He was good at taking care of details. He was good at taking care of me, when I let him. I ended up bringing just one bag with a pair of jeans, a few T-shirts and light sweaters, two cute dresses, and lots—and I do mean lots—of lingerie. It was in the sixties and seventies in Napa, and with the temperature in Chicago hovering in the twenties, the warmer weather sounded welcoming.
I’d changed into jeans and a hot pink sweater, but I still wore the ivory bra and panties William had given me this morning. I wanted to have a part of his gift close to me. Even in the back of the heated SUV, my hands were freezing and I’d forgotten my gloves, as usual. I wouldn’t need them in Napa and I just hoped those were the only items I’d forgotten.
On the seat beside me were my purse, my laptop bag, and of course my camera bag. Leaving my cameras behind would have been like leaving a necessary appendage—I needed them like I needed my arms and my legs—so I’d brought both my digital Canon PowerShot and my vintage Leica.
This trip wasn’t exactly great timing for me and I sighed again. I’d just finished shooting Fresh Market’s spring campaign, and I still needed to edit my shots of asparagus and cherries. Thanks in part to Beckett’s brilliant food styling, my latest work for Fresh Market would be featured online, in stores, in mailings, and on billboards all over the Midwest. Every detail had to be perfect. I was hoping I’d have some time to work over the next few days, as the final images needed to be submitted by the end of the week. But the reality was I had no idea what the next few days would look like, so now I was stressing about work a little too.
“Miss Cat, we’re here,” Anthony said. He angled the SUV toward a sign that read “Signature Flight Support.” I’d flown in and out of O’Hare a few times, but I’d never been to this section of the airport.
We approached a nondescript, beige, two-story building. There were no cabs lined up here, no angry traffic cops, no people running with their luggage pulled behind them. There were signs for a few companies that provided air charter service, but we headed for an area marked simply as “Private.”
“It looks pretty empty,” I said.
“It was probably busier earlier in the day.” Anthony glanced back at me and flashed a smile again. He looked formidable in the Men in Black suit William’s male employees seemed to prefer, especially with his ever-present earpiece. He even had a military-style shaved head and, I suspected, a military background in something covert and deadly. He drove for William, but I knew his job entailed much more than just chauffeuring around Chicago’s former most eligible billionaire bachelor—or his new girlfriend. Yes, as of last night, William and I were officially a couple.
Anthony nodded at the windshield. “Those are Mr. Lambourne’s jets up ahead.”
“Jets?” Plural? I leaned forward and watched as Anthony drove right onto the tarmac and toward the two planes. Behind them was a hangar, whose doors were partially closed. I could hear the engines roaring to life, and mechanics in bright orange vests scurried about performing what I assumed were last minute checks on both aircraft.
Just then a man ducked out of the plane on the right, and my breath caught in my throat. I’d know William anywhere. There was something about the way he moved, the way he stood, the power and hard lines of his toned body. His commanding presence was all the more noticeable because he was so damned handsome. Movie-star good looks, with the killer smile and charm to match. I’d seen other women eye him hungrily—hell, I’d been one of them—and some had even propositioned him almost openly right in front of me.
His thick, dark hair blew around his face like a tarnished halo, his vivid blue-grey eyes scanned the tarmac, and I felt a jolt the moment his gaze landed on the SUV. I doubted he could see me inside, but I felt like he was looking directly at me. My belly fluttered and my breathing shallowed. There wasn’t a woman alive who could resist William Lambourne. And I, who knew what he could make me feel, what he could do with his mouth and his hands and that sculpted body, wetted my lips with the tip of my tongue in anticipation. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
But it wasn’t just my body that warmed upon seeing him, my heart swelled too. I was in love with William—something I’d just realized yesterday. It was what fueled our reunion last night and everything since, but I still hadn’t found the right moment to reveal those feelings to him. Yet.
Anthony pulled to a stop, and William watched the SUV with a hooded look. I noted his stance was wide, like a fighter’s. I could tell he felt defensive, and I wanted nothing more than to take him in my arms and comfort him. “He really does need me,” I muttered under my breath as I gathered my stuff. And that thought assuaged some of the reservations I still couldn’t shake about making this trip.