Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
She sighed. “Now the weekend is perfect.”
I fell a little more.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SIMON
The time flew by, and before I knew it, we were on an airplane, headed to Ontario.
I leaned over the armrest, looking across the aisle. “How you doing, girls?”
Angela and Mia turned their heads with big grins. “Good.” Then promptly went back to the movie they were watching. In front of us, Holly was sipping a ginger ale, Brandon asleep in his seat, and across the aisle, Evan was watching the same movie as the girls with Hannah.
I relaxed back, smiling at Amy. “You okay, Chippy?”
“I’ve never traveled business class before,” she said, sipping the mimosa the flight attendant had given her.
I chuckled. “Compared to most planes, this is tiny. Usually, it’s bigger with more services, but it’s a short flight and a smaller plane.” I stretched out my legs. “But still more comfortable.”
I had booked us business class, rented a large SUV, and reserved the two big suites for the weekend. The rooms adjoined, and we had four bedrooms, two living spaces, plus kitchenettes. The resort had a huge indoor splash pool, hot tubs, tons of activities for the kids, and some adult ones as well. Everyone had been excited about the trip, and no one complained when we had to be at the airport at five a.m. I hoped that meant the kids would be in bed early tonight. I’d booked dinner for eight o’clock and arranged the in-room childcare, but given the earliness of the hour we’d left, plus how Mia had barely slept, I had a feeling they’d all be asleep by seven.
“The girls are so excited,” Amy murmured.
“I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’ll spend the day in meetings, then I’m yours the rest of the time. You ladies have spa treatments booked this afternoon, and Evan and Brandon are going to hang by the pool. We’ll do the family dinner tonight. Saturday morning is Niagara Falls, and the afternoon and evening are filled with activities at the lodge. The kids will have a blast. I arranged late checkout on Sunday.”
Amy leaned over, kissing my cheek. “This is the best gift ever.”
I smiled and stroked her cheek. She’d been worried about getting the day off, but it had been arranged and I’d made the plans around her time frame. I would get them settled at the hotel, then head off for my meetings. I wanted the trip to be longer, but I knew it was hard for her to take time off as a teacher. Luckily, we were able to arrange the one day ahead of time.
I laced our fingers together, leaning over the seat and whispering in her ear. “Lots of couples get married in the Falls, Chippy. You want to join them?”
She laughed, rolling her eyes and ignoring me.
“Leave as Amy McNeil, come back as Amy Fletcher.”
“We don’t have a license, Simon,” she pointed out sensibly.
“Damn.”
She turned, meeting my eyes. “One day,” she whispered. “One day, I would love to be Mrs. Simon Fletcher.”
My breath caught. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “But not today.”
I kissed her again. “I can live with that.”
The flight was uneventful, the drive to the lodge smooth, although the kids were fascinated by the number of cars on the road with us. Angela and Hannah had never seen so many vehicles at once, and they had a lot of fun with Evan and his I Spy game that kept them entertained. Even Brandon got in on the action, pointing his chubby finger in all directions and imitating the girls.
I hated leaving them, even for a short while. But the car I’d hired was waiting, and I went back into Toronto, using the time to work while the chauffeur dealt with the traffic. Looking around, I recalled when this was normal. Thousands of cars, endless people, smog, bumper-to-bumper traffic—and the noise. I had been used to it when I lived here, but being away and in a small town brought the reality of the chaos I had left behind into focus. It swept away any lingering doubts I’d had about moving to Nova Scotia.
My meetings were back-to-back, but successful. I soothed some worried minds, met with some new clients, and touched base with some other businesspeople I had dealings with. I had arranged the meetings in a room close to the highway and instructed the driver to use the 407 on the way back. The large toll added to the bill was worth the time it saved being stuck in traffic. By the end of the day, I was anxious to get back to my family and start enjoying myself with them.
Over dinner, Holly and Amy made plans for the next day. They had both wanted to see Niagara Falls and knew the kids would love it.
“Okay, so we’ll go in the morning before they get really busy. We can see the Falls, do the boat ride, the Ferris wheel, then lunch and back to the lodge,” Amy said. “The kids can do the pool and the play stuff, and there is the scavenger hunt at three. We can sit and relax since it is supervised. Then it’s dinner and movie night for them.”