Page 83 of On The Beach

"So you understand why we had to…," he trailed away when a stewardess came into the cabin. "Darling, can you get us some coffee and a little breakfast?"

"Of course, Dr. Augustus."

I cocked an eyebrow when she disappeared. "Dr. Augustus?"

"It's my name, and the plane is courtesy of my mother," he explained. "I needed something on short notice, and she decided to book it under Nicholas Augustus because she's mean like that."

I took a deep breath and shook my head wearily. "Mick, I have work to do."

"Belle, you haven't slept in a month. You're workingyourself into the ground." His tone softened a little. "We all agreed this was for your own good."

"We all does not includeme!Idecide what's good for me," I thundered. "This is my job. Andlivesare at?—"

"You have an excellent team, and I promised them that you'd be available for the morning lab meeting via Zoom."

"With the crappy Wi-Fi in Reef Harbor?"

"I may have fixed that."

I gaped at him. "How?"

He shrugged, trying to look casual but clearly not pulling it off. He was feeling sheepish as hell. "Maybe I bought a little satellite for the island."

"What?"

"Figured reliable Wi-Fi might be useful if I ever wanted to convince you to stay a little longer."

I stared at him, incredulous. "You bought asatellitefor Wi-Fi?"

He flashed me a smug grin. "What's the point of all this wealth if I can't use it to keep you close by?"

"You're nuts." He was. I didn't know what to make of any of this. Since I met Mick my whole life was upside down. I never thought I'd see him again and then he showed up in my lab, and didn't leave.

And now, he moved a mountain to make sure I had reliable comms. He was making it really hard for me to keep my heart intact.

Your heart hasn't been intact in months, the snarky bitch who lived inside me remarked.

"You did this so I could join a daily meeting?"

"Precisely." He smiled at me. "Think of it as your work-from-paradise digital plan."

The stewardess came back with orange juice, coffee, and what looked like scrambled eggs, fresh rolls, bacon, andsausage.

"Thank you, darling," Mick said smoothly.

The stewardess smiled at him and kept her face passive when she looked at me when she served us.

"You call her darling again; we're going to have problems," I told him before I bit into toast.

"How about…Cuddle Buns?"

"Go fuck yourself."

"I'm hoping that your mood is going to improve once we land."

I growled.

"Babycakes, we did it for your own good."

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