Page 68 of My Horrible Arranged Marriage (Bancroft Billionaire Brothers #20)

ISAAC

T here was something inherently humbling about standing in a crowded airport terminal holding a first-class boarding pass—only to be told your seat didn’t exist. Mina and I were both worth millions.

Billions technically if you went by the Forbes math.

But we couldn’t charter a jet. Neither of us had our family jets.

Once again, I was reminded that we were all just human.

I looked at Mina who was still smiling. She had that sun-kissed look with her big sun hat doing little to hide her glow.

Maybe it was the pregnancy. Or maybe she was just happy.

I thought I was happy until we showed up at the airport that was now the eighth circle of hell.

I wasn’t sure how many circles there were, but we were finding all of them in the terminal.

I had never wanted to slap my ID down and demand I be catered to so bad in all my life. Screw being humble. I wanted a private jet that did not include seat hogs, screaming kids, and the smell of feet. I wanted cold drinks and leg room.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the gate agent said for what had to be the tenth time, eyes flicking between me and her screen with dread and maybe even fear. “There was a system error with the booking. It looks like your seat assignment was double-booked.”

“I’m looking at the receipt,” I replied calmly, holding up my phone. “And I get it—glitches happen. But there’s got to be a way to resolve this. My fiancée is pregnant, and we’ve had a long week. I’m not asking for miracles. Just for what we paid for. Can we get on another flight?”

Behind me, Mina stood quietly, sunglasses on despite being indoors.

She didn’t say anything, but I could feel the exhaustion radiating off her.

Her hand was wrapped loosely around the handle of her small carry-on.

Her other arm linked with Tori’s. The three of us were dead on our feet, sun-kissed and sleep-deprived and probably a little dehydrated from beach-side mocktails and grilled seafood.

It had been a nice vacation but we were ready to go home.

The gate agent gave me a sheepish smile. “We’ll do what we can, Mr. Bancroft.”

She tapped something into her computer, then picked up the phone and started speaking in hushed tones.

I turned back to Mina and offered what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “It’s fine. We’ll figure it out.”

“If they try to put us in middle seats at the back of the plane, I’m faking labor,” Mina muttered.

Tori let out a snort. “I’ll back her up,” she added. “I’ll even cry.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Let’s just give her a second.”

From behind the counter, the agent waved me over again. “So we don’t have three first-class seats on this flight anymore, but we do have a bulkhead row in economy plus. Extra legroom. Window and aisle. We’ll refund the difference and give you all a travel voucher for the inconvenience.”

As if I needed a fucking travel voucher.

I pasted on a smile. I couldn’t lose my shit. Mina had her first real bout with morning sickness this morning. I wasn’t going to do anything to stress her out any further.

“I appreciate that,” I said to the attendant. It wasn’t her fault. I had to remember that. “We’re okay without a voucher, however.”

While the woman clicked away on the keyboard, I could hear Tori and Mina talking softly behind me.

“He’s definitely husband material,” Tori whispered. “That man would slay dragons for you. I’m surprised he didn’t just buy wings and fly your pregnant ass home.”

Mina giggled softly. “That might have been fun.”

I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. I would slay dragons for her. And if she hadn’t been so exhausted and ready to get home, I would have had one of the Bancroft jets here tomorrow. But she wanted to go home, and what my baby wanted, she got.

The woman printed the tickets and handed them over.

“Thank you.” I turned to the girls. “Okay, not what we paid for, but it’s better than getting split up or stranded.”

“Done,” Mina said with a nod, clearly fine with it.

We ended up at the front of the economy section, just behind first class, the curtain mockingly swaying just inches from my knees.

Mina took the window, I had the aisle, and Tori was across from us chatting with a kind elderly man who turned out to be a retired jazz musician.

She was already asking if he played weddings.

Mid-flight, when the seatbelt light had blinked off and most people were sleeping or watching their seatback screens, I took Mina’s hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. “Doing okay?” I asked.

She nodded. “Fine. This morning was a sneak attack. I’ve managed to avoid that.”

“I’m sure it’s the heat and humidity,” I told her. “We need to get you home and settled. Good food. Lots of hydration.”

She sighed. “I hope that’s all it is.”

“Can I get you anything?” I asked.

She laughed. “Plan on stepping out?”

I winked. “I’d slay dragons for you.”

“You heard that?” she said with another laugh.

I grinned. “My hearing’s excellent. Especially when my future wife is talking about how amazing I am.”

Mina rolled her eyes, but her smile was genuine. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late.” I laced our fingers together. “But seriously, anything you need. Crackers? Ginger ale? A miniature dragon to slay?”

She leaned her head against my shoulder. “Just you,” she murmured. “And maybe for this flight to be over. I can’t wait to get home.”

“Me neither.” Home. The word had a new weight, a new warmth. It wasn’t just my penthouse anymore. It was wherever Mina was. It was the future we were building, brick by messy, beautiful brick.

“What’s the first thing you’re going to do when we get back?” she asked, her voice sleepy.

“Unpack,” I said. “Then maybe order in some really good pizza. And then… I don’t know. Maybe we start looking at houses online? Or baby names again? Or we could just nap. Napping sounds good.”

“Napping sounds amazing,” she agreed, her eyes fluttering closed.

I watched her for a moment. My heart did that weird squeezy thing it did whenever I looked at her, a mix of overwhelming love and a fierce protectiveness that was becoming as natural as breathing.

Two weeks ago, I’d been a wreck, convinced I’d lost her forever. Now, here we were, flying home together, a tiny life growing inside her, a future stretching out before us that was both terrifying and exhilarating.

I kissed the top of her head. I’d done a lot of stupid things in my life.

Earned my fair share of harsh criticism, especially from women like Tori, who had zero tolerance for BS and saw right through people.

But hearing her say I was a good one meant something.

It meant I was doing something right. That I could be the guy Mina needed me to be.

I settled back into my seat and laced my fingers with Mina’s, letting her nap with her head on my shoulders.

About an hour later, Tori leaned across the aisle. “Okay, real talk.”

I blinked at her. “Uh-oh.”

“You’re, like, surprisingly decent,” she said. “You’ve grown on me. Like one of those succulents I always forget to water but it just keeps thriving out of spite. I don’t think I could possibly kill you.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “I think that’s a compliment. Odd but nice.”

She smirked. “It is.”

We talked quietly as Mina dozed. Tori told me about her job, how she’d been burning out lately, how it felt good to have some fun again. She didn’t say his name, but I knew she meant the guy from the beach. The one who made her laugh like she hadn’t in years, according to Mina.

“You should go for it,” I said. “If it makes you feel good.”

“You offering dating advice now?”

I shrugged. “Just saying. You deserve fun too.”

She nodded, thoughtful for a moment, then gave me a sharp look. “So what’s the deal with your brothers? There’s, like… fifty of you?”

“Something like that.”

“I met one at the party—the grumpy one. Hayes? No, Hudson.”

“Sounds about right.”

She grinned. “Who’s the wild one?”

I groaned. “Kent.”

“Is he hot?”

“I’m not dignifying that with an answer.”

Tori grinned wickedly. “So that’s a yes.”

“I’ll just warn you to be careful with him.”

“Why? Is he delicate or something?”

“The opposite. He’s an animal. You wouldn’t last two days.”

Her eyes widened. “I’m tougher than I look.”

I gave her a long, skeptical look. “You have no idea. The man once got banned from an entire ski resort for snowboarding naked.”

Tori’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, what ?”

“True story. Do not let the expensive shoes and casual charm fool you. Kent is chaos in a tailored jacket. I’ve got a bad rep in the family but that’s only because the spotlight shines on me. Kent is in the shadows getting even freakier. He somehow manages to avoid getting busted.”

“I’m intrigued.”

“I’m serious, Tori. This is my last warning. I am not responsible for Kent and what he may or may not do.”

She raised both hands in mock surrender, but I could see the mischief brewing in her eyes.

She was different. The trip to Jamaica did something for her.

Mina said Tori worked all the time doing whatever anyone asked her to do.

I was glad she got to let her hair down but I hoped she heeded my warning about Kent.

Mina loved her like a sister, and if Kent fucked it up, I was sure to face the blowback.

The rest of the flight was more tolerable than expected. A hell of a lot better than the flight into Jamaica.

Mina woke up halfway home. “What day is it?”

“Feel better?” I asked her.

“Much.” She nodded.

By the time we landed in New York, we were all pretty worn out.

The last hour of the flight had plunged right back into one of the many circles of hell.

There was a storm off the coast and it turned our plane into a ping-pong ball bouncing between the thunder clouds.

I had no idea how Mina wasn’t puking. I was barely keeping my shitty airline peanuts in my stomach.

“I’m never flying again,” Mina said flatly as we walked toward luggage claim.

“Road trips only from now on,” Tori added.

I flagged down our driver and got the luggage loaded into the black SUV waiting for us. As we pulled out of the airport, I leaned over to Mina and kissed the top of her head.

“Home stretch,” I whispered.

Mina rested her head on my shoulder, and Tori scrolled through photos from the trip with a grin on her face.

“Look at this one,” Tori said, angling her phone toward us. It was a shot of Mina and me from the beach—me holding her hand, both of us looking ridiculously in love. “You guys are gross.”

“You love it,” Mina murmured.

“I tolerate it.”

“You’re smiling,” I pointed out to Tori.

She scowled. “Shut up.”

We dropped Tori at the Duvall estate first. The gates opened with the usual grandeur. I helped her unload her suitcase.

“Thanks for not being a tool,” Tori said.

“Thanks for putting up with my entire existence.”

She smiled. “Take care of her, Bancroft. I watch a lot of true crime. The police would never find you.”

I frowned. “I’m starting to think you’re not joking.”

She grinned. “Treat her right and you’ll never have to find out.”

I watched her walk inside, pausing to wave once before disappearing into the house.

When we pulled away, Mina let out a long sigh. “She likes you,” she said.

“I think she’s planned my murder and disposal of my body.”

“She might even trust you.”

“She’s threatened to kill me several times now,” I said. I wasn’t sure if she heard me.

She smiled sleepily. “She’s just being protective.”

I reached for her hand. “That’s fair. I’m glad she’s in your corner.”

The driver took us into the city and pulled to a stop in front of my building.

Home.

Once inside, Mina dropped her bag and looked around like she was seeing the space differently now. We kicked off our shoes, collapsed onto the couch, and didn’t move for twenty minutes.

“Hungry?” I asked.

She giggled. “You know me well.”