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And wouldn’t that just fuck everything up? He planned on staying on the straight and narrow path as much as possible when it came to handling this delicate situation he’d created with his now ex-fiancée. So this one sudden move, taking Cat away with him was proving to be a not-so-walking-the-straight-and-narrow moment.
“I did.” She nodded, popping the last bit of the croissant in her mouth and chewing before she swallowed. “Trust me, they shouldn’t worry, not after my reassurances. We’ll only be gone a few days, so Annalisa shouldn’t be too angry.”
That she worried about her sister more than anyone else infuriated him. “I certainly hope you’re right because I don’t want anyone to worry, especially you.” Leaning in, he dropped a light kiss upon her nose, noted that her cheeks heated with most likely embarrassment. “No regrets, hmm?”
“No regrets,” she agreed with the faintest of nods. “We’ll return to Italy in a few days, right? I can’t be gone for long.”
“A few days, yes,” he promised. “Stop worrying about Annalisa. You’re a grown woman. She’s not your keeper.”
Cat glanced down at her lap, her hands clutched together, fingers twisting and turning. “She is my boss, though. She’ll be angry. I just know it.”
“Hey.” He slipped his fingers beneath her chin and tilted her face up so her eyes met his. They were filled with worry, a hint of regret, and he hated that. “I’ll make sure you return to Italy on Monday. That means you’ll be gone five days, tops, and two of them are the weekend so you wouldn’t be working anyway. Am I right?”
She offered a slight nod in answer.
“So she can’t be too terribly angry. Everyone deserves some time off. I bet you rarely take a vacation.”
“I never take a vacation,” she admitted softly.
He smiled. “Enjoy this, then. A few days in the city… We’ll do whatever you want. I’ll take you wherever you want to go. I promise.”
“Really?”
“Of course. We can see a Broadway show, take a tour around the city, you could meet my sister…it’s up to you. I’m sure you’ll want to go shopping. Every woman in my family drops everything to shop in the city as much as possible.”
She frowned. “I don’t really have the…funds at the moment to do much shopping.”
He was a jackass. Of course she didn’t. “I’ll take you shopping.”
“No, you don’t have—”
“Shush.” He silenced her, pressed his mouth to hers for a too-quick kiss, then released her chin. “Let me do this for you.”
Cat nodded. “Okay. Yes. I would love that.”
“Good.” He smiled when she tried to suppress a yawn. “Are you tired?”
“A little,” she admitted, letting the next yawn fly.
“You should sleep through the flight. There’s an empty bed waiting for you.”
“I’m tempted.” She eyed him. “Aren’t you tired too?”
Exhausted, but he wouldn’t take the bed from her. “I need to do some work, but I’ll probably fall asleep in my seat.”
“You can take the bed,” she offered, but he shook his head.
“You use it. You’ll sleep over the flight and wake up refreshed and in the city. Ready to conquer it.” He smiled. “After we take off, you can slip back into the bedroom.”
“That sounds nice.” She offered him a faint smile and he swore he felt the power of it to the depths of his soul. “Thank you, Rafe.”
Thank you for kidnapping her? For pulling her out of her home, her comfort zone and forcing her to come with him? Not that he’d had to force her too terribly hard.
“You won’t regret this time away with me, Cat. I promise,” he said as she slipped her seatbelt on.
She flashed him a tentative smile. “I hope I won’t.”
Never in her life had she traveled in such high style. When Cat was younger, her father’s company had done well. She recalled many vacations, traveling all over Europe, spending summers in Chicago. They’d traveled so much it had become the norm.
But as she grew older, the family business had begun to suffer. Her father had lost interest—in everything. Once the excess money had dried up, the long, family-fun trips had stopped, until they became nothing but a fond memory Cat rarely thought of.
Flying in a private jet was an absolute luxury. Sleeping in a bed in said private jet? So beyond luxury, it felt downright decadent.
