Page 88 of Wishing for Love

“You’ve got another little girl to be protective of and watch out for.”

“I do,” he said.

They were quiet the rest of the trip and then pulled into the airport two hours earlier than the flight was taking off.

“What are we going to do right now?” she asked. “Just wait here? Did we need to be this early for a private flight?”

“We didn’t,” he said. “I’ve got instructions to go to another part of the airport, but my parents will be here in fifteen minutes. They’ve been texting too. We might as well go get some lunch close by.”

“Who is with your parents?”

“Memphis and Raleigh are with my parents. London, Paris and Siena flew into JFK. Dallas, Bronx and Rome are driving here today too, but they are still over an hour out.”

“Hope they don’t get held up in traffic,” she said. That would be a bummer, but she was positive they might just delay the flight if they had to.

“They should be fine,” he said. “They got a later start. We all were planning on getting here around the same time. Elias and Talia will be on this flight with us too.”

“Not a lot of people, but could be a cramped flight on a private jet.”

He started to laugh. “No,” he said. “West’s jet is massive. Trust me, more than enough room. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

She could only imagine but at least didn’t have to worry about meeting the two siblings that might grill her the most.

“So that’s all that is going to be on the flight?”

“From my side of the family,” he said. “I believe my Uncle Sam’s brother and some of his family will be on it too. I’ve never met any of them but have heard the names.”

“Your uncle died when you were in high school, right?” she asked.

“Yes, and he traveled a lot. His brother has four kids. I’m not sure how many will be on this flight.”

“That is just so much to keep track of. What a huge family.”

“It is,” he said.

A few minutes later, Phoenix got out of his car and she woke Elsie up in the back. She saw an SUV pull next to them and Carolina got out and hugged her son.

She got Elsie out who said she had to go to the bathroom.

“I think we are going to get something to eat, can you hold it until then?”

“Yes,” Elsie said. “Carolina!”

Elsie ran to Phoenix’s mother for a hug and she was embraced too.

Crystal was introduced to his siblings; then they drove around the corner to get something to eat.

By the time lunch was done, she was laughing right along with Phoenix’s family and all their stories. Even Phoenix seemed more relaxed than she’d seen him before.

They left and drove to the jet and she all but stopped in her tracks when she boarded it.

“This is amazing,” Carolina whispered in her ear. “Don’t hold up the train. It’s the first we’ve all been on it.”

She turned quickly. “I’m not the only one?”

“No, sweetie,” Carolina said. “I’ve seen pictures but never had a reason to be on it. I haven’t seen West or any of his oldersiblings in years. I think since Sam died, to be honest. Life gets in the way and it’s hard to get us all together.”

“So this is like a big family reunion, isn’t it?”

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