Page 45 of Under Southern Stars
She laughs despite herself. “I’m still getting used to Kiwi cursing. You make it sound almost…scholarly.”
“Wait till you meet my sisters. Charlottedefinitelyuses it as a comma. She could make a sailor blush.” I kiss her temple. “For what it’s worth, last night was…you tasted incredible. Could’ve stayed down there for hours.”
Her cheeks flame again, but her eyes darken. “Very scholarly observation, Professor McKenzie.”
“I’m a thorough researcher,” I murmur against her ear. “Always happy to conduct more field studies.”
Now she’s definitely blushing. “Jack!”
“What? It’s true. Troy’s loss.” I grin wickedly. “Though I suppose I should thank him for being such a tosser. Led you straight to me.”
“Silver lining,” she agrees, then more seriously: “You really want us to come to New Zealand? It’s not too fast?”
“Nothing about us has been normal speed,” I point out. “Why start now?”
She leans against my shoulder. “Fair point. When would we leave?”
“I’m thinking the Saturday of spring break? Direct flight to Auckland, then connect to Queenstown. Back the following Sunday.”
“Nine days away with you.” She smiles. “Madison’s going to flip out. She’s already obsessed with your accent.”
“She’d better be prepared. Whole family of accents. My sister Lily’s is thick as thieves—she’s been living in Dunedin for her PhD.”
“The marine biologist?”
“That’s the one. She’ll love Madison. Probably drag her to look at tide pools and lecture about ocean conservation.”
“Madison would actually love that.” Sophia turns to face me fully. “This is really happening? We’re going to New Zealand?”
“If you want to.”
“I want to.” She kisses me softly. “I want to see where you grew up. Meet your family. Watch Madison experience something besides Troy’s broken promises.”
“Brilliant. I’ll sort the flights this week.” I pull out my phone. “What’s your middle name? For the booking.”
“Rose. Sophia Rose Mitchell.”
“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” I type it in. “Madison’s?”
“Madison GraceBently,” she sighed. “Though she’s been going by Mitchell at school. We haven’t done the legal change yet on the passport.”
I save the information. “I’ll send you the flight details once they’re booked.”
“Let me pay for—”
“Already told you, got points saved up. EMS conferences, went back and forth a couple times to move here.”
She eyes me suspiciously but doesn’t press. “Thank you. This is…this is amazing.”
“You’re amazing.” I check the time. “Shit. Promised Rodriguez I’d cover his afternoon shift.”
“I should get home anyway. Madison will be back soon and she’ll want every detail about last night.” She blushes. “Well, not EVERY detail.”
“Probably wise.” I stand, pulling her up with me. “Dinner tomorrow? After shift?”
“Ahh, can’t tomorrow. Tuesday?”
“Perfect. I’ll cook for you both. Madison likes Italian?”
