Page 42 of The Hang Up

He put his arm around me and led me to the plane.

On the way to wherever we were going—and my bet was on Florida or somewhere on the East Coast—I told myself not to get used to this luxury. A person there to take care of whatever we needed. The tons of space to move around. The thing I hated about airplanes was being crowded in a row with two or three other people. But having the entire plane just for us? And somehow, the stewardess, or whatever they were called on a private plane, knew when to not interrupt us.

We made out on the way. Never getting too heated. And that was all Joshua. He’d tell me a story or order us food or something to give me time to cool off. I didn’t mind. Mostly.

When he pulled away from kissing me and announced we’d be there soon, I cupped his jaw. “I’m done waiting. Sometime this weekend, I expect you to—” The words got stuck in my throat and heat rushed to my face. But Joshua didn’t say anything. He waited for me to get myself together. “I want you, Joshua. I want you inside me—” There was so much else I wanted to say, but it all sounded lame or cheesy, at least in my head. “Please?”

His answer was another kiss, and this one felt like a promise. “Whatever you want, sweetheart. Anything you want.”

* * *

When the plane landed,Joshua told me we had two ways to make it to Point Pleasant. We could rent a car and drive over windy roads through the mountains or take a helicopter in. I guessed we wouldn’t even have a choice in the winter because the roads would be covered with snow and too dangerous. Joshua asked me which one I preferred.

“How?” I asked.

He looked away and shrugged his shoulders. “I reserved both just in case.”

“You have a helicopter waiting, just in case?”

“Yes,” he said hesitantly.

He was worried I was going to be upset. God. I was being so unfair and a bit of a bitch. Was I just worried this was all going to go away? That Joshua would find some hot supermodel to run off with? I needed to stop and enjoy our time together.

“Come here,” I said, grabbing his face and kissing him. “You’re kind of wonderful. You know that?

“And you’re still kind of a brat. A sweet and sexy brat.”

I grinned. “While I would love to drive through the mountains, I want to be there now so I can kiss you in front of a bunch of people and hold your hand without anyone caring.”

The town of Point Pleasant was beautiful and charming, with mountains as the backdrop. It didn’t take long to get there, and we were soon standing in the middle of town. Joshua told me they had skiing on artificial snow until closer to December, when the real stuff came in. But I wasn’t interested in that. I just wanted to do the things that most couples got to do.

The beauty of the mountains made me breathless, and I couldn’t stop staring. “This is amazing.”

Joshua kissed me. Right there in the middle of Point Pleasant. “Agreed.”

I stiffened for a second. Not that I minded. This was what I wanted, but that reflex was automatic. But it only lasted a second, and then I was returning his kisses.

Joshua pulled back with a chuckle. “Come on.” He grabbed my hand and led me through the town.

“I booked the bed and breakfast for us.”

“Not the chalet,” I said with a grin so he knew I was teasing.

“I thought you would like this more.”

We checked into the charming B&B. The owner was a friendly older woman, and she told us all about the town and that this was their off-season, so there were not as many tourists or things going on. Joshua wrapped his arm around me. “Sounds perfect.”

The main street through town was called Main Street, of course. Joshua had met investors here once and was excited to take me to some of his favorite places. He pointed out the gazebo and Margie’s, the local coffee shop.

“The coffee is good, but their food is amazing. They have a new chef—”

“They have a chef?” We could see through the windows that the place was already packed for lunch.

“I had to step up my game after the last restaurant I took you to was such a disaster.”

“Wait. You have game? Did Mitch tell you that? Because he exaggerates—” I squealed when Joshua’s fingers dug into my ribs. I tried to get away. “No tickling,” I said, trying to glare but mostly laughing, so I wasn’t sure how effective it was.

“No talking about Mitch. And I have game.”

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