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THE DAY BLEW BY WITH calls made to winners of the silent auction, contacting the press and making sure everything was picked up at the hall, along with catching a few more people to sign up for the Valentine’s Dinner. Malcolm stopped by the hall just as Charity was putting on her coat to leave.
“Hey, stranger.”
“Hello! I’m going to guess that you made it home last night and aren’t just waiting for me to now take you home?”
She laughed and shook her head. “No, you’re safe.”
“Is Dr. Bennet all right?” He looked genuinely concerned. He was such a sweetie.
“Probably hungover at the moment. He’s back in New York.” Was now a good time to mention she would be away?
“I hope you aren’t too upset that I put you up for the Valentine’s Dinner.”
She waved her hand. “Not at all. You did a great job on stage. You’re a natural.”
He smiled. “You made it easy. It was fun.” He cleared his throat. “And a big success. Job well done.”
“Thanks! I’m really pleased with how things went. We raised almost double to what we expected.”
“That’s fantastic.” A series of beeps sounded from his pocket. “Sorry, that’s the hospital. I told them to page me if there was an emergency.” He reached for his phone and checked it. “Darn. It looks like I’m going to have to head back. I came here to help.”
“It’s all basically finished now. You could take a box of brochures back with you if you feel the need to fulfill your noble duty.” She pointed to one of the two boxes she had stacked by her purse.
“Would love to!” He picked both boxes up. “I’ll even do double duty.”
“Thanks.”
A staff member came up and tapped Charity on the shoulder. “Sorry to interrupt. We just found some cables that I think belonged to the computer-guy who hooked up the big screen.”
“No problem. I’ll come check.” She turned to Malcolm. “Duty calls.”
He saluted. “I’ll see you on Monday.”
“I forgot to mention I’ll be out of town again for a few days.” Why did she feel nervous about telling him? It felt like she was lying. She ignored her inner thoughts. Her personal life was not included in the contract she signed with the hospital.
“I hope it’s a vacation. After all the work you put in for yesterday, it’s more than well deserved.”
“Not really a vacation.” She didn’t feel the need to say any more and thankfully Malcolm did not pry. “I’ll be working on stuff for Forever Hope while I’m away, so if anything comes up, just drop me a line.”
“Will do.” His pocket beeped again. “I’d better get going. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
“You too.” Charity held the door open for him and went to collect the cables.
Her cell phone rang just as she got back to her place. She dug through her purse and checked the caller ID. Elijah.
She checked her watch. It was just past three o’clock. He had said he would call tonight. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me.”
She smiled. She liked the way he assumed she would recognize his voice so easily.
“Am I calling at a bad time?”
“Not at all. I just got in. Perfect timing, actually.”
“Good. I called my travel agent and have a tentative book on flights. I wanted to check with you first.”
“Sure.”
“There’s a flight from Atlanta to Chicago and I can fly out of LaGuardia and meet you there. I actually arrive about half an hour before you do, but we can leave from Chicago. Then it’s transpacific to Auckland. It’s a long, lousy flight but it’s the quickest route with barely any waits between the stopovers.”
“That’s fine. Whatever works. When do we leave? Tomorrow? Tuesday?”
“Actually, no. My mother left a message while I was in surgery. She’s already had my father cremated and planned the ‘celebration of life’ for Wednesday. We have to leave tonight.”
“Oh, wow.” Though surprised, she really didn’t mind. She was used to planning last-minute flights. Seeing Elijah again tonight didn’t seem so bad, either. “It’s a good thing I’m all done for the day. I’ll start packing. What time does my flight leave?”
“In three hours. I’m sorry it’s so rushed. My mother...” He sighed. “She kinda forgets to think about other people besides herself.”
She felt bad for him. “Are you able to postpone any of your surgeries or get someone to cover for you while you are gone?”
“I’m working on that now. Simon and Julie have offered to cover quite a bit and so has your father. I just need to schedule it for them. Then I’m heading home to pack.”
“Did you...” She felt shy asking him if he mentioned anything to her father about her, but needed to ask.
He knew what she meant. “I didn’t mention you were coming to any of them. I wasn’t sure so I just left it.”
“Thanks.” She pulled her suitcase out of her walk-in closet.
“I have us returning Sunday. It gives us a few days. I thought maybe you’d like to see the sights.”
“And hang out with you?”
He chuckled. “That’s the plan.”
“Sounds awesome.”
“Well... I should let you go... to pack and stuff...”
“You sound like you don’t want to go.”
“I just keep remembering last night. Before we left for the fundraiser.”
Charity warmed at the pictures flashing in her head. It had been in the back of her mind all day and now Elijah admitting it... “I’ve been thinking the same thing.” She swallowed.
“Stop. You’re going to turn me on and I’m sitting in my office.” He groaned. “What are you wearing?”
She pulled her coat off. “Black skirt, tight top.” She giggled. “But I won’t be in them for very long.”
“You won’t?” His breath grew heavy.
She’d never done the phone sex thing, but the thought excited her, and strangely, it felt natural with him. She lay down on her bed, thinking it might help. “I might just let my hands wander around. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be naked soon.”
“I wish I was there to take them off you.”
She sighed. “I wish you were touching me right now.”
“Me too.” He suddenly cleared his throat and the tone of his voice changed. “I should probably get going then. I’ll send you a text when I arrive in Chicago.”
Huh? Charity sat up. Oh shit. “My dad’s in your office, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
She chuckled. “That’ll definitely kill the moment. How about you email me my flight details and confirmation number when you have it?”
“Will do.”
At least they would be spending the night together – just not quite the way she imagined.
When Charity arrived in Chicago, she phoned Julie as she was waiting for the plane to begin de-boarding. Her friend’s voicemail picked up.
“Hey, Jules. I just wanted to let you know I’m going with Elijah. I’ll be back in about a week. Please don’t mention it to my father. I just figured someone should know I was out of the country. Let’s catch up when I get back.”
The fasten seatbelt light clicked off so she stuffed her phone in her purse and gathered her things. Her flight from Atlanta had taken off late and she didn’t have much time to get to the other terminal and meet Elijah at their boarding gate for the next flight.
Off the plane she had to dash through the airport. She waved when she finally caught sight of Elijah pacing near their gate. He looked tired but his face lit up when he saw her. “You made it!”
A stewardess came up to them. “We’ve got to board now. Sorry.”
“No problem.” Elijah smiled at her. “We’re good to go.”
They boarded the plane and Charity grinned when she realized where they were sitting. “First class?”
Elijah helped put her bag in the compartment above. “I’m just trying to impress you. Is it working?”
“You don’t even have to try.”
They quieted as the stewardess appeared again to rush them to sit and get ready for takeoff. She brought them each a glass of wine. The plane rolled to the runway and took off in no time. Charity let her head rest against the comfortable leather seat and relaxed. She couldn’t believe they were actually on their way to New Zealand. She wondered what his house looked like and if his mother would show photos of Elijah as a child. She’d probably go on and on about her handsome son. Charity wouldn’t mind. She could do the same thing, just not to his mother. She might not be interested in the parts of Elijah that Charity particularly appreciated. She giggled at the thought.
“Everything okay?” Elijah murmured. He had also leaned back into his chair, his eyes closed and his face relaxed.
“It’s all good. Just seems surreal that we’re actually on this flight.”
“Hmmm...”
She glanced over and smiled. His mouth now hung slightly open and she expected a snore to start at any moment. She pulled her iPad out of the bag near her feet and clicked on one of the books she’d downloaded a while back. She finished the book a few hours later and eventually nodded off. She woke again and started a second book but never finished. She leaned her head on Elijah’s shoulder and dozed off again.
She woke when the pilot announced they were starting their descent into Auckland. Elijah stirred beside her and bolted forward. He blinked and looked around confused. “Did the pilot just say we’re landing soon?”
“Yup.” She stretched and yawned.
“I have no idea how but I think I basically just slept the entire flight.”
“Probably trying to catch up on years of deprived sleep.” She teasingly pinched his cheek. “Like a babe in a car. So cute.”
“And so not tired anymore. I don’t believe I’ve flown back or to America without jetlag. How are you feeling?”
“Not bad. I’m sure it’ll catch up with me at some point.”
A stewardess came around with cards to fill out for customs. Before long they landed. Soon they were through customs and picking up the rental car.
The slight humidity in the warm wind reminded Charity that it was summer here. She followed Elijah and the car attendant to their rental. She enjoyed listening to the two men talk, Elijah’s accent sounding slightly American. She didn’t understand a few of the words but she liked the way their voices rose and dropped as they spoke.
“G’dday, ma’am.” The man touched his hat and whistled as he strolled away.
Elijah tossed their bags into the trunk of the car. He grinned at her. “You ready for this?”
“Sure. Throw it at me.”
