“So you do want to go?”
“Of course, I would love to go. I just think I should work like a normal person.”
“Normal people take vacations,” I tell her.
“Two in one year? Because I’m counting this as one.”
Pulling her to me, I hold her close and make her look at me. One way to change her mind is to get Lacey to pack her bags and trick Ellie into riding with me to the airport. That might be too much though. Before I think of more ideas on getting her to say yes, I kiss her softly. “Please?” I mumble against her lips.
“Since you said please, yes, I’ll go.”
My victory is stolen as my mother peeks outside, Ellie immediately leaning away from me. “It would be nice to visit with you, Hudsy. It’s not like we live in the same country.” Mom laughs at herself. “C’mon. It’s time for dessert.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ellie
“Okay, I know that we are in New York, but where are we going?” I ask as I sit down in the terminal.
“Can I please have this secret?” Hudson fake whines. “Besides, the moment they announce the flight, you’ll know where we are going.” He sits the bags in front of us.
“Oh, okay.” I feel kind of bad, because I know that he has tried to keep this secret from me. I had to convince Jeffrey that I really needed this week. Let’s just say that he wasn’t happy, but he did give me the time off.
I can’t believe what has happened the last six months. Hudson has treated me like a princess, and I love him more every day. Spending the time in Canada was the icing on the cake. Being with his family was the greatest time I’ve had in forever. His mother treated me like one of the kids, and I haven’t had a mother figure in my life for a while.
“Flight 1875 to Paris is now boarding first class,” the announcer said.
“Okay, that’s us.” Hudson stood up. “Ellie?”
I can’t move. My mouth is hanging open, and I’m staring at him. He’s taking me to Paris. Hudson, my boyfriend, is taking me to the one place that I’ve always wanted to go to.
“Ellie, baby, what’s wrong?” Hudson kneels down and cups my face. Tears build behind my eyes as I look at him.
“Hudson,” I choke out. “You’re taking me to Paris?”
“Well, it’s the ‘City of Love’. Where else would I take the love of my life?” He kisses my li
ps. “However, we have to get on the plane to go there.” He winks. I giggle at him and nod.
~
“I thought I was in shape,” Hudson says as he collapses on the bed. We have been in Paris for two days, and I’ve dragged him to every place I can think of. Of course, we had to go the Eiffel Tower first. I couldn’t help but stare at the details of the iron and steel. There were a lot of people, but Hudson made me feel l was the only person there.
Today, we got up early and headed to the Louvre. There are no words to describe it. I think I took a thousand pictures of every angle of it. Hudson just followed along. I asked him several times if he was bored, and he said that he wasn’t at all.
Then we headed for a tour at Notre Dame Cathedral. It’s hard to imagine how old it is, and that it’s still standing in beautiful condition. Again, I took a bunch more pictures of everything, and Hudson just smiled at me.
“I’m sorry, Hudson. Tomorrow, we can do whatever you want.” I lay next to him on the bed.
“Nah, I’m just happy that you’re happy.” He leans over and kisses me. “I’m going to go take a shower.” He gets up and heads to the bathroom.
I quickly jump up and grab my phone to call Lacey.
“Do you realize what time it is?” She grumbles at me.
“I’ve been trying to call you all day since yesterday. Where were you?”
“I was in a guy’s pants.”