My father wasn’t the type to praise one’s efforts, only point out their weaknesses. I certainly wasn’t expecting his compliments or Jenner’s.
But something had changed during this trip.
The way he looked at me.
The way he treated me.
“I’ll see you both in my office tomorrow morning for a recap,” my father said.
“We’ll be there,” I replied.
“Have a safe flight,” my father added before he hung up.
Jenner returned the phone to his pocket and watched me as the plane began to move toward the runway.
“Can I get you anything before takeoff, Miss Spade?” the flight attendant asked from the aisle.
I held my coffee in my hand, and some snacks were on the table behind me that I’d already dug into. “I’m all set. Thank you.”
“And for you, Mr. Dalton?”
He gave a similar answer, and we were suddenly alone again.
“Thank you,” I said softly, the plane picking up speed. “You didn’t have to say any of that to my father, but I appreciate it.”
His hand rubbed over the side of his beard. “I was just speaking the truth.”
I set my coffee in the holder and wrapped my arms around my stomach. “The night before we met with him, I had this dream about the hotel. I saw it clear as day, and I actually woke up and wrote it all down.” I shrugged. “I didn’t know if my thoughts would translate or if my ideas would even work, but I think it’s worth trying.”
“I’m not the only one who thinks it’s going to work. I’m positive the architect does too.” He pulled out his phone, tapping the screen a few times before he started to read from it. “You weren’t kidding, Jenner. She’s a true visionary and certainly the most creative person on Walter’s team. This design isn’t just going to attract; it’s going to win awards.” He glanced up. “I’ve known him for a long time. We exchanged a few emails after our meeting.”
“And now, I’m speechless.”
“Don’t underestimate yourself, Jo. You might be fresh out of college and a novice in this industry, but you were born to do this.”
I couldn’t help but notice how he fluctuated between my full name and nickname. I tried to decipher which he liked saying more and what occasion caused the difference.
But I couldn’t.
I could only concentrate on his gaze.
“That means a lot to me,” I whispered.
The plane lifted off the ground, and I looked out the window, watching us get closer to the clouds. “It’s been fun, working with you on this project.”
A heat filled my cheeks when our eyes connected. It seemed his stare never left me—something he’d been doing more frequently the past couple days.
“You know, part of me thought you might strangle me during this trip. I’m glad you didn’t.” I winked. “We make a good team, Jenner.”
We were just starting to level out in the air when he said, “I’m beginning to realize that too.”
My chest ached from the look on his face, the intensity in his eyes.
I almost couldn’t breathe.
“You know what else I’ve realized?”
I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak.
“How much I miss you.”
Twenty-Seven
Jenner
I couldn’t fight this for a second longer.
Jo Spade needed to be mine.
I didn’t know the ramifications of that decision, I didn’t know what our future would look like, I didn’t know how her father was going to react or how that would affect me—or us—but I had to be with her.
Because it was agonizing to be without her.
“You miss me?” she whispered.
“Those words aren’t nearly strong enough.” I gripped the armrests, so I wouldn’t reach across the table and lift her from her seat. “I understand why you didn’t tell me. I wish you had, I wish that weight weren’t between us, but I get it.” I studied her gorgeous face. “If you still want to be with me, then I need to find a way to talk to your father. I don’t want to hide this from him.” I took a deep breath. “I don’t want to hide us.” Our conversations were replaying in my head—each time she’d spoken about what she wanted and every time I’d told her it wouldn’t work.
“I put myself through hell when I walked away from you. Every single day has been a reminder of what I lost. From the meeting in your father’s office right before we left and throughout this entire trip—it’s all been fucking torture.”
Emotion filled her eyes as I said, “I don’t want to live without you, Jo.”
“Jenner … I …” She swallowed and glanced out the window, her hand moving to her chest.
A sharp pain blasted through me as I tried to read her expression, fearing that I was too late, that she’d already moved on.
But she finally looked at me and whispered, “It’s about damn time you came to your senses.”
Her eyes confirmed what she’d said.
She wanted me.
“Get over here,” I begged.
She quickly removed her seat belt and hurried over, sitting on my lap, throwing her arms around my shoulders.
I buried my face in her neck and squeezed her with all my strength, her body fitting so perfectly against mine. Holding the back of her head, I led her lips closer, moaning the second our mouths touched. I tasted her at first. Not gently. But with the desire that had been nagging through me for weeks, and when her lips parted, my tongue slipped through the opening, getting even more of her flavor.
“Fuck me,” I hissed. “I’ve been thinking about these”—I tugged at her bottom lip and her top one—“since our last trip to Utah.”
“I wish you hadn’t waited so long to kiss me.”
I held her face steady, scanning her eyes.
“I need to know that if things get hard or tough at any point, you’re not going to dismiss me again.” She clung to the back of my hand. “I need to know I’m really what you want, Jenner.”
I pressed my forehead against hers. “Relationships are foreign to me. I don’t know how to do this. I just know how I feel about you and what it feels like to not be with you.” I gripped her cheeks even tighter. “That’s something I’m never going through again.”
“You make it sound like we’re forever.”
“We are.” I leaned back, giving her my eyes, my emotions making my heart pound. “I let you go once, and it was a mistake. One that will never happen again.” My thumbs traced the tops of her cheeks. “You’re mine. Your heart, your body, your mind—all of it, all mine.” There was one more thing bursting to come out, eating at my chest with fucking claws. “I love you, Jo.”
I’d never said those words to another woman.
But I’d also never felt this way before.
I’d never wanted anyone as much as I wanted her.
“Jenner …” Tears dripped from her eyelids, and I immediately wiped them. “I love you.”
I kissed her again, this time much harder, and when I pulled back, I surrounded her bottom lip and bit down. “I need you. Right now.” I adjusted her placement, positioning her pussy over my cock so she could feel how hard I was. “This is what you’re doing to me.”