Page 46 of The Grump I Got Stuck With

“I will be telling this story in my nineties from the nursing home.” He knew I was teasing him, but I also understood his point. He wanted to show the media and everyone else that he wouldn’t be bullied out of the business world. “I’m not going to lie, your conference sounds capital-B boring. But I’m sure it’ll be quite fascinating for you. Probably a lot of networking opportunities.”

He nodded.

“I want to come!” Kenna said suddenly, wrenching her hand free of mine.

“Careful,” I said. “Don’t smudge your fingers.”

“That’s not a good idea, sweetheart.” Alistair touched her nose as she pouted up at him. I knew he was only trying to protect Kenna after what happened in London.

“But I want to go!” she said, her nostrils flaring as she huffed.

“I’ve never been to London,” I mused.

Alistair immediately shook his head. “No, the two of you will stay here. Weston and Locke will be on call if you need anything.”

“It’s been months since the trial ended,” I pointed out. “And you did say you refused to look like you’re hiding.”

A muscle in his cheek twitched.

“Maybe it’s time to see if the world has moved on,” I said softly.

His hand curled into a fist against the counter. “You don’t understand what it was like.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” I said. “But you can’t let yourself stay trapped in what happened in the past. It’s not good for you.” Or Kenna, I added silently. “Look, if we get there and it’s as bad as you anticipate, then Kenna and I will just hang out in the hotel, order room service, and watch movies.”

“Yay, room service!” Kenna cheered.

“But,” I reasoned, “if it’s not that bad”—and I didn’t think it would be—“maybe the three of us can go out and have some fun in between all that nerdy stuff.”

Alistair hummed, eyes unfocused for a beat, like he was genuinely considering it. “What exactly is your definition of fun?”

I perked up at that. Holy shit, was he actually considering bringing us to London? “Um, I don’t know, really.” I hadn’t given much thought to visiting England while I was here. But now that I was…“I’ve always sort of wanted to ride that giant Ferris wheel.”

“The London Eye,” Kenna said. “It’s so big.”

Alistair groaned and rubbed his forehead. “Why does it have to be the most touristy thing ever? Do you know how busy it’s going to be in the lead up to Valentine’s Day?”

Kenna jumped down from her stool, waving her little hands around. “London Eye! London Eye!”

“Weren’t you the one who told me you’ve got all these fancy travel connections?” I said, arching my eyebrow.

“You’re right,” he agreed, looking thoughtful. “And I think I can do better than the London Eye.”

“Holy wow,” I murmured, my eyes going wide as I stepped onto the jet a week later. Apparently, there was a small runway at Weston’s estate, Lochbrae, and that’s where Alistair kept his private freaking jet! Right next to Weston’s in the hangar.

What even was my life?

Kenna raced ahead of me, climbing onto a fancy leather seat. It was black, sparkling with polished silver accents. In fact, the whole cabin gleamed. I curled my hands against my sides, worried I’d accidentally leave fingerprints behind. While I ogled the plane, Kenna reached for her seatbelt, clipped it, then unpacked her bag, placing a coloring book on the table in front of her.

She was comfortable in a way that told me she’d done this dozens of times before, and that was a wild thought. The kid was four.

“Everything okay?” Alistair asked, coming up behind me. I jerked slightly at the heat of his breath on the back of my neck.

“Yeah, uh…sorry,” I said, laughing as I gestured ahead. “Just trying to take it all in.”

“All what?”

I turned, stunned to realize he wasn’t kidding. “It’s my first time on a private jet, okay?”