“How’s Wednesday?” Dan asked.
Abby thought about it. Leaving on Wednesday would give her all of Tuesday to prepare, mentally and otherwise, for the trip.
“That way, you could just chill for tonight,” Dan suggested. “Or pack if you want. Or you can save packing for tomorrow, as well as make sure your passport and everything’s all set. You do have a passport, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“Right, so I wouldn’t worry too much about clothing and such if I were you. I can…”
“No, I’ll pack between tonight and tomorrow. And yes, I’ll pack my own stuff—you don’t have to buy me anything; I’m sure I can figure out tourist gear for… how long do you think?”
He thought for a moment. “Well, this trip’s going to be an unwelcome surprise for Peter, but leaving on Wednesday gives me all of tomorrow to put things in place, and with the weekend… how about seven days? That should be just about the right amount of time to explore and enjoy ourselves, a nice little break from all other worries. And look, I know it’ll be hard not to think about your employment status, but please don’t; I’ll help you find a new job if I have to. I’ll even make sure you still get checks since, in a way, you’re totally still helping me…”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” she said with a shake of her head.
She suddenly realized she wasn’t actually as concerned about her future employment as he seemed to think, though she had been earlier. She knew she could find another job in due time, and the one she’d just lost had paid her so much, she actually had a bit of a cushion now.
She’d come to realize how important it was to live, to enjoy life, and now that she’d agreed to take a vacation, by George, she was taking it! She’d worry about everything else later.
She’d never taken a vacation before, working through her tertiary education and always studying, setting things up for her life occupation. After years and years of non-stop diligence, she deserved this; forget her ten-year plan.
Once she and Dan agreed to meet up for lunch the next day, Dan returned to work. That surprised her, considering he only had a few hours left in the workday.
“I’m surprising myself too,” he said with a shrug before taking off, later calling her to confirm he had arranged their trip to Seychelles for “hump day.”
Abby couldn’t decide what her favorite part of Seychelles was. Between the unbelievably clear turquoise waters, white sand beaches, granite boulders, the snorkeling near the reef where she’d spotted rays and baby barracudas, and the random sightings of black parrots and other strange birds, the unfazed giant tortoises ambling along the islands had lots of competition.
And then there was North Island—the private island with butler service, a cliffside spa, and a personal chef ready to cater to all culinary needs.
With the relaxing beaches and spas, the pampering and indulgence in culinary decadence, Abby felt as if she was actually being reset.
What do we do now? The question had wormed itself into Abby’s consciousness as their seven-day vacation came to an end. She hadn’t wanted to think about the status of their relationship at all, but she and Dan had never had a talk about dating exclusively or anything.
Was he going to thank her for her service once they landed on U.S. soil? Was this trip one last hurrah before he welcomed the next executive coach and readied himself for another bedding challenge?
“Hey.”
Abby lifted her eyes away from the view of the clouds and toward Dan’s voice. She was thrilled when she found out they’d be traveling via his private jet, and she was grateful for the quiet, luxurious plane rides to and from Seychelles.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“I guess, where do we go from here?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, is this it? Should I be mentally preparing to say goodbye to you forever?”
His face collapsed a bit. “Are you kidding me? How many times do I have to say it? What else do I have to do? You think I’m anywhere near done with you? Abby, I want to keep dating you. Seriously. I haven’t had a long-term relationship with someone in a while, but I definitely want that with you. Actually, I can’t imagine not having you in my life, so if you’re worried I’m about to dump you or something, forget it—you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
Abby smiled. “How long until we land again?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“That’s enough.”
“Hm?”
“There’s another thing I kind of sort of had on my adventure list. And traveling like this makes it so convenient.”
Her voice and look had turned flirtatious, so unsurprisingly, Dan caught on quickly. “New mile-high club member coming right up!” he said, dragging her toward the back area of the plane where a bed was waiting.
He rid them of their clothing in record time, but for a long time, he simply lay there with her, kissing her, his hand caressing her skin. It almost seemed as if he was trying to communicate something to her with his lips, tongue, and hands, something urgent, important.
But by the time he planted himself between her legs and lined up his erection with her eager entrance, her mind was on one thing only.
Abby knew she’d miss Dan dearly, but him having to return to work for the rest of the week would give her time to sort out a few things in her own life. As hard as it was, they agreed to meet up again on the weekend, beginning Friday night.
Just Wednesday and Thursday without seeing him, Abby assured herself, wondering when exactly it got so damned hard to go without resting her eyes on him. They’d text and call, of course, but it wasn’t the same.
She grinned to herself, wondering if they’d even make it to the restaurant for dinner when he came to get her on Friday—they’d probably tear each other’s clothes off in the car on the way there.
When Abby awoke on Saturday in Dan’s king-sized bed, she had a clear plan in mind.
“I’d like you to meet my brother,” she told him after they had breakfast.
He gave her a questioning look but said nothing, following her directions once they hopped in the car. They remained silent once they reached the graveyard, and he followed her quietly to her brother’s marked spot, navigating grass and stone tablets and crosses.
Abby noticed someone else had left flowers at Aaron’s grave recently, and wondered who.
“He wanted to be a pilot last time I checked,” she began. “When he was much younger, he wanted to be a cop, and then a firefighter. He almost enlisted in the Army after high school. I think he ultimately settled on the pilot thing, though—he’d started aviation lessons and gotten in some flight time. Based on his patterns and inclinations, he probably would’ve headed for the Air Force.”
She took a deep, long breath. “He died when he was twenty-one. He got pulled over for a broken tail light and somehow ended up being taken into a station. It’s unclear what happened after, but he ended up with bruises and broken bones, and a punctured lung that turned out to be fatal.” Her voice broke and it took a few seconds for her to get herself together. “I guess you can call it a series of unfortunate events. He did nothing but try to pick up an intoxicated stranded friend. Instead, he ended up in a holding cell, then dead.” She stared silently for a while, lost in the emotional moment. Then she turned to look at Dan. “I have no idea what he’d say about you.”
Dan watched her quietly for a few seconds. “Were you close?” he asked gently.
She nodded. “Growing up, but once I left home for college, we didn’t really stay in touch much. We saw each other for major holidays since I’d come home for Christmas and Thanksgiving, but I worked through summers. Stayed focused until I had my doctorate.”
Dan reached out and grabbed her hand and she accepted it, their fingers interlocking.
A ladybug suddenly landed on Dan’s shirt, the bright red-orange color standing out against the white. Abby smiled, eventually realizing that Dan was looking at her like she was nuts.
“Any reason you’re that amused by an insect crawling over me?” he said, his free hand curving to swat the bug away.
“No—don’t!” she said, stopping him from doing so. She looked up at him and half-shrugged. “They’re a sign of good luck!”
“Hm. I guess so,” he said, dropping his arm and examining the bug skeptically.
She kept her eyes on the ladybug until it flew away a few seconds later.
“Abby, this might be an awkward time to ask you this—or the perfect time, depending on how you see it—but I’d like you to move in with me.”
The thought appealed to Abby, pleasure running through her at his offer, but she remembered what her mom said about giving away the milk for free. “I’d love to be around you more too, but I’m not sure moving in with you at this time is the right thing to do.”
“Oh,” he said, looking away. “So much for that bug being good luck.” He turned to her again. “Would it help if I said I want you to move in with me because I… need you? I’m not asking you to do this because I want convenient access to the goodies; I have a desire to be physically close to you as much as possible. I want to keep an eye on you, look out for your needs. I want to be able to kiss you before I go to sleep at night and wake up to the sight of you every day. You keep wondering if this is some casual, passing thing for me but it can’t possibly be. I love you, Abby.”
Tension she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in her body suddenly melted away. She sighed deeply, closing her eyes and letting the sun’s warmth and Dan’s confession caress her.
“That was definitely nice to hear,” she said eventually, opening her eyes again.
“Aw, come on!” he said with light frustration.
She giggled. “I love you too, Dan. But I still don’t think moving in with you immediately is the best idea.”
“Fair enough,” he said, but his face suddenly looked calculating.
1 week later…
Dan had told Abby to get ready for a brunch date, so she dressed casually. He took her to a lovely restaurant where they got quiet, outdoor seating, a cool breeze and beautiful scenery around them.
His manner seemed a bit off the whole time, as if he was forcing himself to act normal, which set off tiny alarms inside her. She hoped he hadn’t taken her rejection of his living arrangement proposal too hard, especially since she desperately wanted to take back her response; she was so ready to leave her mother’s house.
She’d managed to save enough to do so, and even though she hadn’t found a new job just yet, she was sure she would. In fact, she had the feeling everything would be just fine and she wouldn’t have money problems again.
“I figured asking during a fast car ride would probably be a terrible idea, and so would anything having to do with bungee jumping and such,” Dan said as he sat across from her, their brunch half-eaten. “So like a totally normal guy, I’m just going to ask.”
He pulled a small box from his pocket and popped it open, causing Abby to suck in a huge breath. What she was looking at was definitely not a totally normal ring.
Dan left his seat to move closer to her and get on one knee. “Abigail Coraline Brennan, will you marry me?”
Abby did that thing she hoped she’d never do—her hands came up to cover her mouth like some pageant winner. Her throat was tight, and she couldn’t speak.
“I checked with your mom, and this is the right size, but if you don’t like this ring…” Dan snapped his fingers, and someone who’d seemed to be one of the restaurant servers came over and presented a tray of sparkling rings to her of various cuts and styles.
Abby almost couldn’t see properly, tears blurring her vision.
“I’m not just asking to get you to move in with me…”
Abby laughed, her throat finally loosening back up. “Yes, Dan! I’ll marry you. This one’s perfect,” she said, sliding her finger toward the one he was offering her.
She barely registered the larger box with the other options closing as he helped her slip the ring on.
As if they’d been paying attention for a while, the whole restaurant erupted in applause and cheers, and a server made her way toward them with fancy-looking champagne—one that looked to Abby like it was probably worth more than her car.
Dan kissed the back of Abby’s hand before returning to his seat. Abby stared at the sparkling ring on her finger for a few seconds, still in disbelief. The sound of a plane got her attention, and she looked up.
I love you, Abby, the aircraft had spelled out. She looked back at Dan, who was grinning impishly.
“Yup, like a totally normal guy,” she teased him.