As I bring her to the brink of ecstasy, a memory flashes through my mind.
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…
“Oh,God,” Willow whimpers as she comes on my tongue. “Fuck, Zane, that was—”
I smirk at her. “I know. I’m amazing.”
“C’mere,” she murmurs. “It’s my turn to take care of you.”
My mood gives way to something more sullen. “We don’t have enough time, I’m afraid.”
Willow props herself up on her elbows and peers down at me. There’s no need to exchange words. We both know what’s coming. We knew it couldn’t last forever. But neither of us seems ready to say our goodbyes.
“Your passport is ready,” I mumble against her inner thigh. I really don’t want her to go, but I know that decision isn’t up to me.
Willow chews on the inside of her cheek, a quiet understanding passing between us. I crawl up the length of the bed and wrap her in my arms, pressing light kisses into her hair.
“Thank you,” she whispers against my chest. “For everything. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
I hold her a little tighter. “Make me a promise.”
“What is it?”
“Wherever you end up, promise to be safe.”
Willow nods, her smile so soft and sweet and appreciative. “I promise, Zane.”
* * *
I drive her to the airport. It’s the least I can do since I’m headed back to Los Angeles anyway and it happens to be en route. Even if it weren’t, I probably would have found some excuse to see Willow off regardless.
She’s packed light, her backpack full of new clothes, her fake ID, and a one-way plane ticket to England. I may or may not have stuffed an additional thousand English pounds into one of her pockets while she wasn’t looking. It doesn’t feel like nearly enough. I have half a mind to give her a supplementary credit card, but she’d probably refuse outright.
The airport is a busy place, people coming and going in a hurry. Even though Christmas is over, there’s still plenty of traveling to do before the New Year. Long queues at the check-in desk, even longer lines to get through the TSA security checkpoint. Several announcements regarding flight delays and gate changes hiss through the speakers. It’s insanely crowded in here — bad for my nerves, but perfect for Willow to slip away unnoticed.
She squeezes my hand but doesn’t say anything. Instead, she bites her lip as she anxiously eyes her boarding pass.
“Made it just in time,” she mumbles, more to herself than to me.
“Do you have everything you need?”
“I think so.”
I linger a little too long, struggling to find the right words to say. I’ve never been good at this kind of thing. I dislike the awkwardness of goodbyes. There’s so much I want to say, but so little time to do it. When I dropped Anna off at college, I left her in her dorm room and that was that.
It’s not that I don’t care. It’s that I care too much.
A part of me wants to tell Willow to stay. I’m sure I can figure out someplace safe for her. I’m in the security business, after all. She’d be far safer with me than on her own in a foreign country. She’ll probably think I’m being crazy and overprotective. Maybe I am. Because somewhere deep down, I know this connection between us is nothing short of a miracle. What we have… it’s a rare, breathtaking thing.
And it’s about to board a flight to halfway across the world.
“If you ever need anything,” I say to her, “just give me a call. You have my number.”
Willow nods, smiling appreciatively as she reaches up to cup my face. “Thank you, Zane,” she says before hopping up on her toes to press a sweet kiss on my lips. “I’ll never forget you.”
Letting her go feels like a mistake. Amassivemistake.
My body moves before I have the chance to think, my arms circling her slender waist to draw her even closer.