Page 134 of The Heartbreaker
“I told the flight attendant that she needs to consult with the pilots before she serves us dinner to ensure we’ll have a solid fifteen or so minutes of smooth air.”
She laughed. “Only you.”
“No, it’s more like, onlyforyou.”
“God, I love you, Ridge Cole.”
“No, baby, I love you more.”
The flight attendant returned with our cocktails, and during her second trip out to the main cabin, she brought a tray of fruit and another that was full of cured meats, cheese, crackers, hummus, and guacamole. She made sure we had napkins and utensils and told us that the pilots were doing the final checks and we would be taking off within the next ten minutes.
I rolled up a piece of prosciutto, paired it with a slice of cucumber, and dipped it in some hummus before I held it in front of Addison’s mouth.
“No raspberry?” She winked and nodded toward the tray, which had no melon or cantaloupe on it, only fruit that had a tart flavor.
“That’s for the next round,” I told her. “The first one needed to go with the hummus, and raspberries don’t work with hummus.”
“Fair.” She took it in her mouth, covering her lips with the back of her hand. “Delicious.”
I held my glass in front of hers. “To our first trip together.”
She finished chewing and clinked her wine against my tumbler, taking a sip. “This moment needs to be documented.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, holding it above us. When she finished taking the selfies, she flipped through them and showed me her favorite. “I think it’s time.”
“For what?”
She was smiling so big. “To make us social media official. Cheesy, I know. I don’t post a lot at all, just important moments in my life or places I go and things I find beautiful.” She paused. “Like right now.”
“What makes right now so special?”
A shyness started to creep through her expression. “We’re no longer in hiding. Everyone in my life, including my job, knows about us, and the same is true for you. So, I get to tell you how much I care about you, and it doesn’t matter who hears. I get to show you how wild I am for you, and it doesn’t matter who sees.”
“Are you going to feel that way in Scotland?”
I watched her think about my question, gradually nodding. “When we were leaving the barn the other day with Daisy, you held my hand and wouldn’t let me pull it away. And when we took Daisy out to dinner a few nights ago, you kissed my cheek after dessert. So, yes, I would reach for your hand at the wedding, and I’d give you a peck on the lips, and I’d dance with you, and I wouldn’t be afraid if she saw.”
An answer that not only had my dick raging hard, but they were words I felt inside my chest.
“Post the photo, Addison.”
She hit the screen several times and slipped her phone away. “I tagged you.”
My pocket vibrated, and I took out my cell, seeing the notification on the screen. After a few taps, I was looking at the picture. She hadn’t written a caption; she’d just put a red heart emoji.
I screenshot the post, cropped the pic, and uploaded it to my own account. But instead of a red heart, I used the sun emoji. “And I tagged you.”
Her eyes widened. “You posted it?”
“Sure did.”
She shook her head, her smile not fading at all. “I might have stalked your profile the other night when I couldn’t sleep. You know, going all the way back to your very first post.”
“See anything interesting?”
“Aside from how much of a badass you are.” She tapped my chest. “I loved the photos you posted of Daisy—and I love thatyou never show her face, just the back of her or the top of her head. Like she’s there, but not there.”
“I have such a public account, keeping her private but present is important to me.”
“And the photos of you with celebrities and athletes and business executives. Ridge, you have one fabulous life.”
