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He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you. I have ways to keep your mind off the fear.”
“Hm.” She smoothed
his suit jacket and entwined her hands behind his neck. Pulling him closer, she added, “And what ways are those?”
He opened the door and kicked it shut behind him. Backing her up against the wall, he tilted up her chin. He took a moment to savor her like this.
Passionate. Wanting. Beautiful.
He tugged up her thigh until she took the hint and wrapped her legs around his waist. Then he ran his hands down the curves of her body.
“Distraction…”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Kayla sat on the plastic chair in the airport, fidgeting with her purse and glowering at the waiting death trap she could see through the window. Christmas carols played in the background, and people laughed and chatted merrily.
Not a big shocker there. It was Christmas time.
And for the first time, she’d sent out a couples Christmas card. The same ones she always rolled her eyes at? Yeah. She’d done it. And she and Cooper had laughed at their matching red sweaters with every stamp they stuck on. She’d never had so much fun sending out cards, for the love of God.
But then again, she’d never had so much fun, period. He made her laugh every single day, and she constantly thanked God that he’d been stabbed in the stomach with a candy cane a year ago. She thanked God for Cooper.
Speaking of which…he was heading her way.
His green eyes were locked on hers, and he wore a smile, a grey sweater, and a pair of casual jeans. His hair was tousled to perfection, and he looked as if he was the happiest man on Earth. He always told her he was.
A kid with a candy cane ducked in front of him, and he lunged back. Kayla laughed, then covered it up with her hand. But he’d heard it. He turned to her with a mock glare. “You find my fear of kids with candy funny?”
“Um…we promised not to lie to each other. So I’m going to have to go with a yes.”
“What are the odds of me being stabbed again?”
“I’d put it at one in a billion.” She looked out the window, all traces of laughter fading away. “But our chances of crashing? Much higher. Like, one in—”
“Hey, now. None of that.” He sat down beside her and threw his arm over her shoulder. Leaning down, he kissed her temple and then rested his cheek on top of her head. “We talked about this, and I’ll be there the whole time to help you through it.”
“We should have driven.”
“To England?” He cocked a brow. “Even you know that’s not possible.”
That was her present from him. She’d told him she wanted to go almost a year ago—and he’d made it happen. He was so perfect it was almost sickening.
“When I said it was my dream to go to England at Christmas time, I didn’t think it through.” She fidgeted with her purse again. “Maybe we could take a cruise ship, or a submarine. Maybe before we die, they’ll make a really, really long bridge. And then we can drive across it on the safe ground—”
“Over miles and miles of water,” he said dryly.
“And not crash to our deaths.” She peeked at the plane. “Oh God. We’re boarding soon. Oh God.”
“First class, you may now board,” crackled over the speaker.
Cooper stood and held out his hand. “Ready, sweetheart?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She took a shaky breath and then rose. “I’m scared. This is a long flight.”
“It’ll be fine.” He led her toward the gate attendant. “Before you know it, we’ll be drinking tea and eating biscuits with the queen.”