Bossy Romance: Chapter 12

The paternity test results arrive while I’m working on the kinetic batteries. I stare at the official lab results, my eyes locked on the bottom part.

Rowan is my son.

I wait for the crash of panic, the surge of adrenaline, the sensation that the world is crumbling around me.

It doesn’t come.

The room remains steady.

So do my hands and feet.

But that doesn’t mean anything. I’m standing in the eye of the hurricane.

Any moment now, the panic’s going to smash into me.

Any minute…

Any…

I press a hand to my chest. My heart is only beating slightly faster than before.

I’m a father.

And I’m okay with it.

Bemused, I smile and shake my head. I think I’ve been slowly accepting the fact that Rowan’s my son for a while now. It started when Nova scolded me about first impressions and kept going since then.

He’s become a part of my life—having breakfast with him, dropping him off at art camp, listening to his word vomit every evening when he comes home. We’ve fallen into our own little routine.

This piece of paper means absolutely nothing. Deep down, I’d already found a way to accept my new, absolutely terrifying and oddly rewarding responsibility.

I fold the paternity test and slip it into my back pocket. Then I pick up my phone because the only person I want to call and talk to about this is Nova.

Her phone goes to voicemail.

I frown and then check the time. Nova always answers her phone. Like Rowan, the device is a biological limb. She only ignores calls when she’s in a meeting, but it’s six thirty. She should be finished with work by now.

I call Steve to check.

“I dropped her off around the Surros District,” Steve informs me.

“The Surros District?” There are only fancy restaurants and tourist attractions there. “Did she say what she was doing?”

“She had a meeting with someone. Let me think. The name was… Henry, I believe.”

I grip the phone tight. “HENRY?”

“Yes, sir.”

Impossible. Nova never meets with employees of the opposite sex after work hours.

“Are you sure it was Henry?”

“Very sure. She called him and confirmed their dinner appointment right in front of me.”

My heart starts beating the way I it would when I read the test results. Any second now and it’s going to fly right out of my body and start seizing on top of my robot arm.

“Thank you, Steve.”

At the thought of Nova with someone else, my anger hits a boiling point. I feel like I could punch a hole clear through a building. Unable to sit still, I grab my truck keys and drive like the bats of hell are on my tail.

Fractured images assault my mind. I picture Nova and Henry having a romantic candlelit dinner. I see them strolling down to the pier, hand-in-hand. I see Henry leaning in for a kiss—

“Dammit!” I slam my hand on the horn.

A little old lady is crossing the street. She jumps at the loud noise and then flips me the bird.

I wince in apology.

While I wait for the light to shift and the woman to finish walking across the street, I tap my fingers on the steering wheel and call Nova again.

Still no answer.

Green light.

I toss the phone and slam my foot on the gas. Lula lurches forward, responding to the panic tightening every muscle in my body.

The world outside blurs until I get to my destination.

The Surros District is a sprawling area with a bunch of lit-up buildings on either side of the street. Steve didn’t drop Nova somewhere specific. It would be impossible to find her if not for one little clue—she’s in one of the restaurants.

I shoot into the first restaurant.

No Nova.

I burst out of the doors and rush into the second.

No Nova.

I have no idea what I’m going to do or say when I find her, but I have this urgency in my chest, spurring me on. No matter what, I can’t lose Nova.

Not to anyone.

In the third restaurant, the hostess unleashes the security guards on my tail. I race through the room like a maniac, confirm that Nova isn’t there and then spring out, narrowly avoiding being caught.

By the time I get to the fourth restaurant, I’m sweating and panicking in equal measures.

What if Nova and Henry left already? What if they’re already on their way back to Nova’s apartment or a hotel?

My fingers close into fists and I run faster. I knew Nova had a soft spot for Henry, but I had no idea that affection had blossomed into more.

If I’d had any sort of clue that she was serious about him, I wouldn’t have held back when she stayed the night at my place or that day in the medic tent. I wouldn’t have wasted so much time tiptoeing over what I feel for her.

Two words in fact.

It’s time I make that crystal freaking clear.

I swing my head back and forth, scowling at the romantic atmosphere and all the couples nestled in velvet booths.

If Nova’s here, I might just explode.

As if I conjured her up, I spot my executive assistant.

Or at least, I spot the back of her voluminous, curly head.

She’s sitting with Henry. The punk has his hand on hers and is looking intently into her eyes. I can tell from here that he’s confessing his feelings and it makes my blood boil.

In giant steps, I arrive at their table.

Nova glances up and her eyes widen. I’m surprised when I see a flash of attraction skitter through her face. I thought she’d be annoyed or angry, but it’s almost like she’s glad to see me.

That look alone makes me want to start swinging punches at Henry’s head for daring to touch her. Instead, I grab Nova’s hand and drag her away from the table.

The punk tries to say something, but I cut him off and whisk us both out of the restaurant. My thoughts are pushing against the top of my head like buttery popcorn flowing out of a bucket.

I keep marching until we get to the sidewalk.

Nova, who’d been quietly stumbling behind me, suddenly wrenches her arm free. “Adam, what are you doing here?”

“I should ask you the same thing.”

“I’m having a business meeting,” she says, swaying slightly on her feet.

“A business meeting?” I let loose a humorless laugh. Running a hand through my hair, I turn away from her and walk a couple steps to get rid of the restless energy. “Since when did you have business meetings over candlelight?”

“I blew out the candles,” Nova says defensively.

My eyebrows pull together. I turn back around. There’s a sheen of silver on her dark skin thanks to the lamppost. Her eyes are slightly unfocused.

“Did you drink?”

“So what if I did?” Her lips curl down into a frown as if I’m starting to irritate her. “How did you find me anyway?”

Not that I’m going to admit that.

People slide past us on the sidewalk, giving us weird looks. We’re going to draw a crowd if we keep standing here, screaming at each other.

I gesture to Nova, my voice hard. “Let’s go. I’m taking you home.”

“I’m not going home.”

“Nova!”

She folds her arms over her chest and squints at me. “What gives you the right to be here, dragging me out of restaurants and acting like you own me?”

“I’m your boss.”

She snorts.

“And I don’t like seeing you with other guys.” I let the truth hang out. Let it spill into the dark night and over the brightly-lit street.

Nova’s jaw goes slack.

“I don’t like seeing you with Henry.”

She gulps. “I wanted him to sign to Vision Tech.”

“And he wanted to sign a marriage contract.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Dammit, Nova. We both know that kid is trying to get with you.”

“So?” She explodes. “What does that have to do with you?”

“I don’t know, Nova. It has everything to do with me.” I shake my head in frustration. “At least I want it to.”

She starts fidgeting with her curls. Her dark fingers are long and slender, but when they twirl like that, it reminds me that she’s not impenetrable. She’s soft and aggravating and stubborn as hell and I’m freaking with her.

Every bit of her.

The boss lady that can walk into a boardroom and have all the men peeing their pants.

And the emotional wreck who’d pin me with beautiful, tear-filled eyes and ask why someone would care about her.

Nova wipes her hands on her skirt. “I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

My temper spikes again. I let out a blustered laugh. “Nova, you’re the most brilliant woman I know and there’s not a part of me that buys that, but if you need me to break it down for you, I will.” My voice hardens. “With pleasure.”

Her eyelashes flutter.

I move toward Nova, an invisible rope tugging me forward. Keeping my voice low and steady, I tell her, “It bothered me when you and Henry were partners at the sports day. And Jax got on my nerves the moment he called your name through that stupid bull horn.” I step closer to her. “I don’t want anyone but me beside you.”

I feel the thudding of my heart like the boom of thunder.

She freezes for a beat and I wonder if I’ve managed to explode her brain.

Shaking her head, Nova comes alive again. “Are you really doing this?”

“I’m doing this.” My fingers close around her arm when it looks like she’s getting ready to bolt. I slide my hand down to her wrist, keeping her there but not pulling her to me. “I have never cared about , the way I care about you.”

Her eyelashes flutter.

I want to tell her in more clear terms.

But I promised I wouldn’t cross any lines before she was ready and I feel like I’ve long-jumped over a few already.

“Adam—”

“That’s why I can’t stand the thought of you leaving Vision Tech,” I barrel on before she can stop me. “That’s why I need you beside me.”

Nova freezes. The light disappears from her eyes.

“Vision Tech?” Her words are soft, bitter.

I feel like I’ve done something wrong, but I don’t know what.

With a violent tug, Nova breaks free from me and whips her head up. “So this is about Vision Tech?”

Why does she keep doing that? I can rip my heart out of my chest, toss it—bloody and beating—in her hands and she’d still find a way to miss the point.

“I’m saying I need you as much as the company needs you,” I explain. “I—”

Nova gives me a death glare. “You know why I have to resign, Adam? Do you know why I couldn’t wait for a single day to get away, even if it meant telling you on your birthday?”

I brace myself, already knowing from her tone that her words are going to hurt worse than a whipping.

“There’s a noose around my neck.” She wraps dark hands around her throat and squeezes. “And I didn’t realize it until some other guy’s hand was between my thighs and all I could think about was you. And how wrong it felt. And how I should apologize to for letting someone else touch me.”

My chest heaves and my blood runs cold, picking through that information. The pounding in my head gets louder. My emotions are a chaotic storm swinging from wild anger at the thought of Nova being physical with someone else to mild awe at what I she’s telling me.

It’s too much to hope that she feels the same way.

Too much and yet… not enough.

I want to inhale her. I want to wrap my arms around her and her.

But I’m afraid to move.

I’m afraid to even breathe because it might shatter this moment.

While I’m skating on an ice lake of hopeful disbelief, Nova seems to be unravelling. She paces back and forth like she’s in the depths of hell, her beautiful face screwed up in anger.

“Dammit!” Her words slur but they’re shouted with such confidence that I understand every sentence. “It was my own body—

and it didn’t belong to me. And it’s your fault!” She hoists a crooked finger at somewhere beyond my head. “You and your stupid concern for me. Always showing up when I need you and making me feel safe. You and that stupid grin that makes my heart beat fast and that stupid nickname… ‘darlin’. Do you know I’m the only one you call ‘darlin’?”

My smile inches up over my face. I watch her pace to the other end of the path, walking a jagged, drunken line.

She stumbles.

I hurry over to her, but she elbows me away when I try to help her up.

Her eyes flash. She’s trembling with anger. “You consume me. You control me. I… I come when you call. I wait for you when you leave. I breathe for you. I fight for you. My entire life revolves around you.”

“You consume ,” I cut in, almost melting from anguish and frustration. “You control . I come when you call. I wait for you when leave. If there’s a way to breathe without you I haven’t found it.” I step so close to her that I can see the lighter brown flecks in the galaxy of her eyes. “You think you’re the only one suffering here, Nova? You think you’re the only one who’s trapped? My whole is you. I don’t remember what my life was like before you were in it and I don’t ever want to imagine it with you gone.”

Her legs seem to lose their strength because she stumbles and then goes down. Gripping her upper arms, I hold her up and gather her as tight as I can to my chest.

She smells like flowers, like spring, like Nova.

Her head shifts. She looks up at me with fury, but beneath that I see an obvious hunger. Whether it’s the wine or the argument, her defenses are down.

This is pure, unrestrained Nova in all her glory.

I swear the air leaves my chest quicker than a pair of flat tires. My eyes land on her lips and stay there.

I cup her cheek, sighing when my thumb hits her velvety dark skin. Slowly urging her face to mine, I prepare to taste her lips for the first time.

“You’ll make it worse,” Nova warns, her head tilted up to me as if she doesn’t know how to heed her own warning. “If we do this and it falls apart…”

“It won’t.”

“It might.”

“It’s worth the risk,” I answer. The electric spark in the air between us sizzles so loudly I can practically hear it.

“Because we have feelings for each other?”

“Because whether I kiss you or not, you are already mine.”

Her eyes flutter closed just as I brush my lips over her mouth, sealing my devotion.

The woman is impossible. Stubborn. Bossy. Strict. Brusque.

.

Overflowing with a thousand feminine charms that are a constant pull of distractions and a seven-year-long test of my restraint.

I should punish her but, instead, I capture her lips with gratitude, thanking her for ruling my thoughts and being my sole focus.

Her mouth softens beneath mine. I coax a low moan from her throat as I tease her, claim her, drag my tongue along the inner seam of her mouth and then nip on her bottom lip just to feel it shudder.

We’ve always fit perfectly—my jagged pieces to hers. My belief in humanity to her jadedness. My imagination to her practicality. Even the way she’s tall enough to fit right in the pocket of my arms is like we were made for each other.

But I’m blown away by how perfectly her lips fall against mine.

I tilt her head back, ready to take the kiss deeper when I hear applause and cheers. Both our eyes pop open at the same time.

There’s a crowd around us.

They’ve got cell phones pointed in our direction and grins on their faces.

I didn’t even realize we were being watched.

Just then, Henry pushes through the crowd, a crest-fallen look on his face. He glances between me and Nova.

“What’s going on between you two? Are you dating?” he demands.

I’m not sure who—between the crowd or Henry—have the worst timing. I did not want to be interrupted while kissing Nova for the first time. How dare they?

I open my mouth to take my frustration out on the kid when Nova makes a weird sound. I glance over and find her cheeks puffed out, her eyes wide and her hand covering her mouth.

“Nova.” I set my hand on her back. Then I fling a hard look at Henry. “How many glasses of wine did she drink?”

“Two!”

I growl at him. “Two? She can’t handle more than one glass.”

“Ugh.” Nova moans.

Henry steps forward. “Nova, are you okay?”

I stop him with a glare. “I’ll handle this.”

“I need to make sure she’s okay.”

“She’s my woman,” I answer darkly and repeat myself in a cold tone. “I’ll handle this.”

“Blegh!” Nova dry heaves.

Alarmed, I lead her off to the side and hold her hair while coughs up all her lunch and dinner into the bushes.

“Is she going to be okay?” Rowan asks, walking beside me while I help a tipsy Nova out of the pick-up. He hurries along the path, his head turned to me and his eyes full of concern. “She looks like she might vomit again.”

“Just get the door,” I tell him.

He takes the keys from me and opens the front door.

I half-drag, half-walk Nova inside.

She collapses on the couch, immediately curls into a ball and squeezes her eyes shut. “Adam.”

“Hm?” I kneel in front of her.

“Remind me to never drink ever again for the rest of my life.”

I chuckle. She’s a lightweight, which most people wouldn’t expect given how capable she is in every other area of her life.

“I’ll get you some water,” Rowan offers.

Nova peeks her eyes open to smile at him. “Bless you.”

Rowan smirks when he heads to the kitchen.

I smooth my hand over Nova’s forehead. “You feeling a little better?”

“I’m feeling embarrassed.”

My lips curl up. She has many things to feel self-conscious about—our fight on the street, the fact that we were recorded, the kiss, the upchucking incident. I could ask her which of these she’s referring to, but I’m smart enough not to go there.

Rowan returns with the water.

“Thanks, babe,” Nova says easily.

Rowan nods.

I notice their relationship has gotten a lot closer since Rowan spent the last two days taking care of Nova. It makes me smile harder.

“Why didn’t you take me home?” Nova asks me.

“In case you vomit again. I don’t want you to go through that alone.”

She scrunches her nose.

I check the time. “Rowan, go brush your teeth and get ready for bed.”

“Do I have to?” he grumbles.

I narrow my eyes.

He sighs as if his life would be ten times better without me in it. “

”

“And make sure you shower too! You’ve got paint all over you!”

“Okay!”

Nova pokes one eye open and studies me. “You’re a natural.”

“At what? Nagging?” I ask, pushing the water at her so she can take another sip.

She sits up and allows me to set the glass at her lips. After a few swallows, she pulls back and I set the glass on the coffee table.

“At being a father,” she says.

“Maybe because I am one. Officially. Biologically. All the ‘lys’”

She goes still.

I fish the paternity test out of my back pocket and show it to her. “I got the results today.”

She rolls her eyes. “I knew a long time ago. He has your intelligence. And your good looks.” She ducks after admitting that.

I laugh and rub her leg. “Does he?”

“No, I take it back. He probably got his looks from his mom.”

I bark out another laugh.

Nova smiles sweetly. “I told you not to waste money on that thing. It would have been better spent on Rowan’s bedroom.”

“I do plan to renovate his room soon,” I assure her.

“Do you… feel any different?” Nova asks. “Now that you have proof that he’s yours?”

I rub circles on her leg. “No. Actually, I…” I notice a shadow in the mouth of the hallway. It looks suspiciously like a tall, gangly, eleven-year-old boy.

“You what?” Nova prods.

Aware that Rowan is eavesdropping, I speak from the heart, “He’s not as bad as I thought he’d be. I enjoy having him around. In fact, I’d be kind of bummed if he had to leave. Who else would blow up my kitchen with flour and banana peels?”

Nova laughs.

I hear a chuckle from the hallway too.

“So you’re happy?” Nova asks.

“I am.” I notice the shadow disappear. Turning to Nova again, I lean closer. “But you know what would make me even happier?”

“What?”

“Go out on a date with me tomorrow.”

She tugs her bottom lip into her mouth and chews nervously.

I wait for her, holding my breath until…

“Okay,” she agrees.

.

“But no wine.”

I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss her wrist. “It’ll be a liquor free zone. I promise.”

Bright sunshine dusts the road ahead of us.

The scent of Nova’s flowery perfume is filling the truck.

To my right, brightly-painted toes are tapping to the music coming from my busted radio. I don’t think I’ve seen anything sexier than Nova with red nail polish.

Fabric rustles as Nova adjusts her skirt. She’s wearing a sexy little green number that clings to her body and makes it hard to think.

The sound of her light breathing has me pulling at my collar. She smells good. Really good. I feel hot all over and it’s only been ten minutes since she got into the car.

“Are you okay?” Nova asks. When I don’t respond, she punches the radio off and asks in a confused voice, “Adam.”

“You’re killing me, darlin’.”

“Me?”

“Forget it.”

She gives me a surveying look.

Nova Delaney is in my front seat. She’s looking at me like I’m a lunatic, but she’s here.

To prove I’m not dreaming, I lift her hand and kiss the back of it.

My mouth skates against warm, dark-brown skin.

I’m awake.

Holy crap.

Nova adjusts her sunglasses. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” I mutter, trying not to get distracted by her sexy mouth. Every little thing she’s doing is sending heat straight to my pants.

It feels like we’re stretching out the obvious.

Last night, I wanted to throw Nova into my bed and roll her under me. Instead, I got dungeoned to the couch while she took my room.

The next morning, I woke up early, but Nova was already gone. At first, I was disappointed. Until I saw that she left a note telling me to pick her up from home.

I was scared she was going to walk back what she said yesterday, call it drunken ramblings and try to draw the line again. It was a relief to see that she was still willing to go on the date.

Rowan’s with Dejonae, Sazuki and Niko.

We’ve got the entire day to ourselves and I plan to make it a day to remember.

Twenty minutes later, I pull the truck in front of a colorful warehouse.

Nova frowns in confusion. “What is this place?”

“You’ll see.” I hurry around the car and open the door for her.

Nova steps on the runner. She’s in heels again, something I noticed but didn’t scold her about. If wearing stilettos makes her feel good then I’ll let her ignore the doctor’s orders. For now.

“So mysterious,” Nova teases.

I smile. Rather than allow her to get down on her own, I hug her to me and let her down slowly.

Her body slides against mine, soft and tempting. When her front brushes my pants, I nearly moan. This wasn’t supposed to be torturing me, but it turns out I’m the one who can’t handle the heat. It burns like a damn bonfire.

I’m a pool of liquid silver and throbbing need by the time Nova’s heels hit the ground.

Unable to resist, I bend down to kiss her, but my cap knocks into her forehead and jolts me back.

“You okay?” I ask, rubbing her skin in case she’s hurt.

She leans toward me, her body lithe and supple. “Wait a second, Adam, I’ve thought a lot about how to solve this problem.”

“Oh, have you?”

Rather than answer, she reaches up and turns the bill of my cap backward. “There. That should—”

I push her up by the waist to meet my hungry mouth. The distance between us is demolished with the fierceness of a nuclear explosion. I move her back a step and hear the faint thud of her body hitting the back door as I pin her against the truck.

She gasps but doesn’t break the kiss.

I reward her by looting every inch of her mouth.

Her mouth.

My Achilles heel.

My undoing.

I’m freaking .

She tastes like strawberries drenched in honey, sweet and hot and alluring.

Nova slides her hands over the back of my neck and pulls me into her. The little whimper she releases when I plunge my tongue in her mouth is magic. Her breath is hot against my face, and I can’t freaking stop.

I’ve been craving her for seven years.

Seven.

Long.

Years.

I can’t keep my hands off her.

But if I’m a desperate monster, she’s my partner in debauchery. Her fingers sail through my hair. Her tongue spars with my own like two Spartans in a ring. Each heady sound that escapes her makes me painfully aware of how close I am to tearing her clothes off in broad daylight.

Forget public indecency charges.

I either slip my hand up her skirt or die where I stand.

Impossible.

Whatever fire’s stirring inside me, she’s fanning the flames like a deranged arsonist. Every sweep of her tongue, every movement of her lips, every arch of her body encourages me to burn all the way down to ashes.

Is this what loving Nova in the light is like?

Is this what it means to free my heart from the shadows and give it room to beat for her?

All this destruction?

All this heat?

All this wanting?

My pulse picks up.

I have to stop this if we plan on actually going on the date.

I have to reel myself in. I’ve done it for almost a decade, one more day can’t hurt, right?

Snarling at my chaperone of a brain, I inch back while still keeping Nova pinned to the car. The pulse in my pants is screaming to abandon the schedule and just throw her in the backseat. Drag her knees up to her ears. Hold her in place while I make the car rock and squeal and protest.

I dig my fingers over her hips because her rubbing on me isn’t helping to keep me on task.

Nova gives me a little smile when she kisses the corner of my mouth, like she knows what she does to me and finds it amusing.

.

She’s filleting me like a chef, nudging me open with those soft, sweet kisses on my face. But her eyes are anything but sweet. They’re glowing, glazed, dilated and framed by all those gorgeous black curls—her own personal halo.

“Adam,” she parts her swollen lips, her lipstick already smeared and fading, “you didn’t have to bring me to an empty parking lot to touch me. We could have done all this at home.”

“Uh, no. That’s not…” I want to stay here, hugging and kissing Nova all day instead of going inside, but we’re on a schedule. Taking a harsh breath, I tear away from her.

While I adjust myself, she pops out a little mirror and fixes her makeup.

“Come on.” I reach back, grab her hand and lead her into the warehouse.

The doors slide apart automatically and then we’re walking into an air-conditioned store. The inside is way more appealing than the outside. The walls are painted blue and purple. There are long shelves filled with every kind of stationary imaginable.

Nova snaps her sunglasses off and I see her eyes lighting up like a kid at Christmas.

“Adam…” she says in a warning voice.

“This is a stationary emporium. The biggest one in the state.”

“What?” Her smile broadens. “I’ve wanted to come here forever, but I’ve never had time.” She stops and glances around. “Where is everyone? I heard this place was always packed.”

I clear my throat. “Today must be a slow day.”

“It’s Saturday.”

I blink innocently.

She tilts her head up at me. “Adam, did you shut this place down for me?”

I shrug.

“That’s so excessive!” she gasps.

“I want you to have the best. You deserve that, Nova.”

Her face is unreadable for a second.

Then she moves toward me.

One step.

Two.

Her hand lands in the collar of my flannel jacket and then she’s pulling me down. I’m too impatient to wait for her lips, so I’m the one who dives in, my eager mouth claiming hers.

I slide my hand up her back, skating against fabric and warm skin and pushing her into me.

For several moments, Nova kisses me, breathes my air and makes my chest ache with happiness.

Then she breaks away and her excited smile nearly knocks me back a step.

“Grab a basket.”

I realize we’re going to need more than a basket in about one minute flat.

In two minutes, I realize I’ve unleashed a monster.

Nova darts around the store like a zombie butterfly in a flower garden. She finds the weirdest pieces of stationary interesting—pens, index cards, notebooks, pencil holders.

By the third row, I’m as bored as a child in the curtain aisle, but Nova moves like someone lit a fire under her.

We’ve got two attendants pushing shopping carts behind us by the time an hour is up.

“Are you sure we have to go?” Nova groans.

I check my watch. I hadn’t anticipated how much she’d like this surprise. We’ll be late if we don’t hurry. “Yes.”

We check out and I set my card on the counter before Nova can do something as foolish as try to pay.

The number that displays nearly breaks the cash register.

“I can’t believe I’m spending so much on stationary.” I shake my head as I shove the purchases in the backseat of my car.

“I’ll use all of it.”

“I know you will.” I shut the door and slide my hands around her waist. “Should I just buy you the entire store?”

“Let’s not get carried away.” She laughs.

My phone alarm goes off.

As much as I want to kiss the life out of her, we really have to go.

My second surprise takes us to the airport for the private jet I rented. Nova’s been traveling with me before, but this time is different.

We’re on a date.

We’re together.

After all the years I’ve been pining for her, it’s go big or go home.

I don’t tell her where we’re going, but she figures it out when she sees the Eiffel Tower.

We have lunch at the diner that we’d stumbled on during a business meeting. I clean Nova’s mouth with my thumb and she holds my hand as we stroll to find a gift for Rowan. We settle on an easel and paint set and take it back on the plane with us.

On the way, Nova rests her head on my shoulder and takes a nap. I press my lips to her temple, marveling at how different our last plane ride was from this one.

That time, we went with Dejonae and Sazuki. It was torture watching Sazuki and his girlfriend be all lovey-dovey when I couldn’t even touch Nova.

Now, I slide my fingers over her face and enjoy that I can touch her as much as I want.

In the pick-up truck later, Nova gives me a tired smile. “That was amazing.”

“Hold on. It’s not over yet.”

“Adam, what could you possibly do to top the stationary emporium?”

“And Paris?”

“And Paris,” she adds as an afterthought.

I laugh. Can this woman be any more endearing? I have no idea why people think Nova is ‘scary’. She’s a sweetheart and a cutie and my girl.

My woman.

Mine, mine, mine.

I stop the car in front of the manor and climb out in anticipation.

Just then, my phone buzzes.

I pluck it out of my pocket and check the screen.

It’s a message from Clay Bolton.

My blood turns to ice when I scan the text.

It’s an address.

And then three brutal words.