As he’s catching his breath, he rolls off the narrow sofa onto the rug and zips his pants up, pulls my skirt down, and then drops another kiss on my mouth.
“We just joined the mile high club,” I announce.
He laughs. “We sure did.”
I giggle and cover my mouth. “I’m not gonna be able to look the flight attendant in the eyes.”
He laughs. “I am. I give no fucks. You shouldn’t either. I paid a fortune for this flight. You need the bathroom first? Go ahead.”
I get up, trying to smooth my hair, hoping that no one comes out before I get myself straightened out. The bathroom door is before the divider, thankfully. My legs feel weird with the giant hole in my pantyhose.
Inside the small space, I remove them and toss them in the trash bin along with my underwear, because those are totally soaked.
After using the facilities, I turn the tap on to wash my hands and that’s when I get a really good look at the ring on my finger.
It’s breathtaking. It’s got a big diamond and most of the rest of the ring is smaller diamonds, ending at the adjacent fingers. It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.
I can’t believe I’m engaged to Killian Coulter.
Wait! I can’t throw those undies and pantyhose away – those are my mile high underwear and pantyhose! Besides, the trash bin was empty so it’s okay if I fetch them. I fetch them and tuck them into a paper barf bag that’s attached to the side of the sink.
When I come out of the bathroom, he winks at me and slips in after me. I tuck the bag into my purse before I sit down and eyeball our champagne.
He proposed to me in an airplane soaring up into the sky. And then we had sex. Crazy. And seemingly random. But not likely random as he would’ve had to plan to pull this off.
He’s back.
“To you,” he says, lifting the champagne glasses and passing me one before he sits beside me on the sofa. “And me. To us.” He taps his glass to mine and we both sip from our glasses.
“Cheers,” I say after swallowing.
He holds out a ripe and juicy strawberry, so I lean over and take a bite off the end. He pops the rest of it in his mouth.
“So, Elvis, Liberace, or something less – Vegas?” he asks.
“Hm?” I frown.
“How do you wanna do this?”
“Do… this?”
He stares at me, tilting his head.
And it dawns.
“The wedding?” I ask.
He jerks his chin up.
“Our wedding? Tonight?”
He smiles. “Yeah, baby. Tonight.”
I shake my head. “We can’t do this tonight!”
His expression drops.
“My family. Susanna. They… they’ll kill me.”
Killian’s expression drops further.
“I’ve just gotten them all back, I can’t do that to them…”
He swallows.
God, he looks disappointed. And I hate it. I wanna undo it.
“Oh my God, I mean, this is the most romantic thing I can imagine, but I didn’t think you meant today, Killian. Can we… can we talk about this?”
He’s staring at the rug and he looks so disappointed I’m suddenly filled with panic.
I feel my body trembling. And then I sob.
And I feel utterly remorseful for bursting his bubble right now.
“Hey?” he grabs me and pulls me to him. “Settle down, baby, it’s okay.”
I’m trembling hard, bawling actually. I wrap my arms around him and I’m sobbing so hard I’m having trouble catching my breath.
“It’s okay, Violet, settle, baby.” He’s kissing my forehead and then holding my face in both hands. “Breathe. Slow down. Don’t cry. Shh.”
I’m sobbing so hard I’m hyperventilating.
Killian reaches to the side of the couch and grabs an airplane barf bag and flicks it open, then has it over my mouth.
“Slow, deep breaths, Violet. It’s okay.” He rubs my back and then reaches for a bottle of water from a basket filled with water bottles, bottles of ginger ale, airplane booze bottles, and packs of trail mix. He opens the water bottle and gestures for me to take some, lifting the paper bag away from my mouth.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Violet.”
I shake my head as I sip some water, gulping down a few mouthfuls and then I catch my breath as I swipe the back of my hand across my wet mouth.
“I’m the sorry one. Sorry I’m freaking out. The idea of marrying you doesn’t freak me out, Killian, it’s…”
He waits for me to elaborate but then he catches my hand, pulling it away from my throat where I’m scratching, something I’ve picked up as a nervous habit, and squeezes. “Talk to me, baby.”
“The idea of disappointing you does.” I drop my head and study my lap.
He rubs his thumb over the back of my hand.
“Marry me tonight, Violet. Quietly in Vegas. And then we’ll do it again for your family, for Susanna. Don’t make me wait another day, but then we can plan a big wedding for home, too. How about that?”