Chapter Eight
NATALIE
I walked him through everything at top speed. To his credit, he was listening and asking the right questions. The second I was done, his entire demeanor changed. He rolled his shoulders and seemed even taller. He was slipping into business mode.
"I've got a pilot on hold. How fast can we leave?"
"I'm ready."
"I'm going upstairs to get your suitcase."
I opened my mouth and closed it again. I wasn't going to say no to that.
"Thank you. I'm coming with you anyway. I need to get my purse."
I felt him next to me as we walked to the house. He radiated masculinity and strength, his body language different than before. He took out his phone as we walked up to the second floor.
"Colton, finally. I've been trying to get a hold of you the whole morning."
My God, that voice. That was the way he spoke to his brother? Like he was just commanding him about. I could only imagine him in a boardroom. I didn't think anyone ever dared contradict him.
"You're positive about that?" His tone was clipped. "I'm coming to Boston anyway. Yes, today. I want to check on Grandfather myself. It's time he and I had a chat. Thank you."
He pocketed his phone.
"You're not on friendly terms with your brother?”
"Yes, I am." He actually looked confused by my question.
"Oh, wow, my bad," I said. "That was friendly?”
“That was me when I’m pissed at my brother."
The minute we stepped inside the bedroom, I took my purse, and he grabbed the suitcase. My, my, his shoulders flexed deliciously when he lifted it.
"Actually, you know what? I hate to do this, but I do need to take something out of the bag. This shirt is not really very comfortable. It was just the thickest one I had."
He set it back down, his jaw ticking. "Sure. I'll wait outside your room."
"There's no need. I'll go into the bathroom and change. I'll be quick." I hurried to the bathroom and got rid of my shirt swiftly. For some reason, I was nervous. Why, because I was changing while he was in the next room? That was insane.
I put on a white cotton shirt. I called it business casual, although it was more casual. Who cared? It was only a flight, and I was done trying to impress Jake. It clearly hadn't worked. Besides, he had bigger things to worry about now.
When I stepped back into the bedroom, he was sitting on the bed. He looked down my body and then back up. I was rooted to my spot, heat coiling throughout me. Holy shit! He stood up from the bed abruptly, clearing his throat as I put the shirt in my suitcase.
"Ready to go?" His voice was composed, his tone businesslike.
Oh, so that was a slip before. Had he fought checking me out as much as I fought the same? Now that was a thought. The heat level in my body rose another few degrees.
Don't blush, Natalie. Don't blush.
Perhaps this was just a knee-jerk reaction to having a woman in front of him.
I tried not to focus too much on the bulging muscle in his right arm as he took my suitcase again and we went down the stairs.
There was already a car in front of the house.
He picked up his own suitcase from the doorway. I hadn't even noticed it on the way in.
"Aren't you locking up the house?" I asked.
"No. Mrs. Winters, my housekeeper, is going to come and take care of everything."
He opened the car door for me to get in.
I accidentally brushed my arm against his chest as I lowered myself onto the seat, and the reaction my body had was simply insane.
I felt goose bumps forming everywhere. And I really mean everywhere.
Not just my arms and legs but my tummy and even lower.
I didn't even know you could get goose bumps there.
My breath caught. I felt Jake exhale sharply, his hot breath landing on my temple.
On instinct, I looked up at him. His eyes were glued to my lips.
On a shaky breath, I lowered myself into my seat, and he closed the door.
I swallowed hard, fiddling with my thumbs in my lap.
He joined me a few seconds later. I searched his face, figuring I could tell more about what was going on and get a good read on him, but he didn't look at me at all. Instead, he focused on the driver.
"Morton, do you have the items I asked you to get for Ms. Summers?"
"Yes, sir. I dropped by the pharmacy this morning. Here they are, and the bracelet as well." He handed me a small bag.
"Oh, thank you." I was truly touched. Even though he had a million other things to take care of this morning and was worried sick about his grandfather, he’d still remembered about my motion sickness.
I frowned. "Wait, where exactly is it supposed to press?"
"Come here. I know how this works."
"Oh, thank you."
"Hold out your left hand."
I did as Jake said. He took the bracelet, ripping it out of the package.
"How do you know how to put it on?" I asked.
"Ben, my associate, has motion sickness too. I’ve seen him put it on whenever we fly somewhere."
Feeling his calloused fingertips on my bare skin was almost too much to bear, especially after our moment before.
Oh, sweet Lord, please no—
Of course my skin turned to goose bumps again.
I bit my lower lip as he fixed the bracelet. He put three fingers on the line right under my palm, then pressed his thumb between my veins.
“That's where it has to press.”
I cleared my throat, nodding. "Thanks."
He secured the bracelet in a matter of seconds and then let go of my hand. I wished he hadn’t. It was soothing and sexy at the same time.
"Should I take the pills now?" I asked softly.
"As you wish," he replied. "As far as I know, the effect is quick, but you’ll be drowsy."
"For how long?"
"Probably the entire flight back. Maybe longer."
"Do you think I'll be fine just wearing the bracelet?"
“There's no way to know.”
I didn't want another vomit episode, so I popped a pill as well.
The result was that I slept the entire flight back, waking with a start when the plane hit the runway back in Boston.
Jake’s eyes were trained on me. "Welcome back to the land of the living. You were completely out."
I wondered how I hadn't gotten a cramp in my neck or something, and then I realized he made a pillow out of his suit jacket again.
Oh, God, this man.
I folded it carefully, inspecting it for any drool. Nope, thank God.
I gave it back to him just as the plane stopped. "Thank you so much."
He nodded.
“Are you sure I can’t have it cleaned for you?”
He looked at me like I had two heads. “I have people for that. No worries.”
I felt like I’d been dismissed, so I looked out the window, but, of course, this wasn't the same airport I was used to.
"Where are we?" I said. “It’s not Logan Airport.”
"It's a small landing area for private planes. It was easier to get a last-minute slot here."
"I haven’t been here before."
"There's no connection to commercial planes, so probably not."
The pilot opened the door a few moments later, helping me out first. Jake came down with our suitcases.
"Umm, I'm going to take an Uber," I said, hoping someone was available in the area. At Logan, there were taxis and other forms of ground transportation lined up to get travelers to their destinations.
"Nonsense. I've got the car waiting for me. I'll drop you off, and then I'll head to my grandparents' house."
He was tense again, like he was bracing himself for bad news.
"Thank you. That's very thoughtful." I made to take off the bracelet and give it back to him, but he shook his head.
"No, keep it. Who knows when you might need it?”
“True. Now that I know exactly how sick I can get, I'll take it with me on most of my plane rides. How much do I owe you?”
“Natalie.” The way he said my name made me squirm with delight. “Drop it. I mean it. It’s fine.”
“But—”
“I mean it.”
And I dropped it, because he had bigger things to worry about now.
He rolled both of our suitcases through the small building and then outside on the main sidewalk to wait for our car.
"If you want, we can go straight to your grandparents' house, and I can Uber from there. So you get to them quicker. I know you really want to see him.” I paused a moment, then said, “In fact, I have a better idea.
As long as I'm not intruding, I could come with you and maybe tell Jeannie a bit about my ideas to distract her from everything that happened. "
Jake turned to look at me abruptly. "You’d do that?"
"Yeah. Why not?"
"That would be a great idea. She's a basket case. When he had his heart attack, she was beside herself for weeks.”
“That's understandable. Oh, poor Jeannie and Abe.” My heart was hurting for both of them.
"How long are you going to stay?" I asked as the car drove in our direction, a black Lexus again. Did he have one on speed dial in every city?
“I don't know.”
"You don't like being here, do you?"
"No."
"Can I ask why not?"
"It brings back memories of my father. I'm not particularly fond of him." His tone invited no further conversation. His blue eyes weren’t bright anymore like they’d been this morning before he spoke to his grandmother.
He intensely disliked being here and yet had come at the drop of a hat because his grandfather wasn't feeling well.
He was initially a grump, but underneath those thorns was a generous and kind man I liked far too much.
The car stopped right in front of us, and Jake opened the door for me again. This time I made sure I didn't accidentally brush against him. No matter how much I wanted to feel those hard muscles again, it was simply not a good idea.
He was going back to New York as soon as possible. I had my own issues going on, and no matter how seductive this tension between us was, I had to ignore it.
The drive to Jeannie's house took well over forty minutes.
How could there be so much traffic on Saturday afternoon?
I didn't get it. Next to me, Jake was on the phone the whole time, barking orders, although it wasn't fair to say barking—his tone was never disrespectful.
No, he was firm, and every sentence just dripped with authority.