Page 64 of Some Kinda Romance

31

DASH

Itold Serenity I’d have a car pick her up for our flight, but she didn’t know I was waiting for her inside it. As the door opened, I grinned, holding out a single red rose and reaching for her hand. “Good morning.”

Her entire face lit up with her smile when she saw me, quickly sliding into the car and slamming the door behind her before anyone had a chance to try and sneak a picture of me. She scooted across the seat until she was practically sitting in my lap, catching my face between her hands and kissing me.

“I love it,” she murmured between kisses. “Good morning, Mr. St. Clair. This is a pleasant surprise.”

I chuckled against her lips, groaning. I pressed my forehead to hers, ending the kiss but not wanting to let her go yet. I was already hard as hell though, and while I’d chosen the car with the darkest tint on the windows, it didn’t have a privacy partition.

“I’m glad you like it,” I said as she eased back and accepted the rose, bringing it to her nose and inhaling deeply. “How did you sleep?”

Glancing up at me through those long lashes, she shrugged, a coy smile on her lips. “I barely got an hour. I was too excited.”

“Same.” I chuckled, winding my fingers through hers, relieved that I’d used this particular car service for years.

Their drivers were extremely trustworthy and discreet, which meant I could hold her hand freely without having to worry about the story leaking in the next day’s papers. As if she was thinking the same thing, she glanced at the driver and then at me, but I squeezed her hand and shook my head.

Nodding her understanding, she cuddled as close to my side as she could while still buckled up. “Full disclosure, the baker we’re going to meet is an old friend of mine, but she’s good. Great, actually. I’m confident that she’s worth the trip.”

“You’re worth the trip,” I said. “Sampling cakes is just an added bonus. An old friend though, huh? Jeez. How many of those do you have?”

She chuckled. “A few, but Molly is amazing. I hope you know I wouldn’t be taking you out there if she wasn’t.”

“I trust you,” I said without even having to think about it. “How long has she been in the game?”

“A few years,” she replied, glancing up at me and smiling. “Before you ask, she’s not formally trained. She grew up baking and learning how to cook with her grandmother, and then she went on to get a degree in marketing, but eventually, once she settled in Seattle after she got married, she decided to give it all up to open a bakery instead.”

“I’m always impressed with people who have the balls to follow their dreams,” I said. “There aren’t enough of us who do. People like you, me, and Molly are a rare breed.”

“How do you know I’m following my dreams?” she asked curiously, but she didn’t deny it.

I looked deep into her eyes, shrugging as I studied the turquoise crystals within the blue. “I know you’ve turned down a variety of reality show offers to do this instead, which means being on TV wasn’t your dream. You work at this day and night, and you take the losses personally but you celebrate the wins. Am I wrong? Are you not living your dream?”

She stared back at me for another beat before she nodded. “No, I am. You’re right. Of course, you’re right. I am living my dream. I’m just surprised you figured it out so well.”

I didn’t respond, simply lowering my head to the top of hers and listening as she told me all about Molly and how they’d met on the way to the airport. Once we arrived, we boarded the waiting jet quickly. The paparazzi were kept far away by security and the vast land the airstrip was situated on.

Breakfast was ready when we boarded, and Serenity gave me a surprised smile when she stepped onto the jet to be welcomed by the scent of bacon. “You asked for this?”

“Of course,” I said, leaning in to press another chaste kiss to her lips once we were clear of the open door. “I wouldn’t want you to go hungry on our first proper date.”

“This is our first date?” she asked, trying and failing to hide yet another smile. “I like it, but it’s weirdly elaborate and awesome at the same time. Also, technically, we’re doing this for your mother’s wedding, which adds another layer of weird to it.”

“Weird is how we roll.” I took her hand and led her over to one of the chairs surrounding a small table where we could dine once we were airborne. “Everything about our relationship so far has been weird and unexpected. Why stop now?”

“Fair enough,” she agreed, sitting down and buckling up. “Weird and unexpected is pretty darn accurate for us.”

Just after takeoff, we were served our breakfast, an array of fresh fruit, yogurt, bacon, and pancakes with all the trimmings, and the hostess left us alone once she’d set it down. I glanced at Serenity, wondering why she suddenly seemed uneasy.

Her gaze was fixed on the window as it had been all through taxi and takeoff, and she’d tugged her lower lip into her mouth. I frowned as I watched her, but she didn’t even seem to notice.

“Is everything okay?” I asked. “You seem different all of a sudden.”

She exhaled deeply through her nostrils before she finally moved her eyes back to mine. “I’m okay. It’s just that talking about how weird and unexpected all of this has been got me thinking about what you said before about clients losing faith in me after so many missteps. It’s just, uh, it’s weird that so much has gone wrong already and yet we’re doing better than ever.”

“Ignore what I said.” I leaned across the table and offered her my hand, relieved when she placed her palm in mine. “Look, the whole city is watching you with this one, but there haven’t been as many missteps as you think. In fact, you’re doing an amazing job.”