“Business calls,” he said cynically. “But I’d love to have you with me if you could come.”
“I’ll have to check my schedule at the Buddy Holly Center, but I should be able to do it. Plus, it might be pretty awesome if we drove out there because I need to get the rest of my stuff from my apartment before someone comes to sublet the place in January.”
Jensen smiled a devious smile. “We can definitely stop to get your things while we’re there, but, Emery…”
His hands threaded through my hair, and I got lost in his touch and his gentle kisses down my jaw.
“Hmm?”
“We’re not driving, love.”
Nineteen
Emery
No, we definitely were not driving.
I stared at the Wright private jet with equal parts shock and awe. It was a gorgeous, sleek machine that would get us to Austin in just over an hour. And we had it all to ourselves. I’d joked about him having a private jet only a couple of weeks ago, and here I was, about to be on the damn thing. It felt beyond surreal.
“Allow me to get your bags, Ms. Robinson,” a man said. He was decked out in a suit and looked proper as fuck.
“Oh, um…okay,” I said, relinquishing my bags.
“Thank you, Robbie,” Jensen said. He took my hand in his and smiled down at my stunned face. “Why do you seem so surprised? You knew we were flying.”
“Sure. Just…crazy.” I closed my mouth and tucked my other hand into my back pocket to try to cover my discomfort at the display of wealth. “Is this how you try to impress all the girls?”
“No.” He used our linked hands to draw me into his body, and he gazed down at me with intense interest. “Just you.”
I didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. I was sure he had used his private plane to woo many girls. But he was mine right now, and I wouldn’t cloud our time together by thinking of something like that. I would enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Texas was a state that judged distance by hours, not miles. It was a luxury to skip the drive time that I had become so accustomed to.
We walked up the steps and into the luxury cabin. It was outfitted in cream leather with a full wet bar and mounted flat screen TVs. A door was closed in the back, and I could only imagine what it held. I was going to go with either a king-size bed or a Jacuzzi. I laughed at my own wandering thoughts.
Jensen came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. “What is so funny?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, kissing my earlobe.
“I just suspect that you have a hidden Jacuzzi or something back there,” I said with a shrug.
He kissed me again and laughed softly. “Not quite. It’s used for business.”
“Much more boring.”
He drew me into him, and we took a seat on the couch. Robbie returned and offered us drinks before takeoff. Robbie brought me a mimosa and Jensen a Bloody Mary.
I raised my glass to his. “Cheers.”
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Jensen said.
He clinked his glass against mine and took a long sip. Then, he rested an arm back across the seat as we taxied down the runway.
“So, what’s the big plan for your paperwork thing?” I asked.
“I officially sign the paperback for the Tarman Corporation merger this afternoon. So, we’ll have the morning to ourselves today and all day tomorrow.”
“Oh, good. I like that. Is there anything you want to see while we are in town?”
“Whatever you want to show me. You’re the one who lived there after all.”
“True. I have a few things in mind.”
“Good. Me, too,” he said, dropping his mouth on mine.
We made out through most of the flight. Jensen disappointed me by showing me that the back of the plane was just for business. But I was excited enough being here with him, drinking, and eating gourmet sandwiches a mile up in the air. Soon enough, Robbie announced out descent and we buckled back into our seats.
Our flight landed seamlessly at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Robbie retrieved our bags and placed them in the back of the waiting town car.
I could hardly wrap my mind around the fact that this was the Jensen that I was dating. When we were together, he was not the CEO of Wright Construction. He drove his truck and ate tacos and wore jeans. It lulled me into forgetting about his money, which I appreciated. I didn’t find him ostentatious in any way, but I was sure he had to be at times with his business contacts. Appearances were everything.
“Apartment first?” he asked, opening the door to the town car for me.
“I suppose so.” I slipped into the backseat, and he took the seat next to me.
I watched the city I had lived in for the past three years zoom by me. Despite having gone to college in Oklahoma, I adored Austin. Maybe not their football team but definitely the town. It had its own vibrancy that was impossible to find many other places. Between the food trucks, hipster living, and overall weirdness, it was a dream local if you could ignore what felt like eternal bumper-to-bumper traffic.
My apartment looked much the same as I’d left it. A mess.
I cringed when I opened the front door. A tornado had come through here for sure. That was the only explanation for what it looked like—besides the fact that I had been neglectful of the one bedroom for close to three years and then torn through it when I moved out.
“Um…maybe you should wait in the car,” I said, barring him from entering the room.
“What? Why?”
“Well, because it’s a hot mess. And I need a few minutes…or hours to tidy up.”
Jensen arched an eyebrow. “We’re not wasting hours here. Why don’t we just get the things you need? Then, I can have a cleaning crew come through and box everything else up.”
“No way! I can’t let you pay to clean my apartment!”
“Fine. Then, let me inside,” he countered.
I glared at him. I should not try to negotiate with someone who did it for a living. “All right. Well, don’t judge me.”
“I’ll judge you for the incredible woman that you are, Emery. Not for anything else.”
I swooned at his words and let him inside. “You’ve been warned.”