“Long flight,” I mutter, watching the way his muscles flex as he twists and bends as he closes his bag back up.
I’m such a girl in this moment.
“We can wait outside if you want,” he says, grinning at me again.
That smile is lethal. It should stay in the arsenal.
Why doesn’t Bora want to date him?
“So... the plane ticket…” My words trail off as we step outside.
A SUV pulls up just as Jaxon answers me.
“What about the plane ticket?”
The driver gets out and walks around, and Jaxon hands him a paper. I wait patiently while
they discuss details.
After a beat, the guy hands Jaxon the keys and walks away. Jaxon starts loading up the back with our luggage, and I join him, pulling my purse out.
“Now what about the plane ticket?” he asks as he tosses in the heaviest bags first.
“I can’t remember if I’ve paid you yet or not.”
He looks up, staring at me as though I’ve sprouted a deformity from my face. It almost makes me self-conscious.
“You’re serious,” he says incredulously, then shakes his head. “I took care of the ticket, Bora.”
He laughs as though I’m an idiot for even mentioning it.
“I don’t care to pay. In fact, I’d rather pay.”
He laughs harder while tugging me at the waist to be closer. When his lips brush mine, I actually shiver despite the tropical heat.
“Stop acting so weird and loosen up. Pretend it’s any other day.”
Any other day I wouldn’t be standing here with a guy who is off limits. I also wouldn’t desperately want to break the rules.
He ushers me to the passenger side and opens the door for me. A simple action speaks multitudes about a man, and he’s done this at every door or car door since we left this morning.
He reaches his side and lets out a deep breath before cranking the SUV and pulling out on the road. Nerves wad up in my stomach, and I pray I hear from Bora soon.
The sooner the better.
My heart thumps wildly when he reaches across and grabs my hand, sweetly caressing it in his. Bora has been with more guys than I care to count, and I’ve never once been jealous of her... until right now.
“Look,” he says on an exhaled breath. “I know this is crazy. We’ve barely been seeing each other for two weeks, and now we’re on a three-week vacation in Hawaii. With my family. I get it. I know the rules, and I promise we’re still taking this training-wheels kind of slow. I’m glad you’re here, though. I promise it won’t confuse anything.”
He smiles softly, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. He uses his free hand to pull my hand up to meet his soft lips. I can’t fight my stupid grin when he kisses it, and his smile broadens when he catches sight of me with his peripheral.
“That’s better,” he says in relief.
But then my smile slowly dies. He’s happy Bora is here. He wants her here so badly that he asked her to come on a family trip, and Bora doesn’t give a damn about him.
It makes me hate both of them a little.
I want to ask how many members of his family will be here, but I’m sure Bora already has. I dread this. I really, really dread this. But at the same time, it’s also a little... no. I have to dread it because anything else would be wrong.