“I still can’t believe you’re going to London before I am.”

Natalie watched me pack for my trip to Europe with a look of mingled jealousy and disbelief.

“Me too.”

When I got home from the winery, I couldn’t take holding it all back, and wound up telling Natalie everything. I made her swear a hundred oaths not to divulge anything to anyone ever on pain of death. She would find out soon because Luke made it clear the tabloids would print pictures of us together.

Sure enough, I found a blurry photo of Luke and I leaving Opus One hand in hand, with the caption underneath: Luke Pardini leaving Opus One with blonde bombshell. I laughed at that.

Blonde bombshell? Me? Yeah, right.

"So long as you keep your feelings in check, you'll be fine." It was evident from Natalie's tone that she didn't expect me to. "I really wish you weren't leaving before Thanksgiving. Won't your friends miss you?"

My cheeks flushed at the mention of the lie I told Natalie about finding a group of people I celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with. I crammed a few socks into my suitcase.

“I lied about the friends. I spend every year at the soup kitchen and then I go home alone. This will probably be the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had. Don’t worry about me.”

A hollow silence followed my words. When I finally gathered enough courage to look at her, Natalie’s stricken face gave me a stab of guilt.

“Why did you lie to me? I asked you a hundred times, and you always said no.”

“I didn’t want to go because I thought you and Ben wanted time alone. It's weird being the third wheel.”

Natalie opened her mouth, but I changed tack with lightning speed. “I’ll be able to wire you rent money from abroad, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“I hope everything will be okay.”

I wished that she would give it a rest with the whole prostitution thing. “I’ve told you a thousand times, I’m not going to trade sexual favors for money.”

“I’m not talking about that. What if you legitimately fall in love with this guy? He’ll break your heart. You’re already smitten.”

Who cares? I’m making ten thousand dollars a month.

“We have chemistry,” I shrugged. “I’m not going to avoid this amazing experience just because something bad might happen. I’ll probably never have this opportunity again.”

Natalie relented. “Well, I hope it’s worth it.”

The doorbell rang. “Who’s that?”

Flustered, she ran to answer the door. “Ben. We wanted to have dinner—” she opened the door. “Hi, honey!”

Ben’s voice boomed through the apartment, and I abandoned my packing with a sigh. A plastic smile on my face, I went to greet Natalie’s boyfriend.

“Hey, Ben. How’s life?”

“Good!”

Tall with Norwegian features like fair skin and blonde hair, Ben’s blue eyes sparked as he swept me into a hug.

“So, I heard that you’re dating a billionaire?”

He cackled as I glared at Natalie. “How’s the law firm?”

Lucky for me, he happily seized on the topic and talked about it for a while. Still filled with anxiety over the trip, I tried my best enjoy the rest of the night. Tomorrow, Luke’s driver would bring me to SFO. He also paid for my passport’s rush processing, and it arrived on Monday. Until a courier dropped off the one-way ticket from San Francisco International to Heathrow. 

I’ve never been on a plane. It was going to be awesome.

After Ben had left, I finished packing, and triple checked everything. Unsure about the length of the trip, I filled two suitcases and a backpack. I was ready to leave hours before the driver came the next morning, and Natalie worked from home. She didn't help matters by constantly fussing over me.

“Where’s your ticket? Did you pack your passport?”

I quadruple-checked my backpack. “They’re both here.” It was ten o’clock, the time Luke said he would pick me up. What if he changed his mind?

“Chapstick?”

My stomach lurched. Crap. “I don’t know.” I sprinted to the bathroom and skidded to a halt as the doorbell rang.

Natalie bolted to the door and wrenched it open.

A pleasant, deep voice filled the room. “Hello, you must be Natalie. It’s a pleasure.”

Luke’s voice echoed down the hallway, and I jumped. I rummaged through my drawer and seized a tiny tube, and then I walked toward them both, my heart hammering my ribs.

Natalie was taken aback. She replied back a few seconds later than she should have. “Nice to meet you.”

He was looking hot as usual. I had never seen him wear jeans, but he wore a fitted pair that showed off his long, muscled legs and a shirt that made me want to run my hands all over his body. He smiled at me over Natalie’s shoulder. “Ready to go?”

Mute, Natalie turned around with her face frozen in impolite shock.

He’s a dreamboat. I nodded at him.

He looked bemused by our muteness. “Um, I’ll just get your bags.” He stepped in and grabbed one of the suitcases. He turned around to reveal a perfectly carved ass.

“God,” I moaned as I watched him load the suitcase in the car.

“You weren’t kidding,” she commented in a breathless, dreamy sigh.

The driver took my luggage from my hands and hurried down the steps to help Luke.

“I guess this is it,” I said as Natalie’s eyes misted over, and a lump formed in my throat in response. “If you cry, I’ll cry.”

She seized my neck painfully and pulled me into a fierce hug. “I’m not crying,” she said in a thick voice. “Call me when you get there and be safe for God’s sake.”

Luke climbed up the steps with the same grin. “Don't worry. It was nice meeting you, Natalie.”

I gently disengaged myself from Natalie’s death grip and shouldered my backpack. “I hope you have a good holiday. I’ll be back soon.”

I took Luke’s outstretched hand and descended the steps, turning to smile and wave at Natalie’s panicked face. Once inside, I moved over the smooth leather interior for Luke.

Instead of the town car, Luke had arrived in a limousine. It looked wildly out of place in this shitty neighborhood. Across the street, a woman sitting in her plastic lawn chair stared at us, the cigarette burning in her fingertips. I shook my head and gazed at the interior. A dark glass partition separated the driver from us. There was a champagne bottle on ice in the limo, TV screens, and blinking yellow lights on the ceiling.

This is so cool.

The ugly streets of Concord rolled by the long window. Was I really leaving it all behind? I looked around at Luke, whose arm was stretched over the leather. He was studying me quietly, perhaps regretting the whole thing. 

“We should come up with a back-story for ourselves. People are bound to ask.”

“Before we do that, I want to make something clear.” Any hint of humor dropped from his face. “This will never be anything more than a business relationship.”

“I know that.” I raised my eyebrow. Where was this coming from? Was my attraction to him that obvious? “What makes you think I want to be with you?”

Now he looked like he had been punched in the gut.

Yeah, serves you right, you pompous jerk.

He quickly recovered and a smug grin flashed on his face. “Don’t you?”

Electricity shot up my spine; I was in dangerous territory. “Maybe I wouldn’t want to be talked down to all the time by your old boy network, boarding school buddies. Or your family.”

He looked stung. I was joking, but perhaps there was a little too much truth to what I said.

“No one would do that while you were with me.”

“Of course not.”

The silence stretched between us as I cringed, waiting for him to reprimand me or do whatever it was billionaires did to their inferiors.

You shouldn’t talk to him like this. He’s not your buddy.

“You’re very blunt.”

An apology was already falling from my lips, but Luke silenced me with a reassuring nod.

“I like it, even though it might be a little hurtful. I’m usually surrounded by sycophants. I expected you to be one of them.”

“Do you want me to be a sycophant in front of other people?”

He shook his head and laughed. “Just be yourself.”

Be myself? Was he crazy? “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Jessica, I picked you because I like the way you are. They’ll understand that. The only thing is we need to come up with a background.”

I tried to bury the glow in my chest. “Well, I could use Natalie’s. It would be easy to remember. Her parents are both dentists. Their names are Rita and Tom.”

Luke nodded as he typed something on his smartphone. "My father's name is Giacomo."

Giacomo Pardini. I committed it to memory. “What about your mom?”

“Mary,” he said stiffly.

A shadow crossed over his face, and I was afraid to ask more.

Looks like I’m not the only one who doesn’t like talking about myself, I thought as Luke’s frown became even more pronounced.

I glanced outside and was startled to discover that we were already driving over the new Bay Bridge.

Soon, I’ll be sitting on a jet with nothing between me and the ground but thousands of feet.

“What airline are we taking? It didn’t say on the ticket.”

He looked at me as though I had made a poor joke. “It’s my private plane.”

Oh, right. I felt a stab of nerves as the limo rolled into SFO. “I suppose this would be a bad time to mention that I’ve never flown before?”

“You have got to be kidding.” He scowled when he realized I was serious. “Shit.” He ironed his face with his hands and then suddenly his head perked up. “Please excuse my language.”

I didn’t know whether I wanted to laugh or yell.

“Hey, I’m not terrified of planes or anything, I’m just saying that I’ve never flown before. Whoa—”

A wall of people holding cameras blocked our exit from the car, madly clicking away. Holy shit.

“Paparazzi?”

“Yeah. Look alive,” said Luke in a neutral voice.

Apparently, he was used to this sort of thing.

It was daylight, so at least we didn't have to walk into blinding camera flashes. The driver opened the door, and their screams blasted into the car, which had been silent only a moment ago. He slid out first.

“Mr. Pardini!”

“Luke, what do you have to say about the merger with Hilton Hotels?”

I took Luke’s hand as I got out. The horde of paparazzi closed in and shouted his name, demanding to know where we were going and what was his opinion and who was the girl standing next to him? I clung to Luke instinctively and shrank from the men closing around us. He tugged my arm, but I was afraid to squeeze between the clustered people.

I met his puzzled, blue eyes and his expression became one of concern. He pulled me against his chest, and I loved his protective heat, and as Luke walked they parted from him. He said nothing to the screaming voices but beamed at them as if posing for a photograph. A light flickered inside my head, and I grabbed Luke's shirt, forcing him to stop. Before he uttered a word, I hooked my hand around his neck and crushed my lips against his.

They want a picture? I’ll give them some juicy gossip. I imagined the headlines: Luke Pardini Seen Kissing Blonde Trollop at SFO!

Okay, they probably wouldn’t use that word.

Heat simmered in my chest, and I heard them still clicking away, shoving their cameras in our faces, but I didn't care. I just wanted to cling onto him and savor the moment for as long as possible. My hand rested on his chest, and I felt his lean muscles under my fingers. I raked them through his thick hair, and when we finally broke, it was to breathe.

I didn't know why I did it, but my hand slid down his body and around his abdomen. He was so fucking hot that I wasn't really thinking straight, and I lightly stroked the curve of his ass. His nostrils flared, and his eyes smoldered. He laughed a bit into my lips and pinched my waist with his fingers. I snapped out of it. I was so caught in the moment that I didn't realize I had taken a flying leap over our professional arrangement and had crossed into the territory of sexual harassment. I couldn't tell if he was turned on or pissed off.

A rush of self-loathing filled my guts.

Jessica, you idiot.

My little ass-grab would be plastered all over the tabloids.

Luke turned away, and plowed through the crowd. The waiting agents at the airport took our bags from the driver who left when Luke handed him an envelope.

“This way, Mr. Pardini.”

He kept a firm grip on my hand as we walked through the airport, and we bypassed the standard security to go through some sort of VIP screening process. As the agents loaded our luggage on the conveyer belt, Luke turned toward me. His cheeks were a bit pink, and it thrilled me. He leaned into me, and I flushed under his accusatory stare.

“So, care to explain what that was all about?”

My face would be stained permanently red. I lowered my gaze. “I was just acting for the cameras.” I cringed at myself as Luke’s dry laughter shook through my body.

“Yes, you certainly were.”

The amount of smugness in his voice should be made illegal.

It was all right, though. At least he wasn't mad. I got a bit carried away, but still, my guilt stayed with me all the way to the small jet was waited for us on the tarmac. I seized Luke's hand, and my nails bit into his palm.

I looked at him in alarm as the driver opened the doors of the Porsche.

“Relax,” he said unhelpfully.

The scream of jet engines echoing throughout the yard, I climbed the steps to the jet. I chose one of the ten white leather seats near the middle, but I couldn’t decide whether the flight would be more terrifying with the window open or closed.

The stewardess practically bowed to Luke as he entered the plane. He spotted me huddled into my seat.

“Jessica, I need to do some work. Will you be fine?”

I waved him off. “Yeah, whatever.”

He chose a seat with a table and reached into his bag to remove his laptop. The door slammed shut and soon after that, a roar of the jet engine rumbled under my thighs.

It’s so loud. Is it supposed to be this loud?

The seatbelt light flared on, and I quickly grabbed the belt, missing the buckle several times in my haste to secure myself.

“So where do they keep the parachutes?” I said to Luke, who looked up from his computer.

“Uh—there are none. There’s a floatation thing under your seat, though.”

What? “Well, that’s stupid. What if there’s an attack or an explosion and we’re plummeting down?”

He looked at me coolly. “Then we’ll die.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“I’m okay with the logic of it.” He shook his head before returning to his laptop screen.

I gripped the sides of my armrests as the plane lurched forward. I had to remind myself that the flight was nine hours long.

Calm the fuck down!

Maybe I'd have one of those mini liquor bottles.

What if I died without saying goodbye to Natalie? I opened my phone and sent her a quick text: Plane’s leaving now. You’ve been an awesome friend. I’ll call you when/if I land.

There. At least Natalie would know how much I cared. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as the plane began to turn. Something bumped into my seat.

It was Luke. He sat down in the adjoining seat to calm me down. It would have been sweet if only he stopped laughing at me.

“This isn’t funny." I reached over and shut the window.

“It is, though.” His voice was strained.

I groaned as the flight attendant spoke over the intercom, telling us to prepare for takeoff.

He broke into fresh peals of laughter as I buried my face in my hands, then Luke lifted the armrest and pulled me into his arms. I relaxed as he snaked his arm around my shoulders. I was nestled between his neck and shoulder. I breathed in the aroma of his cologne. It was incredibly soothing. What would it be like to fall asleep like this, every night?

“I think I know how to distract you.”

It was working. All I thought about was how nice it was to be held. Then the jet suddenly soared forward, and Luke let out a grunt as I seized a handful of his arm.

“There, there. It’ll be all right.”

His fingers were under my chin, making me tilt my head back. Then his soft lips kissed me gently. Desire radiated like a heat lamp, pounding all the way down my abdomen. He pulled back as I responded more passionately.

There was no one here to see us, save for his flight attendants. Why was he toying with me like this? I saw some of my confusion mirrored on his expression.

I buried my face into his chest when the wheels lift off the ground. It was the most curious sensation. At the same time, the weight lifted, pressure increased over my shoulders as we climbed into the sky. Luke reached over and opened the window, revealing a field of blue beneath us.

“See? It’s not so bad.”

“I guess not.”

“How come you’ve never flown?”

I snorted at the question. He might as well have asked why I didn’t own a yacht.

“I grew up poor in foster homes. No one would have flown me anywhere.”

He made a deep sound that rumbled through my back. “How ironic. My dad put me on a plane the moment my mother died.”

Something cold went through me as I imagined a dark-haired nine-year-old boy, surrounded by strangers on an airplane, wiping tears from his eyes.

“How did she die?”

He sighed. “She committed suicide.”

My whole body stiffened. His hand rubbed my shoulder as if I was the one who needed comfort. I wanted so badly to turn around and hug him. Luke’s voice was very even, but I detected a note of resignation.

It would mess with anyone’s head.

“That’s fucking horrible.”

He shrugged. “I’m over it.”

“There’s no way you’re over it,” I blurted. “I’m sorry. I keep trying to filter my thoughts, but it doesn’t work.”

He weakly chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone’s always sucking up to me, hoping I’ll advance their career or give them money or something. I’m sick of it. Besides, you might be right."

“Why don’t you cut ties with people who suck up to you?”

“Because then I’d have to fire a good ninety percent of my employees and cut ties with most of my family. I can’t just do that.”

Sure you can. “Well, I promise I’ll never do that. I wasn't taught manners, for one.” Bringing this up gave me a fresh wave of anxiety. “Seriously, you’re going to have to teach me.”

He leaned in so that his breath whistled in my ear. “Jessica, relax.” He patted my arm. “Sorry, but I need to do some work.”

I left him alone for the rest of the flight. Aside from a few bouts of turbulence, the ride was uneventful. I was excited about the three-course meal but frowned at the small pile of minuscule black balls with the tiniest spoon I ever saw. Next to it was a stack of crackers. I peered at the menu. Caviar.

This is supposed to be a delicacy? It tastes like fishy salt.

The next item was much better. Maine lobster and butternut squash sauce. I devoured the cheery, orange-red lobster and sauce, marveling how buttery it was. Mentally, I was taking notes for the soup kitchen. Getting approval for lobster would be next to impossible. I looked at the menu eagerly for the third course: Princess cake with navel orange marmalade. What the hell was a Princess cake? Was it blessed by an actual princess or something?

I had fun taking pictures of all the courses with my phone, scribbling down in my journal what each one tasted like. Luke barely touched his plates, occasionally looking over to see what I was doing, and perhaps wondering why I got so excited over food.

Now that my anxiety over flying was mostly over, my brain boiled over how I would eventually be confronted with Luke's friends and family. He counted on me to make this work and to convince his father that this romance was real. A rush of warmth filled my cheeks as Luke looked up from his laptop and grinned. I couldn't stop thinking about how he held me in his arms, his eager mouth and hard body. When he smiled at me, my heartbeat galloped ahead.

It’s a bit too real.

I had to keep reminding myself to not get attached. When this was over, Luke and I would go our separate ways.

Get a grip.

Luke returned to sit beside me when we started to land. “Why?” I asked.

“Landings are worse.”

Sure enough, the horrible free-falling motion made my guts clench. I clutched Luke’s hand and squeezed when the plane dropped. He snorted with laughter whenever I let out a high-pitched squeal.

“I’m glad you find my fear so amusing. Didn’t you take an ethics class to become a proper gentleman?”

He tried to force his mouth into a neutral line but failed. "No."

I cringed as we plummeted what seemed to be a hundred more feet, bristling as Luke guffawed at my terror. As the plane made a right turn, London sprawled underneath us in a series of yellow lights.

I’m really here.

After we had landed, a Rolls Royce whisked us off the airplane and dropped us at Heathrow's main terminal. A gaggle of paparazzi stood in the lobby, elbowing each other as soon as they saw Luke. His guards fended them off, but this time, the camera's bright flashes exploded all around me. Clutching Luke's arm, I walked out of Heathrow and inhaled my first breath of London.

I noticed the differences right away: the tiny cars, the black Hackney taxis, and a barrage of languages and English accents. 

Once the paparazzi cleared, we entered into our car and sped toward our hotel. Luke’s hotel. We exited the car in a location that had an uncanny resemblance to New York City’s Times Square. I stared at the screen that wrapped around a building in the middle of two streets, flashing colorful advertisements as a slew of people jostled me down the street. Luke tugged my arm, and I looked up, staring at the giant letters over the hotel lit up like golden candles: PARDINI.

We entered it, the beige marble floors polished so well that I saw my own reflection.

“Good evening, Mr. Pardini.”

The receptionists apparently knew him by name. Luke inclined his head and continued to the elevators. Oh, right.

He doesn’t need to check in. Duh.

I followed him into the elevator as the bellhop rolled our luggage inside.

The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor and opened directly into the suite. My jaw dropped as we walked inside. There was a fully stocked stainless steel kitchen, a spa and indoor pool, a gym, and everything you would ever need. The king sized bed stood on a dais surrounded by glass, which overlooked the whole city. It was incredible.

Luke tipped the bellhop, and he shoved his hands deep into his pockets with an air of uncertainty once we were alone.

“It’s a beautiful room, Luke. I can’t believe this.”

"I'm glad you like it." He rubbed his neck and swept back his hair. "I'm pretty tired, so I think I'll go to bed now. I'll sleep on a couch, and you can have the bed."

“No way,” I protested. “It’s your place. I’d feel guilty making you do that. I should get the couch.”

He smiled wryly and shook his head. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

Arguing this with him was fruitless. He refused to violate his gentlemanly code of ethics.

“We could share the bed. It’s big enough for both of us.” My face grew hot at the idea of sleeping next to his inescapable heat. Maybe he would only wear boxers.

Maybe he would be naked.

A shudder ran through my body.

“As much as I’d like to sleep with you. It’s probably not a good idea.”

The sound of his strained voice and the inevitable flicker of his eyes down my body made my toes curl in pleasure. I wanted this man more than anything in my life. My heart raced as his hand lifted to my face and pulled a stray strand of blonde hair behind my ears.

“Goodnight, Jessica.”

I tossed and turned on the too large bed as though constant movement might dislodge the burning feeling of Luke’s hands and lips from my mind. I was alone with no one real to talk to.

Am I just another one of his paid employees?

My eyes stung from being awake too long, I flipped open my phone and texted a message to Natalie: I got here OK. Have a great holiday. Xoxo Jessica