.
If she had, he might have hunted her down and tossed her over his shoulder to get her on that helicopter.
Tuesday had been a test of his patience and willpower.
That first kiss she’d given him on the cheek? Yeah, all he wanted to do was yank her closer and down on his lap. Then she’d know what he was really feeling.
That would have added another rule to the contract, he was sure.
But if a simple kiss like that got his dick rushing to march in line, then holding her in his arms on a dance floor or being in the same hotel room with her for two nights was going to be a nightmare.
His phone rang and he rushed to answer it.
It wasn’t Natalie but his mother.
He didn’t want anything to put him in a nasty mood, but if he talked to her now he’d be set for a few more months.
And he’d be seeing Natalie soon and just her presence would improve his psyche.
“Hi, Mother,” he answered.
“Hi, Son,” Erin Brown said. His mother went back to her maiden name after her divorce from his father and never took the names of her other two husbands. Probably too much work to keep changing things.
“Is there a reason you’re calling?”
“Do I need a reason to talk to my son?”
“You normally do. It’s been a few months.”
“It hasn’t been that long.” His mother loved to argue.
“Christmas,” he said.
“Oh. Well, I’m busy and the time gets away from me.”
So he’d been told enough in his life.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“I know you’re going to Nick’s wedding.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because your grandmother would have required it and you never tell her no. You owe her everything you’ve got so you should do what she says.”
He’d heard this enough. That he’d never be where he was if it weren’t for his grandmother.
That was partially true.
But he would have taken the first job regardless of having money to invest. He would have gotten the same stock options as he’d asked for too.
When it sold, he would have made a lot of money, but nothing like he had.
The same with the second company.
“I consider what she asks of me because she’s nice about it,” he said.
“Sophie isn’t nice about much and you know it.”
He flopped onto the couch and looked at his watch. Natalie would be here in ten minutes. She’d probably be early and that would give him an excuse to get off this call.
“She might not have been nice to you.”
“Your grandmother liked me well enough in the beginning. Your father is the one who ruined our marriage.”
“Do we always have to have this conversation? It’s decades old and you’ve moved on just as he has.”
“But I have to continue to see him and the college-aged women he’s flashing under my nose.”
He couldn’t hold the shiver back. “I doubt it’s that bad.”
“This one is damn close to it. He looks like a fool. He has no idea what people are saying about him.”
“I doubt he cares.”
If his father did, he would have stopped years ago.
The reputation Eric Crest had with women didn’t deter him from doing his job.
“He should care.”
“Did you only call to bitch about Dad’s new girlfriend? I heard you’ve got someone new too. And younger.”
“Rylie is forty. Not nearly as young as your father’s new sidepiece.”
Forty was still only eight years older than him. Gross enough.
“Whatever. Mom, I don’t have much time. I’m getting ready to leave for my flight.”
“Where are you?”
He didn’t want to say too much. “Massachusetts.”
His mother never asked specifics and didn’t now. “I’d like to see you while you’re in town.”
“I won’t have the time,” he said. “I’m arriving tonight, then tomorrow is the wedding and I’m leaving first thing on Sunday morning.”
“You can’t make the time to see me before the wedding? They aren’t getting married until three.”
He didn’t ask how she knew those details. It didn’t matter.
“Sorry,” he said. “Another time.”
His mother sighed. “Maybe we can see about Easter.”
Oh God. The thought of any family holiday after this wedding made him want to dive under the covers and pull them over his head for the next decade.
“Maybe.” Anything to get her off the phone. When there was a knock at the door, he was thankful for the timing. “I’ve got to go, Mom. I think my ride is here.”
“Bye,” his mother said and just hung up.
It was for the best.
He went to the door and opened it. Natalie was standing there. “Hi. Where is your bag?”
Please don’t let her have changed her mind.
No, if she had, she wouldn’t have come here.
“In my car,” she said. “It didn’t make sense to bring it up here to then bring it down. I’m parked close to you outside and I’ll leave my car here this weekend. I’ll just move it to the parking garage.”
“Always so practical.”
He’d offered to pick her up, but she’d declined.
It was funny she was going away for the weekend with him yet he couldn’t find out where she lived.
Baby steps. Sort of.
Not sure how that could apply when they’d be sharing such close quarters for two days.
“Someone has to be. We all can’t just jet set around the world on a moment’s notice.”
“I haven’t done that in a long time. Let me get my bag.”
He grabbed a small overnight one and put it on his shoulder.
“Sorry, but aren’t you wearing a suit? There is no way it’s in there, unless you’re buying one.”
“I’ve got a few at my grandmother’s,” he said. “There is no reason to travel with one. If I thought I needed one, I’d buy it.”
She shook her head and said nothing more.
The two of them made their way to her car, she pulled her small suitcase out and a bag with a dress in it. He couldn’t see what color it was or what it looked like.
It didn’t take them long to get to the airstrip.
“Have you flown in a helicopter before?” she asked.
“I have. Have you?”
“No. This is my first time.”
“I like it. It’s different from a plane.”
“I don’t mind flying, so should be fine,” she said.
This mundane small talk was getting on his nerves.
They walked in with their things and there was a woman at the desk.
“Hi, Arik?”
“That’s me and this is Natalie Bond. We’ve got a flight at two.”
“Lincoln is fueling the helicopter now if you both can sign these forms.”
When they were done, they moved to the side. “Why did you wrinkle your nose when you found out who the pilot was? I’m assuming you knew who was flying us.”
“I do. Though Egan has three pilots, I assumed from the island it was him or Lincoln. It’s just, I only told Avery about this weekend. I didn’t want anyone else to know.”
He wouldn’t be hurt over that. He didn’t know her full relationship with her family and since his was so dysfunctional, he couldn’t judge.
“It’s going to be hard to keep it a secret. Not sure why one pilot over another makes a difference.”
“Well,” she said. “Egan wouldn’t or doesn’t talk to my family often. But Lincoln Harrington is married to Grace Stone-Harrington.”
“Oh. The chef from that reality show.”
“You watched that?”
“I did.” He had to be careful how much more he said. “But I didn’t put it together other than they talked about her boyfriend.”
“He proposed to her the night the finale aired and they were married not that long ago. So you know, we both work at the same place. Hunter is her first cousin, so she’s liable to say something to him if she sees him.”
“Is it against company policy for you to date a guest?”
If it was, he was positive she wouldn’t be with him right now. Natalie Bond didn’t break the rules.
“No.”
“Then I don’t know the big deal. We’ve had a few dates. We are going away for the weekend. People do that all the time.”
“People do, but I don’t.”
“That’s right. I’m going to show you fun. Remember, our contract stated it. Starting now.”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m good. I promise. Though I’m not so sure you are.”
“Why is that?”
“You looked off when you opened the door. Almost relieved. Did you think I’d bail?”
“I didn’t think you’d bail, but I was relieved. You got me off a tiring call with my mother.”
“I’m sorry. Everything okay?”
“It’s the same as it always is. She thought I could fit a visit in before the wedding tomorrow and I told her no. Then she hung up on me.”
She scrunched her nose but reached for his hand to hold his fingers quickly. A peck in her mind.
“That had to be hard.”
“Nope. She aggravates me, and I didn’t want to start our trip off that way. I’m glad it was a brief call.”
“Natalie Bond. I was surprised to see your name on my flight plan.”
“I’m sure you were,” she said. “Lincoln Harrington, this is Arik Crest. He and I went to college together many moons ago.”
“Damn,” Lincoln said, shaking Arik’s hand. “Natalie rarely leaves the island. Good for you getting her off of it for a few days.”
He wouldn’t explain the reason for the trip. He was positive Lincoln wouldn’t care and it would help him if everyone thought their relationship was more than it was.
It’s what he wanted it to be.
Maybe once they returned from this weekend it would be.
They brought their bags to the helicopter and Lincoln loaded them in, then ten minutes later they were in the air with headsets on.
Unless they wanted to shout to each other, they spent most of the flight in silence or pointing out things below them or what Lincoln might bring up as part of the conversation.
They landed ninety minutes later; he got his rental car and drove to the hotel.
The minute he opened the door, her jaw hit the floor.
“There is only one bed,” she said.
“Yep. But it’s big.”
She was looking the king-sized bed over. “True.”
She moved into the room as if she had fifty pound cannons attached to her ankles.
“I can sleep on the couch, don’t worry.”
He was going for the long game. A stiff neck might be better than a stiff dick if he had to lie next to her all night.