Chapter 35: Chapter Thirty-Five
Finally it was time and Mason came to pick me up in a large suburban Cadillac that could fit all my luggage.
I stood on the sidewalk outside my apartment in my black pumps and stared at him in shock as he got out of the car to come around and help me with my bags.
He had cut his hair.
###
“Wow, look at you!”
Mason self-consciously touched his hair, which was now just curling inwards slightly against the base of his neck.
He was wearing a black, long-sleeve knit sweater under a cream colored top coat, with designer jeans and white and black Adonis shoes adorning his feet; size 14 if I had to guess.
“What? Don’t like it?” He asked me as he loaded my bags into the back of the car.
“No, it suits you.” I smiled up at him and was moved to reach out and brush a wayward strand of that black hair out of his eyes.
He paused in his movements to gaze down at me.
“I just hope you didn’t feel like you needed to change anything, for me, or for anyone else.”
He cocked his head as he studied my face. “You’re very sweet, Annie. And I appreciate that. It just felt like time for a change.” He shrugged it off and I got the feeling that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
“Is this all you’re bringing, kitten?”
I frowned at him. “Yeah, is that okay, Your Majesty?”
He gave me a look as he got the door for me, he was such a diehard gentleman. “I guess I’m just used to women who are more high maintenance.”
I rolled my eyes as we sped away from the curb, but I didn’t like the sour feeling that his casual statement had left me with.
###
Needless to say, I’d never been on a private jet before. I’d never even flown first class, for that matter.
When we drove into a private portion of the airport to park, I was a bundle of nerves.
The stewards came rushing down from inside the sleek silver plane to load my luggage without so much as saying a word to us.
I only realized that I was staring at them like they were aliens when Mason approached me to stand at my side.
I glanced up at him and smiled sheepishly.
“Shall we head in?” He asked me as a stiff wind swept up.
I laughed in nervous excitement as my heart jangled an erratic melody. I even gave Mason my hand and let him lead me up the snowy white steps and into his private plane.
###
Inside everything was as luxurious as one might expect, and before I even knew it, I was clinking my safety champagne glass to his as the wheels of the plane lifted off the ground.
We were on our way!
###
“So your mother went to Oxford and that’s where she met your father, who was an American there; just traveling abroad at the time, right? But I shouldn’t comment on her accent, and your cousin, Colin-”
“Hon, it’s okay. Take a deep breath for me.” Mason gave me a small smile. “You don’t have to worry so much. You’re going to do great. We are going to have to share a bedroom, though.”
This got my eyes to jerk up from my lap. “What?! Oh, yeah, I guess so, huh? Because we’re pretending to be a real couple.”
He gave me a rather indulgent smile and nodded. “Yes, exactly. It’s alright, you can have the bed; I’ll sleep on the floor. I know that sharing your space isn’t something that comes easy to you.”
“Thank you.” I murmured, though privately I was thinking how there was no way that I’d let him sleep on the floor in his own family home.
“But there is one more thing that we have yet to discuss.”
“Oh?” I said, anxiety curling in my stomach like a snake.
“The fact that you hate to be touched. And the fact that you refuse to kiss me.”
I flushed. “Oh. It’s not that I hate it-I just...get startled easily. We can hold hands and things, just let me be the one to initiate contact, okay? And I promise I will.” I added with another blush, glancing out the plane window at the slick blue and pink glint of the Atlantic Ocean.
“I’d appreciate that.” He said wryly. “And don’t worry, it’s not like we need to make out in front of my family, they will readily accept that neither of us are big on PDA.”
I smiled a bit, thinking I knew what he was driving at. “But a kiss wouldn’t hurt?”
“But a kiss wouldn’t hurt.” He agreed with warm amusement.
###
“Oh, before I forget.” Mason reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out a small parcel wrapped in shiny pink paper. “I have a present for you.”
“Oh? You didn’t have to.” I murmured as I accepted the small package. My heart started beating faster as I imagined jewelry.
“I wanted to.”
Tearing open the paper, it took me a moment to comprehend what I was looking at.
“It’s the Surefire, Sidekick. Top of the line Taser.” Mason said when he saw my confusion.
“Oh. Oh, wow.” I was as relieved that he hadn’t gotten me jewelry as I was disappointed. “This is very...sweet.”
He shrugged. “I was appalled you didn’t already have one in your arsenal. I would’ve gotten you a gun, but I had a feeling you’d be opposed to it.”
This made me laugh. “Yeah, no guns, please!” Then I sobered, studying that handsome face of his. “Thank you.” I said again, with more sincerity this time.
Another shrug, followed by a sip of champagne. “I just want you to be safe, Ms. Caldwell. That’s my job as your personal trainer, remember?”
###
It was all a blur after that, and as Mason Blacksteele whisked me off his plane at dusk to arrive at a gorgeous, snowy white mansion, I felt like I had just tumbled into another world entirely.
It was like a palace; all lit up with the fountain going out front. I felt like a princess as I was swept into a place full of opulence, warmth, and splendor.