“Hmmm.” He nodded to himself but the grin that slowly started to form on his lips gave him away. “How about you ignore that and I’ll ignore the daggers you shoot out of your eyes whenever you see the hostess.”
“Have I?’ I mocked him.
“You have.” He nodded. “Though I do have to admit I like the jealous side of you.”
“Me? Jealous? Ha!” I crossed my arms and legs. “Why would I, the woman currently involved in a love story that spans a thousand lifetimes, be jealous?”
“That’s what I, the man who has only ever had eyes for you in a thousand lifetimes, wants to know.”
I twisted my mouth until my jaw popped because I had no reply. Instead, I pointed to the tablet again. “Well? Do you think Mr. and Mrs. Yamauchi will like it?”
“I dislike cliffhangers.” He frowned as he swiped right yet didn’t see the rest of the page. Reaching over I took the tablet from him and put it away into my bag.
“Sometimes they are necessary.”
“Yes, if there will be a second book or if you want to annoy the hell out of your readers.”
I grinned happily. He clearly wanted more instead of ripping it apart like he’d done the last time. “It’s annoying because you want to read more.”
“Are you writing a second one?”
“Nope.”
“So you’re just going to leave your audience hanging like that.”
“You have strong arms, remember? So don’t mind the cliffhangers,” I said as I lifted my arms and hung onto the imaginary cliff like Mr. Yamaguchi had done over a year ago. “So just…hang in there.” I grinned as he drew in his breath and groaned helplessly.
“Wow,” he shook his head at me.
“So I take it I no longer write like an English major anymore?”
“No, you do, but it’s more tolerable now.” He buckled his seatbelt as we began our descent.
“Would it kill you to just come right out and compliment my great literary talent?” I asked just as the jet hit a patch of turbulence and my heart sank into my stomach as I froze for a quick second.
“It just might.” He laughed.
“Shut up!” I grumbled as I leaned back and took a deep breath before I looked out the window. The view of Lieber Falls from the sky was just a mystical as I remembered. Unlike last year, the whole town was already blanketed in snow, from the mountains down to the frozen lake in the distance.
“I called some people in town…we missed the first snowfall, obviously,” I said as we touched down.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait until next year for the snow, won’t we?” he replied as he stood up and offered me his hand.
“Look who’s Mr. Positive now.”
“What can I say, you’re contagious.” He winked.
&nbs
p; I grinned as I grabbed my bag and his hand, and together we walked toward the front of the private jet he’d chartered. Apparently, there were no direct flights to Lieber Falls from New York and, after recalling the hassle it had been to get here the last time, I couldn’t deny the fact that I was a little relieved. Nodding to both the hostess and the pilot, I shivered at the cold air that blew across my face once we stepped out onto the hanger.
“Is this the reason you said not to pack anything?” I asked as we walked towards his awaiting motorcycle. I’d only thrown my makeup, wallet, and toothbrush into my backpack when he reminded me how much stuff I’d left behind. I couldn’t remember what I’d left, but for some reason I enjoyed the thought just getting up and going without having to worry about taking anything with me, it was like going home.
“It was one of the reasons,” he said sheepishly as he kicked his foot over and sat down. I should have known when he’d told me to wear a leather jacket.
“Fine, but I’ll drive.”
“Come again?”