Page 84 of Flyboy
"Making sure he doesn't see me. Don't look at me!"
Penny laughed. "God, you're such a dork."
"Hey, this surprise Jack thing was your idea!"
"No, I wanted you to arrive in a cake."
She rolled her eyes and hoped she never had a conversation about hiding inside a cake with her sister again. "I'm clichéd enough with the Vegas wedding. I don't need to do the burst from a cake thing as well."
"Oh, come on, don't you want to prove Emmaline right?"
Maryn laughed. "Honestly, seeing her face when she realized Jack had married thetrailer park trash chickmade my day. No, my week, month, year, life!"
Alyssa couldn't help laughing.
Before the ball Emmaline had told the press Jack had hooked up with a woman who was trailer park trash. Of course, when he'd announced at that same ball that the woman on his arm was his wife, all hell had broken loose. Dash had come to the rescue with the excuse that Jack's stepmother had leaked this info to confuse the media and give her stepson and stepdaughter-in-law time before they revealed their marital status.
They'd been spared contact with Emmaline since then. Well,shehad. Alyssa figured that would change now she'd be living here with Jack.
Jolted from her thoughts when the car stopped, she held her breath, keeping perfectly still. Roark, Maryn, and Penny quickly exited, leaving her half lying across the backseat. When the rear of the SUV opened, she waited a few seconds then slowly straightened and twisted to face the back.
Jack stood, his arms wrapped around Penny and a huge smile on his face. There was no denying the man loved her sister like his own.
"So how much stuff did you bring with you?" he asked, moving them closer to the SUV.
"Not too much, but you'll really want to see one of the things I brought with me." Penny turned her way and winked.
"Oh, what did—" Jack's words choked off and his mouth dropped open. For long seconds he stared at her through the vehicle. Finally, he whispered, "Lys," and dove into the back of the car, climbing his way over their bags until he managed to get his arms around her. "Fuck. You're here. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"Wanted to surprise you," she said into his neck, taking a deep breath of everything Jack. She'd been sure before now, but in this moment, with his arms around her, hers around him, she knew beyond a shadow of doubt she'd made the right decision and that indefinite leave would be a resignation.
"How long are you here for?" he asked, pulling back to look in her eyes.
Grinning she said, "How long do you want me, Flyboy?"
"I. You." He shook his head and swallowed hard. "Forever?"
Epilogue
November—six months to the day after Elvis sang
Jack led Lys into their suite and took her all the way to the bathroom where he'd had the hotel staff prepare the whirlpool tub before their arrival.
"Can I open my eyes yet?" Lys asked.
"Not yet." He maneuvered her until she stood right in front of the tub. "Now!"
"Oh!" Her eyes opened wide, her head turned, then her whole body as she did a full three-sixty rotation to take in the entire bathroom.
He'd had the space filled with fragrant candles, the area around the wax columns sprinkled with red, white, and pink rose petals; more petals floated on the surface of the bubbling water in the bath. On the marble shelf next to the tub sat a silver tray with a matching bucket and two crystal champagne flutes waiting beside it, the bottle wedged in the ice not yet opened.
"Jack," she breathed out his name on a sigh. "This is gorgeous. When did you do this?"
He smiled. "I didn't personally do it but I left instructions on what I wanted."
"You didn't need—"
"I wanted to." He stepped closer, lowering his head so his lips skimmed the shell of her ear. "I want to spoil you."
