He takes me by my hand and ushers me into the back of the waiting car. The door shuts behind us, and I stare at Duke on the pavement as we pull out into the traffic.
Sebastian sits beside me, his steel gaze looking out the window as we drive.
“Did you write up that prenup for my protection or to prove to yourself that you’re serious about this?” he snarls.
I swallow the lump in my throat, remaining silent.
A bit of both.
He glares at me, as if reading my mind, and I wither a little. “April is going to my house,” he announces to the driver.
I frown. “But—”
“You will be spending the day at my house. You can work from there. Like it or not.”
Jeez.
“And if he dares come near you again—”
“Okay, okay, Sebastian,” I whisper. “Calm down.”
His cold gaze returns to the streets flying by, and I feel my heartrate slowly return to normal. I watch him and try hard to hold in my smile.
Caveman Garcia is hot.
“Flight 121, boarding,” the attendant announces throughout the airport.
It’s Friday morning, and we were supposed to leave for the Maldives for the wedding yesterday, but Sebastian had to work late last night.
It’s okay, as long as we get there at some point. I don’t care when.
I’m wearing a fitted black dress with a denim jacket and white slip-on shoes, trying to be casual and dressy at the same time. I have my bag packed, my body primped to perfection, and my nerves firmly intact.
I’m meeting Sebastian’s friends this weekend, and I know how important they are to him. First impressions are everything, and I really want to make a good one.
I have this thing that when I’m nervous, I go quiet, and I know it makes me appear rude.
Remember to talk, remember to talk.
“Let’s go.” Sebastian takes my hand, and we walk out through the gates. It’s a smaller plane than what I’ve ever been on before. That would be just my luck, finally meeting the man of my dreams only to die in a fucking plane crash.
He glances over at me and frowns. “You alright?”
“Yep.”
“You’re quiet.”
I shrug. “Perhaps a little nervous.”
“Nervous?”
“What if your friends don’t like me?”
He gives me a breathtaking smile and pulls me to him. “How could they not?”
He kisses my temple as we walk. “I like you, and that’s all that matters.”
It’s just after 2:00 p.m. when the plane comes to a stop on the runway.
“We’re here.” I bounce around in my seat.
Sebastian smirks, picks up my hand, and kisses my fingertips.
“What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get there?” I ask.
“April Bennet.”
I giggle. “No, I mean, like do, do. Like a doing thing.”
He raises an eyebrow, amused by my childlike excitement. “April Bennet.”
I smile as I pull his face to mine and kiss his big, pouty lips. “Thanks for bringing me.”
The seatbelt sign goes off. “Let’s go have some fun.”
“Okay.” I stand so quickly that I hit my head on the overhead. “Ouch.”
“Careful,” he warns.
We walk up the aisle, and as we get to the doors, we are hit with a wall of heat. It’s like a blazing hot oven.
I gasp as the air leaves my lungs.
“What in the sauna do you call this?” Sebastian mutters under his breath.
“Right.” I get the giggles as we walk down the plane’s stairs. “Please tell me we have aircon in our room.”
“I fucking hope so. My balls are hard boiled in these jeans.”
I burst out laughing, and he laughs, too. Oh, it’s so nice to be somewhere different together. So much of our time together has been spent in the shadows.
I feel like we are finally a real couple, doing grown up, couple things.
Hand in hand, we walk over the tarmac and into the airport. Once through security, we see a man standing with a sign that reads:
Garcia.
I hunch my shoulders together in excitement.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Garcia?” the driver asks.
Mrs. Garcia.
“Yes,” Sebastian replies.
“This way, please.”
“Thank you.” We follow him out to a black Audi, and we climb into the backseat.
Woohoo, we’re on our way.
An hour later, we turn off the main road and into a fancy looking driveway. The landscape is tropical and well kept. It’s super beautiful. We come to a large, circular driveway, and the driver pulls over.
“Here we are.” He gets out and retrieves our bags from the trunk, leaving us to walk through to reception.
It’s all open air, and I can see through to the huge exotic resort pool that’s surrounded by deckchairs and waiters delivering cocktails to people. Behind all that is the most beautiful, crystal-blue water I have ever seen. The sand is white.
Wow, this is Heaven.
“What ocean is that?” I ask Sebastian.
He looks out and rolls his lips. “Indian Ocean.”
“Really?” I frown. I take out my phone and Google it.
What ocean surrounds the Maldives?
“Indian,” he repeats.
“Just checking.”
“Do you have to check everything I say?”
“Uh-huh.”
Indian Ocean.
“Oh.” I sigh, slightly dejected. I was sure it was something more exotic. It sure does look like it. I’ve never seen water so blue.
Sebastian gives me a sexy wink in an I told you so statement.
I smirk.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist asks.
“Yes, checking in, please.”
“Of course.” She smiles, her eyes lingering on Sebastian. “What was the name?”
“Sebastian Garcia.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, yes, of course, sir. You’re from the United Kingdom. We’ve been awaiting your arrival. The extra security is in place. Please let us know if anything isn’t up to your standard.”
Sebastian fakes a smile, unimpressed. “Thank you.” He hates a fuss, and I know that his security team back home would have organized this without his consent.
“Did you have a good flight?” she asks, her eyes lingering a little too long on my handsome man.
He did, bitch. Back off.
I fake a smile, too. And hurry up about it.
“Paulie will show you to your room.” She hands over the key. “You are in the North Wing Penthouse.” She gestures to the left. “If you go around past the pool and restaurants, your penthouse is on the ocean front.”
“Thank you.”
Paulie steps forward and nods. “This way, please.” We follow him out through the gardens, and we cut through a pool area.
“Seb!” Someone calls.
We turn to see a blonde guy waving. He starts to jog over to us. Seb smiles and waves back.
Scratch that. A blonde god is jogging over to us. Square jaw, blonde hair, and rippled abs.
Jeez, who is this?