Page 88 of Holiday Home 4

“Yeah, of course,” he said, heart still pounding.

“So do I. So, I imagine, does every woman going on this trip. So, don’t forget about that. I’m sure you could wrangle us into a game that favors you.”

With her uttering those words, and so sinfully seductive in the way she delivered them, Liam’s pulse didn’t come back down for another few minutes.

“It’s been on my mind,” he promised. “Some new games, some old games. If I get tired of you and Victoria flogging me, I know how to get in a win or two.”

Beaming, Tess whispered into his ear that she couldn’t wait to see him in action. Several minutes. His pulse didn’t smooth out forseveralminutes.

At the planned time, following a later dinner, they finally got on the road, heading for the private airport that held the personally owned jets of numerous incredibly wealthy individuals. Along the way, he caught Tess smiling to herself a few times. He was sure he ended up doing the same thing.

Every moment of the following week was remarkable, even the drive over. Before leaving, they’d confirmed via a group text that everyone was good to go. Now, they all just needed to meet outside of Avril’s plane. Everything else was covered, handled, resolved. They were good to go until they touched down in Fiji and went through customs.

After about forty-five minutes on the road, passing thousands of cars thatweren’theading toward their own private jet, a category of drivers Liam and Tess had been among right up until this very night, they reached the airport. After parking, he and Tess gathered their things and went through an eerily ghostlike passenger terminal. They still had shops, cafes, and so on, and a couple were still manned at this time of the night, but it was still slightly unnerving. After all, they didn’t see any other passengers.

Not until they linked up with Anna, who’d already handed her baggage—and her best friend—over to the plane’s captain, who’d met them outside the terminal. She’d elected to stay behind so that Tess and Liam, who weren’t used to this kind of flying, and Victoria, who might have forgotten a thing or two, wouldn’t be left in the lurch.

Victoria arrived shortly after, and the four of them progressed through security in about a minute. No bags were checked, and his fortune cookie jar, which sat inside a drawstring bag over his shoulder, didn’t receive a glance. They didn’t end up staying in any of the plush lounges that the airport offered, which looked like the exact kind of place where high-life socialites would gather to relax before boarding their privatejets. As they skipped that step, it was simply a matter of allowing both their luggage and their selves to be loaded onto a shuttle, and then they were on their way to Avril’s plane.

Briefly, Liam wondered what the driver thought of their party. He was the only guy, and he was clearly younger than at least two of the women in their group. But then again, what did he know about what went on in private airports? Based on what Avril had said, her brother only wanted to use this plane so he could bring along a bunch of women. Maybe this was the norm, though he doubted he gave off a billionaire’s aura.

Parked on the runway, the Bombardier Global 6500 awaited them. Its door was already down, but Liam focused on the exterior a little longer. Even in the darkness, he saw it. Past the plane’s exceptionally long wings and its sleek body, it was right there. A Bandits logo, smack dab on the plane’s rudder. Maybe Rory Knight wasn’t quite the subtle minimalist Liam had made him out to be. He was proud of his team, at least.

After handing off some of their luggage, that which they didn’t want to bring onto the plane with them, to their driver and one other man who’d been waiting by the plane’s cargo hold, Tess climbed inside first, Victoria following, and then him—at Anna’s motioning. Stepping out of the darkness, Liam climbed aboard his first private jet.

As was so often the case, Avril was correct. It’d be hard to downgrade. Climbing aboard, being greeted by captain, copilot, and Avril Knight herself, he looked down a straight line of obvious expense. It began with a kitchen filled with state-of-the-art appliances and a couple of seats, where the wait staff, if Avril had elected to have any for this trip, could make them meals and drinks, then relax when not needed. A door could close this cabin from the rest of the plane should its passengers want privacy from the staff and pilots.

Much more of the plane belonged to the galley, the place where he and four gorgeous women would spend many of the next eleven hours. It was by far the cleanest plane he’d ever stepped into, both by sight and smell. He was accustomed to flying in business class when he and his parents made the long trip to South Korea, so he wasn’t immediately found weeping on the floor and kissing the clean carpet, but it was still a step up from his prior experiences.

The walking space was more expansive than he’d expected, and there were eight comfortable-looking seats—Avril had gone on and on about their comfort—in this first area. He spotted the plane's chaise near the open doorway leading to the private suite on the far side of the cabin. On the other side of the aisle from it were four cabin chairs facing inward toward a square table, which a single pillar rising out of the floor supported. That was where he initially figured he’d end up watchingThe Sandlot;he’d even rented it on his laptop. However, Avril, swiveling in a nearby chair like a James Bond villain, popped up to her feet, tapped him on his shoulder, and pointed past him. Glancing back the way he’d come, he spotted a flatscreen buried in the wall beside the entryway he’d passed.

“Did you forget?” she asked.

“No, I even have a viewing buddy,” he said, loud enough for Victoria, who’d nearly reached the private suite, to overhear. “Victoria and I are going to watch it together.”

“Oh, then you all can set up in the private suite for it,” Avril said, pointing past the tallest woman in the group. “It’ll be on soon enough. Maybe I’ll join you.”

“Maybe I will too,” Tess said. “What are we talking about?”

“Liam’s never seenThe Sandlot,” Victoria said. “Avril intends to fix that during this flight.”

Chuckling mirthfully, Tess reconfirmed the possibility of her joining them.

“How about you, Anna?”

As Anna gave a noncommittal answer, Liam noticed that there was actually asixthpassenger on the plane. Sitting in one of the four chairs by the table, he spotted a familiar stuffed figure. Sammy the Sloth was also coming along, ready to go international. Hopefully, the squishy stuffed animal would help Anna get some much-needed sleep during the flight.

It would be around five in the morning when they touched down, following an eleven-hour flight. When that happened, he hoped they’d all be rested enough to go out and enjoy Fiji's pleasures, sights, and sounds right away.

As everyone found their seats, which proved as comfortable as Avril had sworn them to be, the pilot announced that they’d be ready to take off in fifteen minutes. Everyone looked around, meeting eyes that brimmed with excitement and anticipation. It wasn’t just him. It was all of them. Even Victoria. Every single one of them was ready to be Fiji-bound.

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