Page 129 of Love & Other Disasters

Forty-Three

Violet gripped both armrests until her fingers went white as the plane bounced and jolted upon landing. No matter how many times she did this, it didn’t get any easier. There was an abundance of energy coursing through Violet. During the flight, she couldn’t sit still, and her body vibrated with excitement. It didn’t make her an ideal seatmate on the plane.

Everyone in front of her shuffled into the aisle and stood there rummaging into bags and overhead bins like they had all day. Couldn’t they see she had a man to wrap herself around waiting at the station? They all moved at a snail’s pace. She weaved around other travelers, pulling a wheeled suitcase behind her and roasting in the stupid coat, hat, scarf, and gloves J.P. insisted she bring.

They would spend an entire week together and attend a fancy party for New Year’s Eve at a hotel ballroom. He’d reserved a hotel room and everything, but the important thing was they were together.

Violet pushed open the door to catch the shuttle bus, an icy blast knocked her back two steps and her breath caught. Violet grasped the glass door between her and the elements. Was it really that cold? Others pushed through the doors, ignoring and avoiding the crazy woman glued to the handle of the other door.

It took a minute to gather her courage. She didn’t want to miss the shuttle. Wrapping the scarf around her face, she forged ahead.

Violet found J.P. standing there. He was the best thing she’d seen in weeks. Her shoulders relaxed. With his hands shoved into the pockets of his overcoat, he scanned the crowd. His eyes lit when he spotted her approach, and rushing forward, closed the gap and scooping her into his arms. They were finally back together.

It’d been too long. She never wanted to be apart from him again, and she was about to tell him when his lips crashed over hers erasing all thoughts. Even the bustling station around them faded away.

“I have some news,” he said once they settled on the train.

“What’s that?” she asked, cuddling against him.

“I have an interview next week for a company in Nashville.” He smiled as the information sank in and she sat up.

“Seriously?” Happiness surged through her.

“Yeah. Now don’t get your hopes up too high… it’s just an interview.”

She returned to leaning against him. “All right, I won’t, but I can be optimistic.”

“You can be optimistic,” he kissed the top of her head. “I love your optimism.”

The world was falling into place. She’d taken her CPA exam. He was a step closer to coming home. Violet closed her eyes with the scent of his cologne tickling her nose.

They hurried from the train station huddled against the wind to J.P.’s car, where he cranked the heat. It wasn’t any colder than it could get back home, the wind gusts, however, were far worse.

“What would you like to do first?” he asked.

“You,” she replied, and giggled at his grin and raised eyebrows.

“I like the way you think.”

At the house, he’d barely stopped the car before they rushed up the back steps. J.P. fumbled with the keys, then pulled her into the house and pressed her against the door. Their lips wrestling and hands grasping each other, her glasses fogging in the heat. She hated all the time they’d spent apart. J.P. pulled the hat from her head and grabbed at her coat tie.

“Too many clothes,” he growled.

Violet began unfastening the buttons on his coat. Yes, they both wore way too many clothes, and that needed rectifying. Their winter gear left in heaps on the floor beside her suitcase, they tumbled up the steps toward the bedroom.

After, Violet lay in a sated heap far too warm for covers, beside her J.P. sprawled with an arm draped over his eyes, and he might have gone to sleep. At one time, she’d have shied away from not having a sheet covering her after sleeping with a guy. And especially with the hot man specimen sprawled there in all his glory. The way he looked at her took her breath away. There was nothing wrong with her, and she deserved to let him love her.

J.P.’s chest moved up and down in a slow rhythmic fashion. He’d dozed. What sort of job was he interviewing for? It would be wonderful to have him back in Nashville, but, he seemed to enjoy the consulting work he was doing here and the variety that it offered. He became animated when he spoke about it on their nightly video chats. Was the job as a consultant? She should ask, because he should keep doing what he loved.

The New Year’s Eve party thrown by Aiden Hannagan was in the Grand Ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel. They met through Doug on the golf course, and he was one of the few guys under forty J.P. had met recently. Aiden owned one of the top technology companies in Chicago. J.P. jumped at the chance to bring Violet to an expensive hotel and make more contacts in the tech industry. He’d reserved a room so he didn’t have to worry about getting them home.

He loved the way Violet tried to not gawk at everything. The hotel with its marble flooring in white, gray blue patterns, rich upholstered furniture and dark wood accents, and sparkling chandeliers spoke of the refined sensibilities this place catered to.

“Oh my gosh. This room is incredible,” Violet cried turning a circle around their hotel room. “There’s a view of the lake… look at this.” She stared out the window.

J.P. put their suitcases on the luggage racks and hung up the garment bags containing their clothes for tonight. He couldn’t wait to ring in the New Year with her by his side. “I can’t wait to show you around Chicago.”

“Bathroom first,” she declared disappearing through the door. “Holy crap, look at the size of this tub.”

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