Beyond These Walls (The Walls Duet #2)(38)

After a breakfast fit for a king, I proposed we head to the bedroom for a nap. My eyebrows might have suggestively waggled a tad. Lailah looked at me before her eyes quickly darted to the flight attendant as she cleaned up our dishes.

Trained to remain invisible unless acknowledged, Brie was used to attending to rock stars and billionaire businessmen. I was sure the wealth of secrets she had locked away was endless and worth a fortune. But being the professional she was, she remained quiet and courteous, disappearing in the back to finish her duties.

“Oh my gosh! Now, she knows we’re going to be in there . . . you know!”

“No, I don’t know. Could you be a little more descriptive, Lailah?” I grinned, leaning back in my chair.

“You suck!” she declared, swiftly rising from her seat to pace across the room.

“Oh, come on! She’s probably seen it all—and then ten times worse than that. She flies with celebrities. We’re probably the most boring flight she’s been on in decades. We need to go in there and have loud monkey sex just to liven things up a bit for her.”

Lailah turned, blankly looking at me. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“About what? The celebrities? No, I’m dead serious. I think Maroon Five was in here last week.”

Her mouth gaped for a minute before she shook her head.

“No, you dork! Not the celebrities—although we’re coming back to that. You seriously just suggested we have sex . . . for our stewardess?”

I laughed. This was fun. “I don’t think the PC term is stewardess anymore. I believe they are called flight attendants now.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“With sex?” I grinned. I jumped from my seat to stalk toward her.

“No, I’m thinking bare hands right now,” she answered. She tried to show anger, but all that came through was a dorky smile.

“All I got from that sentence was bare, so I’m assuming you agree to the sex.”

Her eyes went wide as I stood in front of her. Both of us were primed for attack, but we waited for the other to take the first move.

“What? Jude, no!”

I beat her, bending forward and swiftly hoisting her over my shoulder. It was a bit of a crazy move for a plane in the middle of a flight, but whatever. She was playing difficult, and I had plans—and only four more hours of airtime to execute them.

WELL, THAT DEFINITELY hadn’t been on my list.

But if it had, I’d be checking Become a member of the mile-high club off at this very moment.

I was pretty sure we’d obtained some frequent-flier miles as well.

Wowza.

I shook my head, chuckling under my breath. I shut the water off and stepped out of the shower.

Who takes a shower on a plane?

Well, I just did!

When Jude had woken me up before the crack of dawn this morning, I’d figured it was because we had some ridiculously early commercial flight to catch—probably first-class, knowing Jude. I’d thought I’d be stuck sitting next to some businessman who huffed and puffed every five seconds about one thing or another while the rich kid behind me kicked my chair. I hadn’t flown much, but I’d watched a lot of movies and TV, so between my few experiences and vast knowledge of how media depicted airline travel, this was how I’d expected our day to go.

Movies hadn’t prepared me for reality.

Heck, reality hadn’t prepared me for this.

Who rents a private jet to fly two people to . . . well, wherever we are going?

My husband—that’s who.

I’d met him as a nursing assistant who had little to nothing and watched him grow into Jude Cavanaugh, heir to a financial dynasty, yet he hadn’t changed—not where it mattered.

Back in the days when he had worn scrubs and checked vitals for a living, he still would have given me anything.

He had actually.

He’d brought me pudding cups during every lunch break he had. When I had been sick, he’d even taken unpaid days off to stay in my room and nurse me back to health even though others had tried to kick him out. And when the insurance company had turned me down, he had given up everything to get my new heart.

Today, he wasn’t any different. Money hadn’t changed him. I guessed it just allowed him more resources and ways to channel that need to constantly provide. He always said his father had been a great provider. Maybe that was where Jude had gotten the unwavering drive.

I just didn’t want to see the money change me. I never wanted to be the type of person to expect a certain way of life. If we were fortunate enough to live like this for the next twenty years, I hoped stepping onto a private plane would always bring a sense of wonder and never dull in my eyes.

I was just finishing blow-drying my hair when a knock came on the bathroom door.

I opened it and found Jude’s handsome face staring back at me.

“We’re going to land soon. You almost ready?”

Excitement sprang forward as I realized I’d finally discover the spot of our mystery honeymoon location.

“Yes, let me just repack some things.”

I turned, but his hand quickly grabbed my wrist, halting me mid-step. Before I had the chance to ask what he was doing, his mouth engulfed mine, quick and hard, before he walked away.

I was nearly dizzy.

I stumbled back into the bathroom before throwing things into my toiletries bag. I brushed through my hair one final time. A quick glance in the mirror told me I looked adequate, so I headed back out and joined Jude.