Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
The interior dulled the noise from the circus somewhat.
“Scheiße,” he swore. “You all right? They can’t see us in here.” He straightened his suit, getting the jacket to sit better on his shoulders, before telling the driver to go.
I nodded, although the anxiety left me sick to my stomach. Thankfully, it faded as the car hurried away. We sat together on the bench in the back, and his arm hesitantly stretched behind me, over my shoulders.
“You Europeans have no concept of personal space,” I joked.
He straightened abruptly, and it made me feel awful.
“No, Shawn. I was teasing.” I grabbed his arm and threw it on my shoulders, positioning myself against him. Of course he was concerned about what I was comfortable with after Juric. My hand slid inside his suit coat and wrapped around his waist so I could cling to him. “I’m okay with this. I want this.”
His chest rose and fell as he relaxed on a breath. His lips brushed a kiss over my forehead, right at my hairline. “Whatever you want.”
The drive to the Frankfurt airport took two hours, and I spent them enveloped in his embrace. His phone chimed endlessly until he turned it to vibrate, and even then, I could hear the steady, dull quiver it made from his pocket.
“How bad was the damage to your brewery?”
“The east side will need to be torn down and rebuilt. We’re still waiting on final reports, but they believe the structure can be saved. The facade for the main entrance is still intact.”
The most recognizable, significant part of his family’s building was still standing. I squeezed his hand, overwhelmed with relief for him.
“But it makes your gift more special,” he said.
I sat up and stared into his warm brown eyes, giving him a soft smile. “Figuring out what to get you for your birthday wasn’t easy. I’m glad you like it.”
“I do, thank you.” He tucked me back beside him.
“How long is the flight back to Munich?”
“What makes you think we’re going there?”
His company had been bombed, and I couldn’t imagine how important it was that he oversee the rebuild. “Because your headquarters are there?”
“You want to go home.” He said it with casual ease. “I’m going wherever you are.”
I frowned. “You should be in Munich.”
But in response he gave me a single look, one filled with determination and that other emotion I’d seen from my hospital bed, and my heart lurched. “The only way I’m not going with you is if you tell me that’s what you want.” He lifted my hand in his and set it on his chest, right over his heart. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“Yes,” I admitted, “but that’s selfish of me.”
“You’re allowed to be selfish.” This was sweet Shawn, disabling thought. “Do you . . . want to talk about it?”
“No,” I said, hushed. “Not right now.”
He seemed torn. Part of him didn’t want to know, and part of him looked desperate to. Yet it was clear he didn’t want to push.
“Where are we staying?” I asked. “My apartment was destroyed.”
He shook his head and gave a cryptic smile. “We’re not going to Maastricht, either.”
What? “Okay. Where are we going?”
His smile continued, signaling this was a surprise he wasn’t ready to reveal. But I figured it out quickly. It’d be a flight or two, and then American soil would be beneath my feet. Beneath our feet.
I went up the steps of the plane after greeting the flight crew with a warm smile. Victoria pretended not to notice the bruises and commented she was glad to see I was feeling better.
The realization that this plane was for me, and what he was giving up, truly hit me when I stepped into the empty cabin.
I turned abruptly to face Shawn and kissed him with complete and utter abandon. My arms flung around his broad shoulders, my mouth captured his, and in response, his hands slid around me. Our kiss was passionate, wild, and full of love.
God, I drank it up. My fingers threaded through his soft hair, holding on, not wanting it to ever stop. The power of it left me shaking and greedy for more.
But he lifted his head to end the kiss, and I found his eyes dazed.
“I don’t know where that came from, but can I get you to put it on hold for a minute? I need to finish check-in with the captain.”
I nodded slowly, but he hesitated, as if he doubted this decision. “I’ll be right back.”
He hurried down the stairs with lighting speed.
I reached out to grasp the back of the chair nearest me to steady myself, but it was a lost cause. My wooziness had me dropping into one of the plush seats.
“Are you sure about this?” I said when he reappeared. “Your company and your employees . . .”