Aiden picks me up on time. This time, we have a driver who helps me with my bag. Aiden just stands near the car and takes me into his arms.

“You’re not going to need this,” he whispers, petting my thick winter coat with his hands.

“Well, it’s freezing out here and I didn’t want to be cold when we came back.”

“And what if we don’t?”

“Ever come back?”

“Yep.” He presses his lips onto mine. “What if we decide to just stay and live on the yacht? Maybe go all the way across the Atlantic and then around the world.”

I consider that for a moment. “That does sound…nice.”

“Let’s do it then,” he says, kissing my hand. I smile at him. “Let’s just see how it goes at first.”

I’m not sure why I’m hesitating. I don’t really have anything to come back to here. My relationship with my mom and Mitch is a bit on the rocks and I don’t really have the strength to try to make it any better. I can write and publish from anywhere. The only thing that I do have is Caroline. I hate to admit it, but one of the main reasons I want to go on this trip is to get away from her. I hate how helpless I feel around her. I want to do something to make her better, but everything I do is futile. Nothing seems to help one bit.

“I need to come back for Caroline’s trial.”

“Yes, of course.” Aiden nods. The expression on his face immediately turns sour.

“You might need to testify, too.”

“Of course.”

We ride in silence for a while.

“How is she?” he asks.

“I don’t really know. She doesn’t talk much. She seems better, but she might be just pretending. I have no idea.”

Caroline isn’t much of a pretender. She’s a sharer - an over-sharer. This is the girl who told me every sordid detail about her sex life without batting an eye. And yet, I have no idea how she’s really coping with what happened in Maine. Or with the upcoming trial.

“She said she’s going to visit her family while I’m away.”

“That’s good.”

Caroline doesn’t have the best relationship with her family. Her mom is quite self-centered and I doubt that she would be much help in this type of situation. Still, I’m glad that she’s getting out of the house and doing something.

“I sort of feel guilty leaving her.”

“I’m sorry. I guess you can invite her along,” Aiden says.

I look over at him. “Really?”

He nods.

“I never considered that.”

“Well, consider it now.”

Inviting Caroline will make this whole situation much less of a fun trip. I mean, if she was the old Caroline, maybe I would consider it.

“What?” Aiden asks.

“I’m just touched by your offer.” I pick up his hand and kiss it. “I mean, you don’t have to invite her and I really appreciate it.”

“Listen, I know that she has been through a lot. And none of what she went through is fair. Tom is a huge asshole and I can’t wait to see him get convicted in court for everything that he has done. And I know that she’s your best friend, so why not?”

I pat Aiden on the knee. “I don’t think she will be into it,” I say after a moment. “Besides, I’m not sure that you really know what you’re offering at this point.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Caroline is fun, but not this version of Caroline. Now, she’s mopey and depressed and not someone who you want accompanying you on a sexcapade.”

“Sexcapade?” Aiden asks. “Did I hear you correctly? Is that what you’re doing?”

“I figure.” I shrug and flash him a coy smile. “I think we’re due for some fun. And what better place than your yacht, right?”

---

The town car drops us off at a private airport where two large men who look like really high-end bodyguards help us with our bags. I walk up the open-air stairs toward the door of a luxurious airplane, the likes of which I’ve only seen in movies.

“Is this yours?”

“Not anymore, unfortunately. Now, it’s just a rental.”

Hmm, a rental? I had no idea that private airplanes could be rented. I enter the cabin and my mouth drops open. The seats are wide and spacious and fold all the way back like they do in very upscale movie theaters. The floors are hardwood and there’s enough space in the place to do cartwheels.

“This plane is amazing,” I whisper in awe.

“Yes, it’s a bit different than flying coach, isn’t it?”

A flight attendant, who introduces herself as Alexa, asks us what we would like to drink.

“I’m not sure,” I say shyly. I’m sort of craving some alcohol to really kick off this trip, but I’m not sure if they have any available.

“I’d like an old-fashioned, please,” Aiden says. Alexa has long toned legs and breasts which are natural and to die for, but he barely blinks an eye. “Ellie? You want a cocktail?”

“Yes…a mojito please.”

Alexa comes back in a few minutes with both of our drinks. Taking a sip of mine, I lose myself in the moment as the refreshing mint mixed with rum runs down the back of my throat.

“This is delicious,” I say.

A few moments later, we take off. The ascent is so smooth, I barely notice a thing until my ears pop. Instead, I drink more of my mojito and stare into Aiden’s piercing eyes.

“So, are you going to tell me where we are headed?” I ask once we are cruising at thirty-thousand feet.

“Nope,” Aiden says with a wide smile across his face.

“Really?”

“Really. All you have to know is that we’re headed where my yacht is waiting for us.”

---

***

---

A few hours later, we land at a private airport in the middle of the night and take a helicopter to his yacht. Someone from the staff takes our bags to his stateroom while Aiden invites me out onto the top deck to look at the stars. I lean into his shoulder and look up. We stand here, looking up at the sparkling sky and the bright yellow moon above without saying a word.

I listen to Aiden inhale and exhale deeply and smile. He looks down at me with admiration. I close my eyes and enjoy the gaze that washes over me. I want to stay in this moment forever. Somewhere in the distance, I hear the soothing voice of Adele belting out another song about heartbreak.

I look up at him. I admire his chiseled jaw and his luscious lips. He exhales deeply, bringing me closer. Another inhale and I’m his. He pulls me toward him and presses his lips to mine. His tongue brushes against the inside of my lower lip. My hands move up his neck and bury themselves in his thick luscious hair. When I tug a little, he moans in pleasure.

His hand presses on the small of my back and I sense that familiar hardness through his immaculate gray suit. I pull his body against mine and let him hold me as if he has no intention of ever letting me go.

A cool breeze comes off the ocean, swirling around us. We are standing perfectly still, but I suddenly feel as if I’m falling. No, it’s as if I have jumped. From a very great height. I’m falling and the ground is getting closer and closer, and the only thing that can stop me from colliding with it is him. His love. This feeling of exhilaration consumes me.

Aiden whispers my name, sending shivers up my spine. There’s a longing in his voice. I feel him wanting me. Craving me. As much as I want him. Perhaps no one has ever wanted me more than he does right now.

When I look up at him, I’m faced with a familiar expression of darkness mixed with light.