Page 69 of Jake

Startled, she sat up quickly and looked around. Somehow she’d managed to pass out. She took a second to think about what happened and realized they were no longer moving.

Jake cupped her cheek with one hand and took her lips in a sweet, deep kiss. “Much as I would have loved to make you a member of the mile high club, I think it’s best we get up and see what I have planned for us.”

“We aren’t flying anymore, so it wouldn’t count,” she grumbled, scooting to the end of the bed.

“It would count to me. Sex on a plane.”

“Not a mile high.”

Jake sighed in mock disappointment. “On the way back then?” he teased.

They both slipped on their shoes and headed out of the room. Jake grabbed their bags and then led her off the plane.

Unfortunately, the airport gave no real clue to where they were from where she was sitting. “We’re here now, want to tell me where we are?”

“The Virgin Islands,” he answered.

“Seriously?”

Well, score one for him. She was surprised for sure.

“You’ll see more if you get in the car and we get out of the airport,” he teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him as she got in the car. “You might be right.”

He was right after all. The beautiful trees and flowers were everywhere. Jake had rolled the windows down and the smell of the ocean filled the car.

It was a short ride to the resort and even shorter to check in. In less than half an hour, she was in a huge suite standing on the balcony, looking out over the ocean.

“This is beautiful,” she told him.

Jake stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her as they both looked out over the water at the sun which was nearly gone.

“Let’s go down to get something to eat and find you a swimsuit for tomorrow.” He pulled her back into the room.

She didn’t try to hold back her excitement. This weekend was about living in the moment. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jake was up early despite the fact that they had stayed out way too late last night after what had already been an exhausting day. He made a pot of coffee and poured himself a cup before going to sit on the balcony.

He loved it here. The resort was great but overall, it was just calming to be so far away from work and all the distractions of life. He wouldn’t really turn his phone off but he wasn’t actively looking at it either.

Today was about relaxing. He leaned back in his chair and settled in to just enjoy the view of the water in front of him and the tourists slowly settling in on the beach.

Less than an hour later, Lauren joined him, a cup of coffee in her hand as she yawned. “I can’t believe how beautiful this view is,” she said as she took a seat next to him.

“I was just thinking about how much I love it here,” he agreed. “We can order breakfast whenever you want.”

“No time like the present.” Lauren laughed.

He pulled up the resort app on his phone and they made their decisions before finalizing the order. She was all smiles today as she took in the view. He had stopped watching the waves and focused on her.

She had seemed to brighten up since being here. She’d also stopped being as hesitant to let him spend any money at all, much less on her.

Catherine had a lot to do with her ease over this weekend, and he made a mental note to thank her for it. He didn’t need to spend tons of money, but he hated that she felt bad whenever he spent any. It made him feel bad for doing it.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand wanting to be self-sufficient; that was something he could absolutely get behind. It was more because of that than anything else that he didn’t mind doing it. He wanted her to have the best, and if he was able to give that to her, he didn’t want it to be a problem.