Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
“Please, no need to be so formal. Call me Christian.”
Although she declined my assistance, I still hold out my hand.
She raises an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of me, before finally handing over the finicky suitcase. “Okay, sure. Thanks…Christian.”
“Of course,” I say in a low voice.
I don’t bother trying to get the handle to go down as I head back up the stairs, listening for Eden’s footsteps behind me.
“Brittany,” I call out once I’m back on the plane. When she finally takes out her earbuds, I continue, “This is Petra and Eden.”
I gesture to both women, who offer polite smiles to Brittany as their gazes roam the cabin.
Brittany’s lip curls as she mutters, “Hey,” before plugging back into her phone. I sigh with irritation at her cold reception of Petra and Eden.
I sigh. “Please excuse my daughter. She’ll warm up to you, she’s just…tired.”
Fortunately, the other women appear to be too distracted by the luxury around them to notice my daughter’s rudeness.
“This is your plane?” Eden asks with wide-eyed amazement.
“It is, indeed. Please, take any seat you’d like,” I say, trying to ease the tension. “We’ll be taking off shortly.”
Petra’s balance wavers as she moves forward. Eden jumps to her aid without a word, wrapping an arm around her mother’s shoulders. Once they’re seated, Eden points out the window.
“Look, Mom,” she says. “See the geese? I bet they’re migrating south for the winter.”
When Petra turns to glance out the window, Eden snaps her mother’s seatbelt low and snug on her waist.
I’m more than a little impressed at Eden’s consideration for her mother’s dignity, how she steps in to help Petra without letting her feel like a burden.
“Why don’t you take a nap?” Eden says. “I’ll wake you when it’s time to take your pills.”
Petra’s eyes are already closed when she sighs the words, “All right, darling.”
I sit down across from them, pulling my own seatbelt into place.
Eden glances over and catches me watching the two of them. She tucks some of her wavy hair behind her ear. “My mom told me we were going to a beach resort somewhere in the Virgin Islands. Where exactly are we going, Mr. Montgomery?”
“I told you to just call me Christian.”
She smiles shyly. “Right, sorry. Christian.”
I quirk my lips into a half smile. “It’s no problem, Eden. And we’re going to St. Thomas. I’ve booked us a couple of rooms at the Ritz Carlton there.”
“The Ritz Carlton? That sounds really fancy.”
“It’s a very nice hotel.” I recall a time when I, too, was unfamiliar with luxury. Before I started my first company, I was a regular guy working a nine to five. Before that, I was a foster kid. I know what it’s like to walk into a room and know that the carpets are worth more than I made in a year.
Judging by the apprehension on her face, I suspect Eden is thinking something similar about this trip.
“Christian, it was very kind of you to invite us on your vacation. But you really didn’t have to—”
I raise my hand to stop her. “I promise, it’s all right. I think after the difficult time you both have had that you’re allowed to be pampered for a bit.”
She relaxes back into her seat with a furrowed brow. I have to stop myself from reaching out to smooth the worry from her gorgeous face.
The pilot pokes his head into the cabin to tell us we’re taking off. I notice Eden’s vice grip on the armrest.
“Is this your first time?” I ask.
Her gaze snaps back to mine.
“What?”
“Your first time flying,” I clarify.
“Is it that obvious?”
I chuckle softly. “Just a guess. Your mother tells me you graduated high school with honors last spring,” I say, changing the subject to distract her from the fact that we’re about to ascend thousands of feet into the air. “Where are you attending college?”
“I’m not,” she says. “I’m…taking a year off.”
“Of course. I’m sure your father’s loss has been hard on you.”
“That’s not the reason,” she says, a bit too firmly.
She closes her eyes as we speed down the runway. I just have to keep her talking a little while longer.
“Have you thought about where you might like to apply?”
“Um…a little.” She spares a glance at her mother, who continues to doze soundly as the jet lifts into the air. “Johns Hopkins has a really good pre-med program.”
“You want to go to medical school?” I ask, impressed. She nods. “That’s quite admirable.”
The pink returns to her cheeks.
“Not really. I just want to help people.”
People like your mother, I think to myself. I study the girl in front of me. She’s been through a lot in such a short time. Her mother’s illness, losing her father, having her home and everything in it taken from her as a result of her father’s misdeeds. Yet, here she sits, the picture of self-sacrifice and generosity. I bet she deferred college to care for her mother.