“I can help interview,” I offered. “I’ve done it before.”
“Thanks, but you’ve got enough to do with running that place.”
“If you want my opinion, I’m happy to give it,” I said.
He laughed. “Don’t I know it.”
“Very funny. It’s been so quiet here.”
“Are you saying I was loud?” he said with a laugh.
“Not loud, but you know.”
“I don’t know,” he said in a husky voice. “Spell it out for me.”
“It’s been less satisfying without you here,” I replied.
“Are you saying you’re not satisfied?”
“Not in the last few days.”
“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked.
“What?” I asked and tried to switch gears to keep up with him.
“I have to go to California tonight,” he said. “I wanted to know if you and Jace wanted to come with me.”
I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly. “You want us to go to California with you?”
“Yes. Just for the weekend.”
“Um, I don’t know. Jace has never flown.”
“Would he like to?”
I thought about it. “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ll talk to him. Can I get back to you in a couple of hours?”
“I need an answer quick,” he said. “I have to go tonight. The jet will wait for a while, but I need to get there.”
“The jet?”
“I’m not flying commercial,” he scoffed.
I laughed at his incredulity. “My goodness, I would never mean to suggest you would lower yourself to such standards. I’m headed out the door. I’ll pick him up and ask if he would like to go on an adventure.”
“What about you?” he asked.
“What about me?”
“Do you want to go on an adventure?” he asked.
I found myself smiling. “I do.”
“Then convince your son and call me,” he said. “Pack something sexy.”
I laughed. “Jace will be with us.”
“Do you plan on sleeping in the same bed with him?”
“No, but I can’t exactly run around in lingerie with my son right next door or whatever you had planned.”
“He has to sleep at some point.”
“I’ll call you later,” I told him and hung up before he could say anything else.
I let out a long squeal. I was not the kind of girl that got asked to run away for the weekend on a private jet.
I grabbed my purse and shoved everything into my briefcase before rushing out of the office. I had to get Jace. I was already mentally packing what I would take.
California. It would be warm there. Like really warm. I wondered what part of California. I probably should have asked. I would love Jace to see the Pacific.
I waited until we got home to talk to Jace. “Hey,” I said. “Do you want to go to California?”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “What?”
I laughed and realized I probably should have prefaced it a bit. “Nash invited us to go to California with him for the weekend. We would go in a plane.”
He let out a long shout and started jumping up and down. “Yes, yes, yes!”
I was thrilled he wanted to go. “All right, we have to move fast. I need you to get your suitcase from your closet. You need to pack two pairs of shorts and a pair of jeans. Two shirts, socks, and underwear, okay?”
He was running to his room. I went to grab my purse and fished out my cell to call Nash. There was a knock on the door before I could make the call. I quickly crossed to open the door. “Nash!” I said and looked at my phone. “I was just going to call you.”
“I hope to tell me you guys want to go,” he said.
I bobbed my head up and down. “Yes, I was just getting ready to call you.”
“I thought I would have the car swing by. I have to get going.”
“Can we still come?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Jace is packing. I need to pack. Can I have five minutes?”
He smiled. “Yes.”
Out of sheer reaction, I jumped forward and gave him a kiss. “Come in,” I said and opened the door. “I’ll pack as fast as humanly possible.”
I rushed out of the living room and left him standing in the doorway. I grabbed my suitcase and pulled open drawers. My mind was racing as I tried to do a mental checklist of stuff I needed. I just knew I was going to forget things.
That was fine. The hotel would have a shop that I could pick up necessities from. I tossed things into my suitcase without a great deal of care. If we weren’t going through TSA, I didn’t have to worry about anyone digging through my panties.
I heard Jace squeal and knew he found Nash in the living room. I was happy he was happy. I would never be able to do this for Jace. This was the benefit of being wealthy. A guy could pick up and fly across the country whenever he wanted.
I did one more cursory check of my suitcase and zipped it closed. I stuffed my toiletries into my small bag and carried it out of the room. “Okay, I think I got everything,” I said. Nash and Jace were talking about the private jet.
“Great. We’ll eat dinner on the jet.”
Jace looked like he was going to explode. “Really? We can eat dinner on the plane?”
“Yep,” Nash answered. “Let’s go.”
We rushed out to the waiting car. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I was never spontaneous. I was always a planner. “Buckle up,” I instructed Jace.
Jace was beyond amped. He didn’t stop talking the entire trip to the airport. He rambled on about jets and planes and where he wanted to sit. He was truly the happiest kid on the planet in that moment. Nash did that for him. I was going to forever be in his debt for giving Jace something I would never be able to do. It was an experience of a lifetime—for both of us.
“Jace, do you want to see the cockpit?” Nash asked.
“Really?” Jace exclaimed.
“Yep,” he answered.
“I’ll wait back here,” I said. I watched Nash gently lead Jace to the cockpit.
Moments like this made me regret some of the choices I made. Was I depriving Jace? I shook my head. This was not anything. It was a quick trip. Nash didn’t want a family. He was having fun right now. I had no doubt in my mind he would get bored and move on.
“Mom, I got to see the cockpit!” Jace exclaimed as he rushed back to me.
“Was it awesome?”
“It was so cool. I want to be a pilot one day.”
I smiled and nodded. “Then you can. Sit down and you need to put your seatbelt on.”
“Do we get dinner?”
Nash smiled. “We do. We have to wait until we’re in the air, but we are going to have cheeseburgers and fries. Does that work for you?”
“He’s going to think he won the lottery,” I joked.
“I’m so excited!” Jace said. “When do we get to fly?”
“It’ll be a few minutes,” Nash told him.
“Is this a business trip?” I asked him. It occurred to me I had no idea where we were going or why.