Page 134 of The Grumpy Billionaire Delaneys Collection

I decided to change topics while we packed. I was packing my large, hard-back suitcase to protect my camera again, but this time, the duffel bag was stuffed as tightly as it could be with clothing. Mine and Gabe’s. Gabe’s duffel bag was going to be extra in case we bought souvenirs while on our vacation. We’d even played around with doing this before, and it worked so long as the zippers weren’t bulging on any of the suitcases we chose.

“I have a few flights from Orlando to Pennsylvania, but nothing really grueling. The longest flight is going to be out to Houston, Texas,” he said. “I intentionally only picked flights that wouldn’t take more than four hours. We have plenty of money for our trip, and this allowed me to service those who absolutely could not have afforded any other flight on the East Coast for once.”

“That’s a good way to look at it. And your regular customers?”

“They’re aware that for a few weeks, I can’t tote them around,” Gabe said. “I’ve had this on my calendar for months. When you try to book a flight through my site, it’ll show the times I’m free and what I can feasibly do based on other flights already booked.” He shrugged as he started to dig in his dresser drawers for clothing to pack. “Now… I know what I have to pack to fly in. What should I pack for the vacation itself?”

“You want something breathable. It’s not prime tourist time in Orlando yet, but the weather feels like it from what I’ve seen for the month,” I replied. “I plan to pack a swimsuit since the hotel has a pool and a hot tub. Mainly for the hot tub. I’ll need it after all the walking I’ll be doing.”

He nodded slowly.

“I’ll pack one as well, for the actual vacation. We have tickets spaced out just like you do for the photography, right?”

“Yes. Intentionally repeated that pattern,” I replied. “I’m excited. It’s the first real vacation we’ve taken since our honeymoon… isn’t it?”

I wasn’t usually one for thrills, but I hadn’t ever gone to any kind of theme park like this as a child. Two of the parks that had given complimentary tickets to enjoy had been on my bucket list since childhood.

For our honeymoon, Gabe and I had flown out to Italy. I wanted a chance to photograph some of the more famous tourist spots, and Gabe was more than happy to oblige. However, his plane wouldn’t have survived an international flight, so we flew commercially. It was about as lackluster as I had remembered it.

He laughed a little.

“Are you more excited about this than Italy?” He looked over at me as he brought a load of clothing to pack into the duffel bag. “Or is that only because you know that I’m going to be sure that we make it there safely, and we won’t have to worry about doing anything with security?”

“I really just hate going through security, is all…” I couldn’t help but feel the blush on my cheeks as I said this.

Flying with Gabe absolutely spoiled me. When I had to fly commercially now – whether it was because his planes wouldn’t make the flight in one leg or because he was full with other trips the day I needed a flight – I paid the extra money for the less stressful security line. Then again, it had never really been less stressful for me. It was simply a shorter line, which helped immensely when I tended to run late because taxis took forever.

We continued to pack in silence, but it wasn’t a bad silence. It was more of the kind of silence that indicated we knew each other well enough that we didn’t have to say anything. He packed the duffel bag to start while I was busy making sure I was padding my camera properly. I had to take two different cameras this time since the one I used for all my photos didn’t take the best video.

Only two of the parks had hired me for videography, but it was enough that I wanted to take my own camera. Especially since neither of these parks were the ones that had offered me their equipment. If that were the case, I might have been able to squeak by with one of them using my camera for both photography and videography.

“All right…” Gabe looked at me once the duffel was full of his stuff. “That’s all my stuff, bar the toiletries. I figured those would go in last, right on top.”

I nodded.

“I won’t have much to put in there after this is full, I don’t think. We may not need your duffel bag, but better to have it and not need it than not have it and need it. We’ll have to stop at a store in Orlando and get some groceries and sunscreen. It’s supposed to be sunny all month long, and I don’t want to be red as a lobster.”

“Noted. Why don’t you make a list while I pack the last of your things in the duffel?”

I sat down on the bed, allowing him more access to what I had left to pack after making sure my cameras were fully supported and protected.

With a list made, we were ready for takeoff the next day. We packed the toiletries, and slowly, I started to drift off to sleep. We had an early flight, but I could tell that even Gabe was excited.

The End.