Page 45 of The Billionaire Offer
“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing.”
“Definitely not, but it also definitely wouldn’t have been as inspiring. We’d both have been dog tired during the days and spending our nights onstage, which would’ve been great if people had been willing to pay us for it, but they wouldn’t have been. It just would’ve been an entirely different experience. This is good.”
“Relaxing?”
“Fun and adventure,” I reminded him, grinning as I rested my head on his shoulder. “Besides, it’s given us the chance to reconnect and it’s inspiring me at the same time.”
“Happy to help,” he said, sighing before he let his head rest on top of mine. We stayed like that for the rest of the way to the airstrip, laughing and chatting about all the things we wanted to do and finding that a lot of the stuff we were interested in seeing was the same.
With our bucket list within the bucket list compiled, we reached the airstrip and once again boarded the private plane. I’d been on this thing to Iceland and back now, but I was still absolutely in awe of it.
The leather seats were as big as armchairs and they reclined all the way to form decently sized beds. There were partitions that could be put up between them if one wanted privacy, and the tray tables were made of solid wood.
A small bar in the corner was fully stocked and even had some stools at the counter. The carpet beneath our feet was so plush that it was like flying in a luxury hotel. Bart smiled when I came to a standstill as soon as we boarded, just taking a moment to drink it all in again.
“How am I ever going to fly commercial again?” I muttered, sighing happily as I ran my fingertips over the soft leather of the chair closest to me. “You’ve ruined me for regular air travel, Bart Philips.”
“I’m okay with that,” he said jokingly. “Besides, don’t all famous singers travel privately, anyway? They’d probably get mobbed if they tried flying commercial.”
I cocked my head. “I think they do fly commercial sometimes, but I’m not a famous singer, so the point is moot.”
“You’re not a famous singeryet,” he said, emphasizing the word as we went to take our seats. “You will be soon, though. I’m willing to bet on it.”
“You know what?” I turned to face him once we were all buckled up, reaching out to take his hand again and squeezing it. “Let’s not worry about that right now. What we’re about to do is incredible. I’m not saying that I’m still thinking about giving up or anything like that, but I just want to enjoy this moment with you for a bit. The rest will happen if and when it happens. I’m tired of being down on life just because it’s not happening on my schedule.”
“That’s the spirit,” he said cheerfully, lifting his free hand to touch my face. When I leaned into it, he stroked my cheek and slowly brought his mouth to mine.
As we kissed, the plane started moving and then we took off to the ancient wonders awaiting us in Egypt. I wasn’t focusing on any of that or my work as our mouths moved together and need swelled up from deep within me. I’d meant it when I’d told him that I just wanted to enjoy the moment, and that was exactly what I was going to do.
With both of us so focused on each other, the kiss almost led to more until we remembered we weren’t alone when the flight attendant cleared his throat. We broke apart, breathing heavily as I ducked my head and Bart calmly ordered our drinks, like we hadn’t almost gotten caught with our pants down.
As we waited for him to bring the drinks, I decided to float the idea of adding sex on the plane to our bucket list. We’d have to be careful and time it right, but suddenly, I wanted to join the mile-high club more than anything else in the world.
CHAPTER29
BART
It was early when we landed in Cairo, the city only just starting to come alive as we traversed the busy streets to our hotel. Serenity was glued to her window, her jaw hanging half open as we swerved and raced at speeds that shouldn’t have been possible in this kind of traffic.
“We definitely aren’t in Kansas anymore,” she murmured as a cacophony of hoots and revving engines filtered into our car. “This is insane. I thought the traffic in New York was bad, but this is just…”
“Next level?” I ventured a guess, nodding as I stared at the absolute mayhem outside my window. “I’ve heard people here will get into a minor accident, scream at each other a little, and then carry on with their days. I wasn’t sure if it was true, but it looks like it just might be.”
“It’s so different here,” she said thoughtfully, still not looking away from the window. “We should stay up today.”
“What do you mean?”
She motioned at the window. “It’d be a pity to waste time here on jetlag. If we can push through it and stay up until tonight, we have a better chance of beating it. I know we’re not in any rush, but I can hardly wait to get out there.”
“So let’s stay up,” I agreed. “I’m all for dropping off our stuff at the hotel and then hitting the streets. We can get a tour guide from the hotel and have them show us around some of the other, lesser-known attractions in the city.”
“Well, it’s not a lesser-known attraction, but it’s not the pyramids, either,” she said. “How about we have the guide show us around and then go to the Khan El Khalili Bazaar? Supposedly, it’s easy to lose yourself in the market for a day and the wares looked completely amazing on the internet.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I said. “I read about the bazaar. It’s the one in the historic center, right?”
“Yep. I’m pretty sure there will be enough there to look at to keep us awake.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal,” I said, then leaned forward to speak to our driver. He worked for the hotel, and this way, they’d have someone ready for us by the time we arrived. He nodded his understanding, putting in a call to the front desk and speaking to them in rapid Arabic.
