Enchanted (The Accidental Billionaires #4)(69)

She grabbed her purse from the lounge chair and fumbled for her keys. “You know why,” she said stoically as she drew her keys from her bag. “Please don’t try to make it out to be nothing.”

To me, whatever her reason was for disliking me, it was nothing, because I couldn’t remember doing a damn thing to make her want to ignore me.

I’d gone away to Boston still not understanding what had happened to make her change so much that last month of high school.

Honestly, I’d been more than a little hurt by her actions.

I’d talked to Andie about it, but she hadn’t had a clue why Layla was acting so strange.

“Never mind,” Layla said snippily. “It was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter.”

“Don’t go, Layla,” I said, wishing she’d stay.

To tell the truth, I’d missed her. Maybe I hadn’t realized just how much until I’d seen her again.

Or maybe I’d blocked it out because there was nothing I could do about it in Boston, when she was back here in California.

She pinned me with a laser-sharp look. “I’ll see you Monday in the office, Dr. Sinclair.”

I stood in the middle of the patio as she sashayed toward the sliding doors and disappeared inside.

What. The. Hell.

It wasn’t like I could run after her and demand she explain herself. Could I?

I shook my head as I realized that was exactly what I wanted to do.

I forced myself to stay put until I knew she was probably gone, and then I walked toward the grill to see if there was anything left to eat.

I absolutely refused to jog after her like we were still high-school kids, and beg her to tell me what was wrong.

Not that I was giving up on getting to the bottom of her animosity.

I’d just have to find a different way to get her to talk.





CHAPTER 30

ANDIE



“Where are we going?” I said, laughing as Noah gently nudged me up the steps of his new jet.

“I’ll tell you once we’re airborne,” he answered, still not giving me any hints of where we’d end up on the maiden journey of his new aircraft.

Not that I really cared.

I’d go anywhere with this man who I loved.

I sighed as we arrived inside the plane. The basic layout was much like Eli Stone’s, but the décor was very different.

Instead of a bar, Noah had installed an open yoga studio, with all of the accessories.

There was a comfy seating area with a sofa and chairs, and leather recliners for takeoff.

I slipped into my seat for takeoff, and Noah sat down next to me.

I breathed in and wallowed in the smell of new leather.

“It’s amazing,” I told him as I buckled my seat belt. “Thank you for thinking of me with the yoga area.”

He shrugged once his belt was fastened. “I thought about you while they were planning out all of the décor. We’ll be traveling a lot. I want you to be comfortable.”

I let out a big sigh. There was rarely a time that Noah wasn’t thinking about me being happy. How could I not love that about him?

“I’m still waiting for you to tell me where we’re going.”

He reached out and took my hand. “Just be still,” he insisted.

I smiled. Noah had tried to learn yoga and meditation, but he’d never really been into it, which was perfectly fine with me.

However, he seemed to love to be still, especially when he didn’t want to talk about something.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t completely true.

He seemed to enjoy those periods of stillness, when we just sat together in the moment, but this one seemed particularly way too well timed.

I was quiet as we took off, just enjoying the kind of peace I could only find when I was with Noah.

When we were together, there was nothing else I wanted, nothing else I really needed.

My world, and everything in it, was perfect.

“You were serious when you said you’d be fine getting married without a big wedding, right?” Noah asked once we were in the air and reached our cruising altitude.

I swallowed hard. “Yes. But I’d never do that.”

Noah and I had talked about marriage, and a possible wedding, but it had been hypothetical since he hadn’t actually asked me to marry him yet.

I’d mentioned that I’d love to just elope, run away somewhere and get married since there would be nobody to sit on the bride’s side of the aisle. My parents were never in Citrus Beach, and I doubted my mother would suddenly decide she wanted to be involved in my life by participating in wedding plans.

Of course, Noah’s side would be overcrowded with all of his family.

I’d meant it as a joke. I would never deny Noah a proper wedding where all of his family could attend.

“Why not?” His tone was curious.

“Noah, your family would never forgive me. They’d all want to see you marry.”

“This isn’t about our family, Andie. It’s about us.” He unfastened his seat belt and got up, only to drop down in front of me.

My breath caught as he drew a red-velvet jewelry box from the pocket of his jeans. “I’ve been carrying this ring around for weeks. I kept waiting for the right time. I guess what I didn’t realize was that it was always the right time because I had the right woman. I hope you’re ready to take it.”