Page 74 of Payback
“YOU CAN’T SEE THIS,”I state seriously before tucking the printed airline ticket into the pocket of my athletic jacket. Allie smiles and sneakily begins walking her fingers across my abs and underneath the material of my coat. “I mean it, Lis. Don’t look at it, or you’ll ruin the fun.”
She growls in frustration. “You’re seriously not going to tell me where we’re going? Even now? We’re on our way to the airport!”
“Nope,” I reply with a grin, sitting in the backseat of the car I hired to take us to Heathrow Airport. “And I brought these.” I pull out my noise-cancelling headphones. “You’re not going to hear it announced by the pilot either.”
“Why are you being so secretive?” she asks with narrowed eyes. “I could have kept your Adidas sponsorship interest a secret, but I didn’t. I told you. Because that’s what good girlfriends do.”
I laugh at her weak logic. “Niall called me in for a meeting the next day and told me. It wasn’t really a secret at that point.” She juts out her lip in a pout and I dip my head down to kiss it. “Besides, I think you telling me about Adidas was more exciting for you than it was for me.”
Her jaw drops in offence. “You scooped me up into your arms and started dancing with me on the street corner!”
I shrug and shoot her a mischievous wink. “I know. But that’s only because I knew you were excited to tell me. I’m a giver like that.”
“You are so full of shit, Roan DeWalt!” She dives in for the airline ticket once more, but I grab a hold of her hands and stop her, trying really hard not to think about fucking her in the back of this car. She’s cute when she’s feisty.
I laugh and give in. “All right, I’m excited about Adidas. But nothing is official yet, so I’m trying to keep myself in check.”
She stops fighting me and exhales heavily. “Fine. But, why can’t you tell me where we’re going?”
I pin her with a look and think to myself,Because if you knew I was taking you to South Africa to meet my mom, you’d flip the fuck out on me.Instead, I drop a soft kiss on her lips. “Just let me be fucking romantic, mooi.”
“Well, okay. But only because you said fucking.” She giggles and nestles herself under my arm.
I press my nose to her hair, inhaling her sweet scent that I never seem to tire of. The past six weeks with Allie have been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced with any other woman. Mac is right. I am different around her than I have been with others. I’m more…me. From day one, I’ve pushed for more with her because I like who I am when I’m around her. She feels like home. And it’s addictive to be with someone you can be your true self with.
Allie Harris is my addiction.
I knew that day we went out on the rowboat that we were past our one-month mark. I also knew if I was going to end it, it was already too late for it to be drama-free. But every day I spent with her, I fell for her more and more. Then, when she opened up to me out there on the water about being an only child, it made me want to be with her forever. So she’d never feel lonely again.
It’s a crazy feeling to want the responsibility of another person so fully like I do with Allie. Mac says that’s real love, but I don’t trust that it truly is since I’ve never felt it for another woman. Yet here I am, calling her mine and taking her to meet my mother. This sure seems like love.
“Real or fake?” Allie asks, looking up at me, her eyes blinking slowly. “You want to become a member of the Mile High Club and you’re using me to get there.”
“Really fucking real.” I lean down and kiss her on the nose while squeezing her hip.
She smiles and moves in closer. “I knew it. We’re probably flying to some place really lame, like Chicago.”
“Ouch,” I reply. “Do you really hate Chicago that much?”
She shakes her head. “No, I actually love Chicago. I just don’t love the people I have to see there in a few weeks.”
I let out a long breath. “You really think it’s wise to go back for Rosalie’s wedding?”
Her stepsister’s wedding has been a sore subject since the minute Allie told me what she is going to do. I haven’t blatantly told her I don’t want her to go because I’m trying to be supportive. I’m not jealous of her ex, but I don’t trust her stepsister. Any sibling who could do what Rosalie did to Allie can’t be right in the head. But I know Allie seeks closure, despite how strong she acts, so I’m playing the understanding boyfriend act.
“I have to,” she says simply. “But it’ll be good. It’ll be a goodbye of sorts. For real this time.”
“What do you mean by that?” I ask, my brows pinching together in confusion.
She pulls out from under my arm and turns to face me in the backseat. “When I left, it was in a rush and I left things with my dad in a bad place. I’m hoping the trip can repair some of the distance we have.”
I stare her down for a minute. “And you’re sure I can’t go with you? We do really good at weddings, if you recall.”
My suggestion is charged with sexual innuendo, but she doesn’t take the bait as she pulls her lip into her mouth to chew on it nervously. She nods woodenly and replies, “Thank you for the offer, but I’m sure.”
She’s cagey about her trip to Chicago and even cagier when I suggest going with her. It’s making me suspicious.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you don’t want me to meet your family.”
