She only glanced up when a shadow fell over her keyboard. Vincent stood inches away, the heat from his body warming her in all the right places.
He came closer, putting his hands on each side of Lexi’s head, trapping her against the wall.
“Will you trust me?”
Words that once would have sent a knife through her heart, now made it sputter to life. Whenever he said those words, it meant he had something wonderful planned for her, something that she would most certainly love because he had kept his word. He spent every day reminding her how much he loved her and how special she was. Instead of reminding her of one dark day, those words now made her think of all the romantic and thoughtful things he had done since then. In a way, he had rewritten that part of their history.
“Always,” Lexi whispered breathlessly as his lips met hers.
Awkwardly he ushered her through the door, his hand covering her eyes as he prepared to surprise her. When she was completely inside the door, he pulled his hand away and waited anxiously for her reaction.
“Why did you leave your luggage in the middle of the family room?” Lexi asked, slightly annoyed. “Just drag it into the laundry room like you always do. And why the hell did you take all of this luggage?” She looked at the pile of bags at her feet. “Wait, is that my suitcase?”
Vincent gave her that smile that told Lexi something big was coming. He was notorious for planning a great surprise and then giving her clues about what it could possibly be, but it was always up to Lexi to figure them out. Her stubborn streak kept her from asking for help, so instead, she would stand there, chewing on her bottom lip, occasionally even biting her fingernails as she tried to decipher the clues in front of her.
Vincent nodded his head in answer to her question. “I don’t want to rush your mental exercises, but for this one we are kind of working with a time constraint.”
She waved her hand in his face to quiet him as she continued pondering. Before long, she jumped up and down. “Let me see those tickets again.”
“They’re in my pants pocket. Why don’t you get them yourself?” There were no words to describe the smug grin on his face as Lexi’s hand slowly snaked around his hip before dipping into his pants pocket. She slipped the papers out and squealed.
“We’re leaving tonight for San Francisco? Are you crazy?” With a single leap she was up in Vincent’s arms, kissing his face. “Don’t answer that. i know you’re crazy, but I love you anyway.”
They stayed locked together, kissing and touching one another, celebrating being together for the first time in weeks. Lexi glanced over her shoulder at the bags and tapped him on the chest so he’d let her go. She slithered down his body, loving the feel of his muscles along the way.
“You know,” Lexi skipped through the pile of suitcases, counting as she went, “four suitcases for us to go to San Francisco is a lot of luggage.”
Cocking an eyebrow, Vincent waited patiently for her to figure it out. She was getting closer, and the sneaky smile on her face was proof of her imminent victory. She peeked up at him through her lashes, then looked back at the tickets in her hand, not only inspecting the ones on top, but fingering through the pile until she screamed and began jumping in place.
“We’re going where?”
Vincent laughed out loud at her reaction. “You tell me. Where are we going, Nancy Drew?”
Her entire face lit up. “We’re going to Italy!” Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “How did this happen?” Her mouth hung open as she gaped at the tickets in her hands.
“Paolo called. The renovations were finally completed on the villa and Francesca insisted we visit. You know it’s impossible to say no to her.”
Lexi laughed and tossed her BlackBerry at Vincent. “And my malfunctioning calendar?”
Vincent sat down on the couch and pulled her into his lap. Instinctively, his fingers reached out and began playing with the ends of her hair. “So i might have had a little help on this one.”
“Erica!” Lexi groaned, suddenly mad at herself for not thinking of it sooner. “That little sneak.”
“She’s quite crafty. The women’s leadership conference, it was all Erica.”
She stole another peek at the tickets, still trying to process all the information he’d just dumped in her lap. “So we really have …”
“Two and a half weeks with absolutely nothing to do.” He picked her up off the couch, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist. “First, we’re going to go to see baby Hunter, and then,” he pressed her back against the cold wall and kissed her neck, his tongue running leisurely over her skin, “you’re mine. All mine.”
“I like the sound of that.”
When his lips finally were within reach, Lexi took control and kissed him. Her hands shot into his hair, her fingers holding him as close as she could get. The only thoughts in her head were of Vincent. He consumed her mind, and his hands devoured her body.
“What time is the flight tonight?” Lexi asked, tugging anxiously at his belt buckle.
“We need to be at the airport in an hour.” Vincent panted, his pants dropping to the floor as he pulled Lexi’s sweater over her head. “As much as i want to do this, I think we should maybe …”
“Do you trust me?” Lexi gasped as his mouth ran over her skin, and then giggled and squirmed away. She squealed when she took off running down the hall, knowing Vincent would follow.
As she leaped into the air and landed on the bed with a whoosh, Lexi turned to see Vincent right behind her. They had found one another. They had overcome all of their demons and were happy together. It was in that one perfect moment that Lexi realized that dreams really do come true.
He crawled onto the bed, looking down at her with complete love and devotion in his eyes. “Of course I trust you, with my life.”
The End