Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Without a suitcase or even a fully formed plan, he bought a ticket to LA on the next available flight. Cassidy’s flight was sold out, and regardless, he needed the boarding pass in order to get past security. He ran through the airport, paused at the flight board, checked the plane’s status, and his stomach sank when he saw the word departed on the display.
“Shit.” He shook his head, walked to the nearest seat, and lowered himself into it to catch his breath from his sprint.
Once he could think clearly, he realized he had four hours before the flight he’d booked and wondered if the Kingston company private jet would get him there any faster. Of course, he’d have to take a forty-five-minute-to-an-hour car ride to Teterboro, where Linc kept the plane.
“Son of a bitch.” He ran a hand through his hair, then pulled his cell from the front pocket of his hoodie to call his brother.
“Dash?”
Thinking he was hallucinating the familiar voice, he kept his gaze on the screen and scrolled for Linc’s number in his favorites. With such a large family, he had a lot of people listed in there.
“Dash!”
He couldn’t ignore the two feet in a pair of pink Chucks right in front of him, and he lifted his gaze. Cassidy stood staring, a perplexed expression on her face.
He’d never been so fucking relieved in all his life. “Cass? Jesus. I thought your flight took off. What happened?”
He jumped up to his feet, taking in her traveling outfit, a pair of jeans, those pink sneakers, and a white blouse over a black tank top. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail with long strands falling around her makeup-free face, and she’d never looked more beautiful.
She tilted her head to one side. “What are you doing here?”
“I asked first.” He sounded like a fucking child and all but cringed.
“I decided not to go to LA.”
He wanted to ask why, but as she wrapped her arms around herself in a defensive gesture, he saw firsthand she no longer trusted him. If she ever really had.
She stared at him, obviously waiting for him to explain his presence at the airport. It was time to man up and tell her why he’d come. To risk being the one to open his heart first. The same heart beating hard in his chest.
Looking into her eyes, he said, “I was hoping to catch you before you boarded your flight, but I looked at the display and realized your plane had taken off and I was too late.”
“You’re not too late,” she whispered, giving him hope that she meant those words in more ways than the obvious one.
He drew a deep breath and pulled out the ticket he’d bought. “I’m booked on the next flight to LA in four hours, but I was trying to figure out if Linc’s private jet could get me to you faster.” He was rambling but he needed her to know the lengths to which he’d been willing to go to find her.
Her tongue swiped over her bottom lip. Unable to stop himself, he braced his hands on either side of her face and pulled her in for a too brief kiss. “I need you to know that I want to give you the world.”
Her gaze softened and her eyes filled with tears. “Then why did you let me go?”
Because he was an ass. “I didn’t want you to have any regrets later, but encouraging you to leave … it broke my heart. As your brother pointed out, you all but told me you wanted to stay, and I was too thick-headed to realize it.”
She swallowed hard and laughed, no doubt at her brother’s helpful interference. “I was looking for a clue that you didn’t want me to take the job, and when I didn’t get it, I figured you weren’t as invested in us as I was.”
She grabbed on to his sweatshirt and pulled him toward her. “I shouldn’t have booked the flight let alone gotten on the plane when everything I need is in New York.”
“Yeah? And what is that?”
She nibbled on her lower lip, and this time he had an extremely sexual reaction. Thank God his sweatshirt was big and nobody was looking at the bulge in his jeans.
“When I was in my seat and trying not to have an anxiety attack, I realized that my family is in New York, that Axel and Sasha are there.”
She hadn’t mentioned him, but she still held on to his shirt, which gave him the strength to wait while she explained.
“I thought about the job and realized I wouldn’t regret not flying to LA to talk to Russell Wilson but I would regret not telling you that I loved you.”
Her grip on his sweatshirt tightened, and at her admission, his heart soared.