Beyond These Walls (The Walls Duet #2)(36)

I zipped the last of our luggage and dropped it by the door. Returning to the master suite, I knelt beside her slumbering figure on the bed. Her light-blonde hair fell around her face like straw. Tiny puffs of air moved in and out of her perfectly shaped lips.

Sometimes, when work got the best of me and I returned home later than I wished, I would see her like this—in bed, her hands curled around her face that held a look of serene peacefulness. I’d find myself unable to stir her, unwilling to break the calm cadence of her breath or the gentle ease of her slumber. I’d sit across from her, still fully dressed in my suit and tie, and just watch.

Like the peaceful tide rolling in on an ocean breeze, she was my steadfast tranquility in a world that sometimes seemed to be anything but. When days got hectic and the company seemed to take the life out of me, I knew I could return to her, and she’d right all the wrongs of my life.

Hating myself for having to disrupt her sleep, I carefully lifted a hand and gently stroked her face. She stirred slightly, reaching out to touch my hand in her slumber.

“Hey, angel,” I whispered.

She moved a bit more. Her eyes fluttered and finally opened, focusing on my features.

She smiled. “Hi,” she said hoarsely.

“Good morning, beautiful.”

Her lids shut once more, squeezing tight, as she stretched under the covers. “We got married yesterday.” She smiled as her gaze returned to mine.

“Yes, we did.” I grinned from ear to ear. “And today, we’re leaving for our honeymoon.”

Her eyes widened in excitement. “Are you finally going to tell me where we’re going?”

I laughed. “No.”

Her mouth turned upside down into a pout.

“But I’ll show you. Get dressed. I put your clothes there.” I pointed at the end of the bed. “And I left a toothbrush and your pills out for you.”

She sat up, rubbing her eyes, before her hands went to her hair. A frown appeared on her face as she felt the massive rat’s nest that we’d managed to create while rolling around the sheets all night.

“Do I get to shower?”

“No. Sorry. But there’s a brush in the bathroom.”

She looked at me like I was insane.

With the crazy hair and sleepy eyes, it was kind of cute, and I tried to contain my chuckling.

“We’ll be late if we don’t hurry. I’ll make it up to you. I promise!” I exclaimed as a pillow sailed in my direction.

I didn’t bother covering up the deep laughter that followed as I watched her stomp, bare ass naked, into the bathroom.

“When you said we needed to hurry so that we wouldn’t miss our flight, this isn’t what I had in mind,” Lailah said. Her mouth nearly dropped to the floor of the stretched limo as we passed the regular airport completely and pulled into a private hangar.

“I didn’t say what kind of flight we were trying to make.”

“This is . . . I don’t even have words.” Her head whipped around as she took in the private plane we would soon be boarding.

“See? I told you I’d make it up to you,” I said, winking, as I reached for the handle to hop out.

She followed my lead, neither of us bothering to wait for the chauffeur.

“I figured that meant you’d buy me some dry shampoo and a sweatshirt at the airport between flights, not a freaking private plane. Wait . . . does this thing have a shower on it? Is that why you wanted me to skip it?” She walked beside me, grabbing my arm before linking our hands.

“Maybe.” I laughed.

Incoherent gibberish followed.

I couldn’t tell if she was excited or pissed. Maybe it was a little of both, but she kept a hold of me as we made our way toward the plane.

The presence of money in our relationship still scared the shit out of Lailah. Raised with very little, it was hard for her to see so much of it go to waste. But in my mind, she was priceless. It wasn’t about being frivolous or extravagant to me. We had the money, so if I could give her the best of something, why wouldn’t I? Why wouldn’t any man do that for the woman he loved?

Ready to greet us was our flight attendant, a young brunette who stood a bit straighter when her eyes met mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lailah reach up and smooth out her hair once again, obviously not happy with her early morning appearance.

I personally thought her hair looked spectacular, but then I was the one who had messed it up.

A sly grin tugged at my lips as visions of our wedding night flooded my brain until an elbow to the ribs brought me back to reality.

“Pervert.”

Laughing, I stopped steps away from where we’d board the plane and grabbed her hand. I kissed it, hoping to calm any nervousness she might have. A shy smile surfaced.

“You could have at least given me something better than sweats,” she teased, looking up at the flight attendant in her perfectly pressed uniform.

“You are stunning in anything, Mrs. Cavanaugh. Come on. We have places to go—”

“And things to do?” She smirked after finishing my sentence.

“Definitely things to do.”

“Race you to the top?” she challenged, a flirtatious grin appearing across her eager face.

As I began to reply, she was already running, racing up the stairs, before I had the chance to form a single word.