Page 11 of Daring Wicked Love (Wicked Dade #2)

“What do you mean it’s cancelled?”

Standing at the check-in desk, I was three seconds away from either bursting into tears or throwing my carry-on bag at someone’s head.

It was my first weekend off from nannying, and rather than spend the weekend unpacking my boxes and catching up on some much-needed me-time, I booked myself a ticket to New York instead.

It was a last-minute decision, one that was fueled by three glasses of wine and doom-scrolling on social media after transferring a hefty sum of money to my sister.

The second I spotted Nirvana Gallery advertising their event, with limited tickets at the front door, I knew I had to go.

Everyone in the art world knew the owner of the gallery, Violet Ortega. Working with her and showcasing in any of her galleries was like finding Willy Wonka’s golden ticket.

I always fantasized about working with her one day — another dream that felt too far-fetched to ever become a reality.

Ticket to the actual event be damned, I was going to show up and pray I’d get in.

“Unfortunately, your flight has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances,” the woman at check-in explained calmly. “We at Canada Airways offer our deepest apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

“I know it’s not your fault. Is there any way I could be put on the next flight?”

She tapped a couple keys on her keyboard. “The next available flight I can get you on is tomorrow’s lunchtime flight.”

“Tomorrow?” I groaned. “You can’t be serious.”

The art event was one day and one day only, and unless I was able to get a flight or find some other way to get to New York in the next couple hours, there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d make it on time.

“Is there no room on any other flights leaving today?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but all our other flights are fully booked at this current time. We could place you on stand-by, if that works for you?”

Spend my whole day stuck in an airport? No-freaking-thank-you.

Truth be told, I wasn’t the best flier. Most of the time, I showed up to a flight just before check-in closed and then rushed to the boarding gate, much to the dismay of my other passengers. Whatever it took not to think too much about the impending flight.

If I sat in an airport all day, just waiting with nothing to distract me but my own fears of dying in a fiery plane wreck, there wasn’t a chance I’d get on the flight.

“If that doesn’t suit, we can offer you a full refund of your ticket onto a voucher that can be used at another time? Or we can fully refund your ticket onto the card you paid with, which will take five to seven business days?”

Inhaling slowly, I lifted my bag from the ground. “Just issue the refund for me. Thanks anyway.”

“You’re more than welcome. I hope you have a pleasant day.”

I’d have had more of a pleasant day if I were on a plane to New York, but clearly the universe didn’t want me to go.

This was all because I didn’t read my horoscope this morning.

In the words of the wise Michael Scott , ‘I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious’ .

I broke my own daily routine by sleeping well past my alarm and having zero time to do anything else this morning except run to the airport.

And now look at what happened.

By the time I hailed a cab back to Frederic’s home, I was in desperate need of a bubble bath to soak and wallow in.

Dragging my feet toward the garage, I spied Penelope skipping out of the front door of the main house wearing her favorite princess tiara and carrying her sketchbook.

My heart soared.

We’d been practicing drawing together the past two days. She was the perfect student to teach. So eager and willing to learn. Seriously, the kid was a natural, and watching her discover how talented she was — my ovaries could only handle so much.

Frederic appeared after her, and my heart did another somersault.

It was nearly impossible to get used to seeing him in anything other than a suit, but stars help me, he was somehow more devastating in his everyday clothes.

I was pretty sure I could bounce a nickel off his ass in those jeans.

“You’re back,” Penelope announced, running toward me. “Daddy said you had gone away for a couple days.”

I dropped my bag and embraced her with a tight hug.

“I thought you were away all weekend?” Frederic asked, keeping his distance from us.

“ Canada Airways had other plans.”

He cocked a brow, burying his hands in his pockets.

“My flight was cancelled,” I said, unable to keep the disappointment from my voice. “Couldn’t get another flight to New York until tomorrow.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Tomorrow will be too late for what I wanted to do. It’s coolio, clearly wasn’t meant to be.”

He frowned as he took out his phone and walked away.

End of that conversation, then.

Penelope slipped her hand into mine. “Do you want to spend the day with me? That way you won’t be sad about your flight.”

I smiled down at her. “That’s very kind of you, Pen. But you and your dad have plans for the day, and I am finally going to unpack all my boxes.”

Or rather, read the newest cowboy romance book by my favorite author in the bathtub and eat my weight in cookies.

“But we are going to go and get ice cream,” she said matter-of-factly. “You love ice cream like me, don’t you?”

“I do love ice cream, you’re right.” I laughed lightly. “Do you remember what we talked about, though? About the days you get to spend with just your dad, and how special they are?”

Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth as she nodded.

“Well, today is one of those amazing and special days.”

“But I want you to come too,” she said quietly. “Then it’ll be extra special.”

Gee whizz, she knew exactly how to pull on a person’s heartstrings. It wasn’t just mine either. I’d seen her do it to Frederic several times until she got what she wanted.

Speaking of the devil, he reappeared just as Hank drove into the driveway.

“Let’s go,” Frederic said firmly.

I gave Penelope one last hug. “I’ll see you both later. Have a super fun day!”

Just as I turned toward the garage door, I was stopped dead in my tracks by someone touching my shoulder. Twisting my head, I caught a glimpse of the black platinum ring. The air in my chest tightened as I slowly came face to face with Frederic.

“Get in the car, Orla.”

“What?”

“The car,” he motioned toward the black Audi. “You need to get in.”

Blinking several times, I tried to process what he was saying, but all I could do was stare at him like an idiot.

He really did have the most breathtaking eyes.

“It’s not the time to play human statues, give me your bag.” He took it from me before I could say otherwise. “Whenever you’re finished staring at me, my plane is waiting for us.”

Okay, what the hell was happening right now?

Because there was no way he was offering what I thought he was offering. That was absurd, and most definitely not happening.

Unless…

“What about your day with Pen?” I found my voice. “It’s not fair…You guys have plans.”

He shrugged with a crooked smile that turned my entire world on its axis. “I’m pretty sure they have ice cream in New York.”

Turns out, flying on a luxury private plane did nothing to ease my fear of dying in a crash.

However, having Frederic pour me a large glass of scotch and listen to me ramble non-stop the entire flight did help a little more than I wanted to admit.

He picked up on my discomfort immediately, probably because there were now claw marks embedded in the arms of his plane’s leather seat. But he said nothing as he asked Hank to sit with Penelope while he sat in front of me and asked me to talk to him.

When I asked him what he wanted to talk about, he simply replied anything and everything.

I knew he was just trying to keep me calm and ensure Penelope didn’t get second-hand fear from me, but I appreciated him making the effort.

When we touched down on solid ground, I could have danced with joy, but walking off hand-in-hand with Penelope was the best way to celebrate not dying in a wreck of fire and metal.

It was my first time in the Big Apple, and as cliché as it sounded, I couldn’t help but stare out the private car window in sheer wonderment at the bustling city.

My whole life before moving to Canada was spent in the small, rural parts of Ireland. When I uprooted my whole life to Ontario, it was life-altering. I’d never been to a part of the world that had so many people.

New York was a whole new level of that.

As Hank worked his magic, weaving through the busy streets, I dared a glimpse at Frederic.

He was absorbed in whatever story Penelope was unfolding for him.

It was heart-achingly sweet watching the two of them, the way Pen’s eyes lit up whenever she made her father chuckle was exactly the same as Frederic’s whenever he was near his daughter.

Say what you wanted about him, but he was an amazing father; anyone could see that.

“We’re here, Mr. Dade,” Hank announced when he parked up.

“You’re the best.” I grinned at Hank. “Make sure Fred here gives you a bonus this month for doing this.”

My smile vanished the second I clocked the gallery from inside the car. A line longer than my eyes could see snaked from the entrance.

Shit.

Looks like I wasn’t the only one trying to snag the gold-dust rare tickets.

Frederic glanced out the window before turning to me. “What time will you be finished? I’ll arrange for Hank to come back for you.”

“I’m not entirely sure,” I said, gathering my bag. “I need to actually get a way in first.”

He frowned. “What does that mean?”

“The thing is, I don’t have a ticket. They announced that they had limited tickets available at the door on their social media. Sort of like an art-ticket lottery. I was just going to try my luck, to be honest.”

The sheer horror on his face was photo-worthy.

“It’s fine,” I assured. “I’ll join the queue and maybe I’ll get in, maybe I won’t.” Leaning across, I grabbed the door handle. “You two go and get some ice cream, go see the city, and just come for me when you are done.”

“You’ll be queuing for hours.”

“It’s worth it, if I get in.”

His jaw tensed. “What if you don’t get in?”

“Plenty to do around New York. I will kill time until you’re both ready.”

“ Donnez-moi de la force .” He exhaled heavily. Sneaking another glance out the window, he pulled out his phone and started to scroll through his emails. “ Nirvana Gallery… There it is.”

“There’s what?”

“Penelope, wait in the car with Hank. I will be right back.”

Frederic was out of the car and around the other side, opening my door before either of us could say anything.

Yet again dumbfounded and lost on what the hell was happening, I got out of the car and followed him toward the gallery’s front door, bypassing the sea of people queuing.

I reached for his arm, fingertips grazing his bicep before withdrawing sharply. “We can’t bunk the queue, that’s not fair on the others.”

Frederic didn’t answer as he showed front-door security something on his phone that allowed the two of us to glide straight through.

Standing inside, I wanted to talk to Frederic and find out what just happened, but my mind was unable to focus on anything other than the fact that I was standing inside Nirvana Gallery.

It was impossible for me to say or think about anything while standing in the same gallery that housed pieces by the Isabella Ricci, an unknown artist until Violet took a chance on her over a year ago.

Whatever Violet saw in Isabella to take a risk on her, it changed the young artist’s life for the better.

Finally, her art and talent was being recognized and valued all around the world.

Something I manifested for myself every day.

“Thank you,” I managed to say. “You have no idea how much it means to me to be here. It’s a dream coming true. Whatever you did out there to get us inside, I’ll repay you.”

A hint of a smile pulled on his lips. “No need. My brother sent me tickets days ago. I had no use for them.”

“If he ever sends you tickets for any other art events, I’ll happily take them off your hands,” I half-joked. “But in all seriousness, thank you for flying me here and getting me inside.”

“You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat. “We’ll come back and get you in a couple hours.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “Enjoy your day with Pen, and don’t let her swindle you into three scoops of ice cream. I fell for that trick already and the results were not pretty.”

“You fell for her oldest trick in the book.”

“It wasn’t my fault, she conned me. I swear that girl could sell water to a whale.”

His smile grew just that bit more. “Oh, don’t I know it.”

“I bet she gets that from you.”

A glint flickered in his baby blues. “I can be persuasive when I need to be. Especially if it’s something I want.”

I didn’t care for how quickly my mind spiraled out of control, imagining how persuasive he would be if I was the very thing he wanted.

“See you soon, and don’t rush back, okay?” I started to put distance between us. “Hopefully, if I hang around long enough, the owner might appear, and I will try some of Pen’s tactics of persuasion.”

“Let me guess, are you going to try and persuade her into giving you a lifetime’s worth of tickets?”

“Not that I would say no to that,” I laughed, “but more like trying to convince her I’m worth taking a risk on. Maybe then I might have a chance of getting my work in somewhere like here one day.”

His eyes drifted around the walls of art. “You’re as talented as anyone else here, if not more. They’d be a fool not to take a chance on you.” He said it so matter-of-factly before walking away that my heart actually skipped a beat.

For the third time in one day, Frederic had left me utterly speechless.