Page 53 of How to Resist Prince Charming

She must’ve sounded leery because he quickly replied, “Trust me. I know you’ll love it.”

“Well...” Hmm. Her curiosity kicked into high gear. “When do you want to go? Or am I not allowed to know that either?”

She could practically hear him wince. “That’s the bad part. We’d have to leave Thursday afternoon and we wouldn’t return until Sunday. So, I’m sure you’d have to take off work a couple of days if you went, but if you don’t want—”

“Have to leave,” Lenna said, interrupting him. “Why would we have to leave then?”

“Well, uh, funny thing about that,” Braxton answered. “I...I kind of already booked the reservations.”

“You what?”

“Please don’t take that to imply you’re duty-bound to go; you can back out at any time. I’m sorry, I just kind of lost my head and made these spur of the moment plans. By the time I’d already...well, by then it was, like, ‘Oh hell, maybe I should’ve asked her first, huh?’ But you’re not obligated at all. It’s not that important. I’ll be going for business anyway. So, if you can’t get off work, or...or even if you don’t want to—”

“Actually, it sounds like fun,” Lenna cut in.

Braxton drew in a breath and then, in a stunned voice, said, “Really?”

She rolled her eyes again even as she grinned. He could be the sweetest man when he was in shy-and-insecure mode. “Sure. I’ve worked for some people in the past, and they owe me one, so I’m positive I can get someone to take my place at Renneys. I love the idea of going to a surprise, mystery place with you. Besides, I’m sure I can coax the secret out of you before we leave.”

Braxton sounded more like his confident self when he answered, “Oh, we’ll just see about that.”

CHAPTER 13

As Thursday approached, Lenna grew increasingly energized about her mystery weekend with Braxton. He called at least once a day to make sure she hadn’t backed out of their plans. Then he threw in a tidbit of advice on what to pack, which only added more intrigue. By Thursday, she had concluded they were not headed toward a remote cabin in the mountains.

/> Braxton had instructed her to pack at least one formal dress, leading her to believe they’d be going out into public and somewhere fancy at that.

But on his next call, he recommended she bring along a pair of comfortable walking shoes. Trying to get a bead on their destination, she asked if she should pack for a warm or cool climate. Maybe they were going to Florida. But Braxton had been clueless as to what the weather would be like there, so he told her to prepare for both extremes.

By the time he arrived to pick her up Thursday afternoon, she still didn’t know their destination. And when he drove them into the airport, she was even more perplexed.

She sent him a confused smile. “We’re not driving?”

“Nope,” was his smug answer. Then he froze. “Oh, God. You’re not afraid of flying, are you?”

Lenna flashed her dimple. She was tempted to tease him and tell him she was terrified. But at the moment, she couldn’t lie; she was too energized. “I love flying.”

They were flying!

“So, where’re we headed?” she asked calmly.

Braxton shook his head, his blue eyes glittering with mischief.

“Oh, come on. We’re at the airport. It’s not like I’m going to find out in a couple of minutes anyway. I mean, I’ll need a ticket to board the plane and that will definitively name where—”

“You won’t be getting a ticket,” Braxton said, cutting her off smoothly. He sent her a cocky grin. “We’re taking the company jet.”

Lenna’s mouth dropped open. “A private jet?”

Holy cow. She had no idea where she was going, but she was definitely going to get there in style.

Braxton pulled up to the main front door and found an attendant to load their luggage onto a cart. As he stood by, overseeing the ordeal, Lenna sidled next to him and crossed her arms. “We’ll it’s not like we’re leaving the country. I mean, I’d need my passport if we were exiting the states.” Then she paused with a thoughtful frown. “Wouldn’t I?”

Braxton flashed her another smirk, lifting one eyebrow. “And you think it would be impossible for me to sneak your passport out of your top desk drawer in your apartment, huh?”

“Oh my God,” she gasped. “We’re leaving the country?”

A chuckle left him as Braxton shrugged. “I didn’t say that.” He took her hand to kiss her knuckles. At Lenna’s frown, he laughed again. “This is just killing you, isn’t it?”

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