Page 13 of Kissing for Keeps
I walk around the front of the truck and open her door as one of the other workers starts unloading the suitcases.
“What are you doing?” Siena asks me as she steps from the truck. “It won’t take that long to get through the bag check line, and I can get one of those luggage carts.”
I raise my brows as the guy in my truck bed hands me yet another suitcase to add to the collection.
“Fine,twoluggage carts,” she says.
The suitcases keep coming, and she looks around at them. Things begin to compute. “Wait, what’s that blue one?”
“Thanks again,” I say to the worker as I take it from him and set it on the ground. I face Siena becauseit’s time. “It’s mine. I’m coming.”
Blank stare. The blankest of the blank.
“I changed my flight,” I expound.
The valet steps next to us while Siena’s gaze stays fixed on me. “You should have gotten an email with your valet ticket number,” the guy says. “It has the link to our app. You can download it to notify us when your flight is landing, so we can have your car here waiting.”
“Thanks.” I nod to let him know he can leave. Siena has yet to say a word. I grab one of the luggage carts nearby and start stacking the suitcases.
“Is this a joke?” she finally asks as the truck pulls from the curb.
“I sure hope not. I want my truck back when I get home.”
“You seriously changed your flight?”
I grab a second luggage cart to load up. We’ll be a circus on the way inside, but at least everything will be in one place. “Youwere seriously about to fly to France with six suitcases? By yourself?”
“I would have been fine. Iwillbe fine. You don’t need to change your flight, Jack.”
“Too late. It’s a done deal.”
There’s a pause. “What about your job?”
I shrug. “I have a lull at work right now. I’ll have to do some stuff while I’m there, but it’s nothing urgent.” I stack the last suitcase, then turn to face her. “Weren’t you the one who said Madi wants me to take an interest in the wedding?Voilà. I want to help her and Rémy. Now, come on.” I thread my arms through my backpack straps and elbow her. “You’re making us late.”
6
SIENA
Jack is coming to France.As in, he’s taking the same flight as me, and, as far as I can tell, he’ll be joining me on the drive to Chateau Vidal. Or maybe not. Maybe he plans to hang out in Paris for a few days and trot out the ladies. A French fling would totally be his style.
As far as I know, Jack treats dating like a hobby—he never lets it get serious. I have no doubt he’d find plenty of takers in Paris. He’s a good-looking, charming guy, dang him.
When it’s finally our turn at the check-in counter, we hand our passports to the agent, and she looks up at me and then Jack.
“Together?” she asks.
Taken off guard, I open my mouth to set her straight.
Jack wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Yeah.” He shows her that dazzling smile. “Any way you could get us seats together?”
Offering a toothy smile to the agent, I stomp on Jack’s foot.
“I meant whether your reservation is together,” the agent says with an expression that saysnice try. “As far as seating goes, you’ll have to take that up with the gate agent at this point.”
“Of course. Whatever it takes to get a seat next to this fine young lady.” The teasing glint in his eye has me ready to stomp on his other foot.
The grand total I owe once all the suitcases are weighed and checked is a number I don’t care to repeat. Jack insists on charging it to his credit card, and I put up a little fuss, but it’s only half-hearted. I have no job prospects at the moment, and even though Madi’s going to pay me back, having a bit of a cushion on my card limit until then might come in handy.
