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“Don’t feel guilty,” I blurt. “I mean, it’s not like it’s your fault you were born with more wealth than most people, I’m not trying to say that.”
“I know.” His smile widens. “I don’t feel guilty, Melanie.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?” I reply pointedly, crossing my arms.
He chuckles softly and reaches out his glass of champagne. After a second’s hesitation, I lift mine too, and he taps his glass against mine with a faint, high-pitched ringing sound. “Because,” he says, his voice dropping to a whisper. He leans in closer, so his breath tickles my neck when he continues speaking, low enough that the flight attendant nearby still serving the other passengers won’t hear us. “It makes me want to spoil you rotten, my dear.”
My cheeks flush all over again, for a completely different reason this time. His hot breath on my skin reminds me of the night we spent together under the stars, out in the open. It makes my breath hitch in my chest. And when the plane starts up, rumbling beneath our feet, it makes me wonder exactly how deep in over my head I’m about to be.
After all, the moment this plane leaves the ground, we won’t be in my familiar world anymore. We’ll be in Xander’s. And I have a feeling that he means what he says about spoiling me. The adventure is only just getting started.
6
Melanie
Takeoff isn’t as bad as I expect it to be. I white-knuckle the seat, sure. But I also have Xander right next to me, his steadying hand on my forearm, his voice low and steady in my ear, whispering that this will be all right, that he’s flown hundreds upon hundreds of times.
“Does it always feel this bumpy?” I ask as the plane shudders higher and higher in the sky.
“At first,” he says. “But it will level off once we reach altitude.” And it does, eventually evening itself out in midair. When that happens, the seatbelt signs ding off, and I relax for the first time since the roar of us speeding down the runway at speeds I’d never personally experienced in my life began.
Without the plane making my heart race, there’s only Xander left to do the trick. He catches my eye and grins, leaning over me with exaggerated slowness, his hand sliding along my waist. It makes my breath hitch in my throat… until he grasps the clasp of my seatbelt and unhooks it.
“You can take that off now,” he whispers with a wink, and I laugh, breathily.
Then, feeling bold, after surviving my first trip up into the air, I lean in and close the distance between us to steal a kiss. It’s soft, quick, chaste. Just a peck on the cheek really. But it makes him smile even wider.
“You know we don’t have to start pretending yet,” he points out. “If you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” I reply, my boldness surprising even me. But I keep my eyes locked on his. “I mean… it will make it more convincing when we meet your family and your father, right? If we… have chemistry.”
He chuckles softly. “You’re so committed to the role. Are you sure you aren’t an actress?”
I smirk. “Not an acting gene in my body,” I respond. “Which is probably why, yes, I think practice will be a good idea.”
He tilts his head to one side, studying me. “And is practice the only reason you’d like us to start pretending our engagement is real now?”
My cheeks, which had only just calmed down after my last blush, heat up once more. “You did say we could have all the fun we wanted while we were doing this,” I point out.
“I see.” He arches an eyebrow. “And what fun are you interested in having, exactly?” He’s just teasing me now. I can see it in his eyes, in his bemused expression. He wants me to be the one to make the first move. He wants me to ask for this.
I reach up to twirl a free strand of hair around my index finger. Two can play at this game. “Oh, I don’t know… Maybe the same kind of fun we had at a certain overlook point, back in a little town you may remember visiting once. Unless, of course, you’re opposed to mixing business and pleasure.”
“Not at all.” His eyes could start a small forest fire at the moment, they burn so hot. I know, because they’re trained on me at the moment, and I can feel the air in the cabin around us heating up from the intensity. “I simply want to be clear: the ball is entirely in your court, Melanie. Whatever makes you the most comfortable.” His smile turns wicked. “Although, you seemed plenty comfortable with letting yourself go in public before, so perhaps that’s a silly question.”
