My Once and Future Love (53 page)

“And, nothing. It was a vacation fling.”

“
Uh-huh…
”

“He has my number, okay? But I’m not looking
for a relationship.”

“You liked him, though,” I prodded.

“What’s not to like? Handsome, intelligent,
great
with his hands, rich… We had fun, made some good
memories, that’s all there needs to be. Stop deflecting.”

“Bitch.”

She winked. “Love you, too.”

When we landed, we went our separate ways.
Daddy picked me up at LAX.

“Welcome home, Elizabeth.”

“Hey, Daddy.” We hugged.

“How was your week?”

I winced. “Interesting… Could I ask for some
advice?”

“Shoot.”

“Well, Jacob starts vacation on Monday, and
he wants to spend it with me.”

“Alright…”

“But he wants to go away, some place where
people won’t recognize him much. For a month.”

“I see. And he asked you to accompany him
that entire time?”

“Yeah… And I don’t know if I should go. It’d
be nice to have time together without worrying about cameras, but
that’s also a long time to be away from my work, and you, and my
friends…”

“Hm. What kind of accommodations would be a
part of this trip? Do I need to have a talk with the boy?”

“
No.
Separate rooms if I want. Cost
isn’t really an issue, obviously.” I frowned. “Honestly, my head is
still spinning from the start of this whole thing. Just,
whoosh
, here’s all this stuff to consider dumped in my lap.
I keep feeling like I’m two steps behind. Did you and Mom start out
easy?”

He laughed. “Hell, no. I was in the service
at the time, and we spent most of our first year together sending
letters back and forth. Once we married, I could bring her to the
base I was stationed at…but, no, those early years weren’t the
easiest. And when Andrew came along, then your mother wanted to
stop moving around, so we fought all over again. We didn’t settle
in the house here until he was eight, you know.”

“And I was a surprise?”

He nodded. “A welcome one, of course. Your
mother always wanted one of each, but we were beginning to think
she’d never get pregnant again. Then, you.”

“I remember you were gone a lot when I was
little.”

“I traded one traveling job for another when
I left the service. It wasn’t until your brother high-tailed it out
of town as soon as he graduated that I realized I should have been
home more. Of course, once you went off to college…”

“Bit of a gypsy, aren’t you, Dad.”

He considered that. “In a sense, maybe. Your
granddad and his daddy before him were career military. I never
considered being anything else until I met your mother. She lived
in the same town all her life until she was twenty. Guess you kids
got traits from both of us--you don’t like budging, and Andrew
couldn’t wait to see the world. And now you have feelings for a
traveling man.”

‘Feelings’ was an understatement
.
“Yeah…”

“Well, sweetheart, only you can decide if the
risk is worth it.”

“Would you have been happy with just your
career? Without Mom?”

“Settled in my ways, perhaps. Content, maybe.
But not happy.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Any time, Elizabeth. I’m glad it wasn’t too
late for us.”

“Me, too.”

Monday

Maria picked up the line when I called that
afternoon and put me on hold while she found her boss.

“Hey, love.”

“Hey… I’ve decided. Can I come over?”

“Yes, absolutely. Can I have a hint? I want
to prepare myself.”

“Ha, ha. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up.

He must have been pacing the entryway waiting
for me, for he opened the front door as soon as I pulled up to the
house.

“Someone’s impatient,” I teased when he
pulled me inside.

He walked backward into the living room,
holding my hands. “So?”

“I have some conditions.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

“Separate rooms, or at least separate beds. I
can’t be away for a whole month, but I’m willing to go up to two
weeks. And if it turns out to be a bad idea, we go home, no hard
feelings.”

“But, you are coming with me.”

I nodded. “I’m putting the arrangements in
your hands, Jacob. That isn’t easy for me.”

He looked grateful. “I know. Trust me, okay?
It’ll be special.” He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my
head. “
Thank you
.”

“You’re welcome.”

Maria peeked in. “Ah, I’m making lunch for
two?”

Jacob arched a brow at me in question. I
nodded.

“Two, pet. Thanks.” Alone again, he tilted my
face up to kiss me. “Minty.”

I blushed. “I brushed before I left. So, umm,
where are you thinking of traveling?”

“Well, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to
pay a visit to my mum. It’s been a while and I know she’d like to
see you again.” He led me into the office. “After that, I was
thinkin’ of some place tropical.”

I mentally gulped. Heat, sweat, revealed
skin…

Trouble
.

“Do you think we can go to your mother’s
without being noticed?” I asked.

“It’ll take some secrecy, but I believe it
doable. I’ve been there alone alright. The key is not tellin’
anyone where you’re goin’.” He handed me some brochures. “Look
through these while I check on lunch.”

The locations in the brochures were all
exclusive, expensive, and idyllic.

Romantic
.

One could wonder if Jacob was up to
something. My first thought was he shouldn’t spend so much on me. I
stuffed that down and started considering the resorts based on
their amenities. Since he’d chosen
only
sunny and/or
tropical locales, there would be no escaping a shopping trip to
supplement my wardrobe, especially since I wasn’t ready to publicly
reveal the scar on my leg.

“Come eat before there’s nothin’ left!” he
called.

Starving, I left the brochures on the desk
and scrambled into the kitchen. “You just wanted to see me run in
here.”

He grinned smugly. “Guilty. I was just
tellin’ Maria she won’t have much to do this month.”

“You’re easy to work for, Mr. Lindsey,” Maria
said.

I snickered. She winked at me, sliding a
veggie plate across the island. I snagged a carrot, blinking
innocently.

“Yes, I know I’m outnumbered, ladies. No need
to hide your amusement at my expense.”

“He always gets a lot more British when he’s
pretending to be offended,” I teased.

“Bite me.”

Giggling, I started to relax. The family-like
rapport was comforting. Familiar. The three of us joked around like
this in the early days before Jacob thought that more was more and
never had the time.

Perhaps, if we made it to Thanksgiving…

He leaned in to kiss me when the phone rang,
his private line. He groaned and left the kitchen to answer it.

She inched over to me and said, “It is nice
seeing Mr. Lindsey so happy.”

“In spite of me, really. I haven’t been easy
on him,” I confessed.

“Love is…as complicated as you make it,
Elizabeth. You two have been circling each other for years. It was
about time someone made the first move.”

I shook my head. “He didn’t know he wanted me
again until I left.”

“Perhaps he didn’t
know
that he knew,
but he knew. Trust me. Have fun on your trip, hm?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he walked
back in.

“That was my mother. She’d be thrilled to
have us, as long as it’s not before Thursday.”

“What’s on Thursday?”

“It’s when she gets home.”

“Gets home?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, pet. We didn’
talk about it. Did any of the brochures catch your eye?”

Ugh, men never asked the right
questions
.

“Uh, they’re all very nice… It’s up to you,
remember?”

“Well, yeah, but I still want your input,
love.” He’d taken to touching me as part of his “reassuring
boyfriend thing”, resting his hands on my shoulders or hips while
making his point.

“Whatever you choose will be great. Really.
If you let me do anything, I’ll just take it over, and you don’t
want that.”

“True. Defeats the whole purpose of gettin’
you to trust my reservation skills.” He pulled a credit card out of
his back pocket. “Take my card and pick up anything you need for
the trip.”

I tried to hand it back. “Jacob, I can’t… I
have my own money, you know. You don’t need to do that.”

“You can, I know, and I want to. The
trip
is on me
, missy. No arguin’.”

“But--”

He silenced me with a swift kiss. “No.
Arguing. For the next two weeks, I’m takin’ care of you. Deal with
it.”

I pouted. “You don’t play fair.”

“All’s fair in love and war, kitten.” He
folded my fingers over the card. “Go. Shop. Take a girlfriend
before I keep you the rest of the day.”

I rolled my eyes. “Al
right
,
alright.”

When he swatted my ass, I yelped and sped to
the door. His laughter followed me out of the house. I barely got
out of the driveway when he texted me to come back for dinner when
I finished.

I’d never been crazy about clothes shopping.
In high school, I was Tiny Skinny Girl, then Tall Skinny Girl, and
clothes were too big, then too short. I was well into college
before I had any hips to speak of and my boobs still didn’t fill
out a top like I wanted. Packing for this trip was going to be
interesting with two different climates to consider. This
California girl would be cold in England. I had sweaters,
though.

It was the swimsuit shopping that filled me
with dread. My last suit had been bought the previous decade and
probably sat at the bottom of a drawer since moving out of the
cottage. I burned at the beach and didn’t own a pool, so what was
the point? Now, with the scar on my leg still bright pink, I
thought a wetsuit would be the only way to go.

Why
couldn’t he want to go to a cabin
in the mountains? There would be layers and covered skin and cozy
chairs for book reading… Maybe there’d be freak weather and we’d
get stuck at his mother’s house.

It could happen.

When it came to clothes, I needed my best
friend.

“Finally!” I pulled Celeste inside my
house.

“Are you hiding from your boyfriend
again?”

“No. Kinda. He wants me to come back for
dinner, but I didn’t say I would.”

She shrugged her jacket off. “Okay, so what’s
the problem?”

“I told him he could plan everything
before
knowing he wants to go to the tropics. It’s almost
summer south of the Equator.”

“Ooo, nice! White sand beaches, fruity
cocktails, ocean breezes…very romantic--”

“Yeah, whatever. It’s
hot
down
there—get it?”

“Ohhh! You’re having a wardrobe meltdown.
Well, honey, you’ve gotta have a pair of shorts somewhere.”

“Hello! Big scar on my left leg ring a bell?
The metal parts are
so
much fun to explain at airports, if
you recall.”

“Oh, right. Wear Bermuda shorts, then. You
can get away with it at your height, and--”

“Except I couldn’t find anything at the mall
in
October
. Help? I’ve only got a few days before Jacob
whisks me away, and shopping is your
thing
, so…”

“Say no more. I’ve got your back. I know just
where to go.”

I sighed in relief and sagged into a chair.
“
Thank
you. It was you, or the internet.”

****

Thursday

The chartered plane was scheduled to leave
the airport at 8:00AM. Jacob was running late. He sent a car to
take Beth on ahead while he showered. His PA was at the house for
last-minute details.

“Everything I asked for on the jet?” he
asked, rubbing a towel over his wet hair.

“Yes, sir. They are on schedule and awaiting
your arrival.”

He pulled a lightweight sweater over his head
and walked back into the bathroom. His carry-on sat open on the
bed. A larger case stood by the bedroom door, prepared by
Maria.

“Good. Take my suitcase down to the car and
see if the coffee’s brewed?”

“Yes, sir.”

The PA grabbed the handle of the rolling case
and left. Maria came in with a travel mug as Jacob threw odds and
ends into his carry-on.

“Do you need help, Mr. Lindsey?”

“Do you know where my phone is?”

She took it out of the pocket of her dress
and handed it to him. “You left it downstairs. Not shaving this
morning?”

“I’m running late.”

“They’ll wait a few minutes. Miss Beth would
appreciate the effort,” she said.

He sighed and went back in to the
bathroom.

“Better?” he asked, presenting his smooth
face.

“Much. And your bag is ready.”

He kissed her cheek. “You’re a peach, love.
I’d lose my head without you around.”

“I know,” Maria cheekily replied. “Here.” She
handed him the mug. “Careful, it’s hot. Your guitar and suitcase
are already in the car, and Beth’s driver called to say they
arrived. Your assistant is waiting downstairs.”

He slung the bag over his shoulder and
adjusted his leather jacket. “Keys, wallet, phone, passport…all
present and accounted for.”

“Go. Have fun. Don’t forget the
souvenirs.”

“Yes, pet. Thanks for the help this morning.”
He rushed down the stairs. “And no parties!” he called over his
shoulder.

She laughed and watched him run out the
door.

Chapter Seventeen

Early even for what was expected, I waited
anxiously on the plane and wanted to go already. I sat for a while,
tapping my foot, then got up to pace the cabin unable to contain
this nervous energy, and sighed, checking my watch again.

There were footsteps on the stairs and Jacob
finally ran inside. The pilot met him at the door for an
update.