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I just shook my head at his very guy-like comment and couldn’t really identify if we were playing or arguing. My pulse was racing and my breaths were coming quicker than at rest, but I couldn’t grab on to anger where I normally felt it—in the pit of my stomach.
It looked like my man was having a similar war. When his nostrils flared on his inhalation, I felt heat in my core. Jesus, really? This was what turned me on these days? This whole weekend had every one of my senses scrambled. That had to be the explanation.
The small plane bounced through some turbulence, and the dip in the cabin beneath me startled me. Instinctively I grabbed on to Carmen’s arm with the grip of a baseball slugger. I leaned closer to mutter an apology, and my husband smashed his lips to mine.
Shock from the action and arousal that had built from our little tiff had me easily yielding to him. His tongue was urgent and demanding, finding mine with delicious skill.
I should’ve pulled back. We were on a small plane with a handful of other people. They didn’t need to see us swapping spit the way we were. But I couldn’t bring myself to stop. So many men I dated lately were terrible kissers. Maybe they were just inexperienced boys now that I had this benchmark experience for comparison.
This guy knew how to deliver a kiss. At least for my preferences he did. This was the first time we’d kissed while I was completely sober, and I could smack myself for missing all the nuances the times before.
When we finally broke apart, I couldn’t help but notice how the side conversations that had been taking place around us had stopped all together.
“Mmmm,” he hummed. “I think I could do this for hours. Your mouth is paradise, woman.”
A smile spread across my lips, and I lifted my hand to touch them with my fingertips. Hell, it felt like my whole face was numb. I dug deep for a clever response but came up with nada. I was warm and fuzzy in all the best places and wondered if I could talk him into joining me in the lavatory for a quickie.
Although, bathroom sex was never really my jam. Too many germs to obsess over. Being yucked out about the location obscured any enjoyment of the activities taking place.
As if the moment weren’t awkward enough, my sister popped up behind our row of seats.
“Well, isn’t this cozy?” she said with a mischievous giggle.
Carmen tapped the fasten seat belt icon on the overhead display and told my sister, “You better stay seated, Mrs. Banks. For your own safety, of course.” He sneaked me a quick wink, and I chuckled.
Hannah sank back down behind us into her own cushy seat but said loud enough for us to hear, “We’ll talk when we get home, Dah. Don’t think we won’t.” She gave the back of my seat a solid push with her foot, and I growled while jolting forward.
“Knock it off, Han, or I’ll tell your honey an embarrassing story about your childhood.” I teased with the threat, but the idea had merit.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that name,” Carmen said. “What’s that about?”
“You mean Dah?”
He nodded, so I went on to explain that the nickname came from my dear sister in the next row. When I was born, she was just two years old and couldn’t say Agatha. But she apparently thought the syllable count or something—no one really knows—sounded like “Tah dah!” And it stuck from that point on. Most of my family routinely used the nickname.
“It’s cute. It suits you,” he said after my long-winded explanation, and he leaned over and kissed the tip of my nose.
This kissing thing could get out of hand. But I liked it too much to tell him to stop. There was a part of me—a pretty big part of me—that liked his attention. If he would just get better at picking up on the cues I threw off when I wasn’t in the mood for physical affection, we’d be golden.
We were on the ground in less than two hours. Normally the flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles was shorter than that, but apparently we circled the airport a few times waiting for other air traffic to land. I hadn’t really paid attention to the duration of the trip, though. Carmen and I easily passed the time chatting and laughing and, yes, stealing kisses whenever the opportunity arose.
Legitimate dread rested right behind the carefree joy I decided to allow myself on the second half of our flight. Knowing the shit was really going to hit the fan when we got home prompted my decision to just enjoy the man’s company while it was still unburdened.
Now that we were on the ground, I felt like an elephant pulled up an easy chair on the middle of my chest. The desire for a drink was so strong, I found myself coming up with ways to get separated from the group as we walked through the terminal. I could always lag behind in the airport and hit one of the pubs sprinkled through storefronts and departure gates.
In the long run, it wouldn’t do me any good, though. Plus, the moment we stepped onto California soil, my new husband swept my hand up into his and tugged me toward the exit. There were so many cool and convenient things about flying aboard someone’s private plane. Not having to fight the masses of people in the baggage claim area or wrestle with suitcases bigger than me were the two best.
I really wanted to talk some things over with my sister and get her take on the mess I was in. Unfortunately, she slept for most of the one-state hop while her husband read quietly beside her. I guess the pregnancy was already affecting her physically.
So I was on my own to try to figure out the best way to handle breaking the news to my parents. Currently, the plan was to not deal with it and just go on about my life. Most nights, I got home from work and went straight to my room to shower the day away and crawl into bed.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Chapter Four
Agatha
My new brother-in-law’s personal driver shuttled us to Brentwood in a tricked-out SUV that made me feel like I was a special agent in the CIA. He pulled up to my parents’ home and hustled around to my door before my husband could get to it. The two men exchanged some friendly banter before the driver shuffled back to his spot behind the wheel and Carmen whooshed my door open.
