He gently squeezes my thigh and rubs the raised seam of my jeans. “Well, if you need some water or a drink or snack now, just let me know. I’ll get up and get it. It’s a bold move to fly first thing in the morning hungover. Don’t you know better than that?”
I shake my head. “No? Why would I know that?”
“How do you not know that? I thought everyone knew flying hungover is the worst.”
I sink down in my seat and peek out from behind my hand again. “Promise not to laugh?”
He hums and taps his finger to his lips in mock consideration. “Maybe.”
I drop my hand and shoot him the most menacing scowl I can manage with the state of my headache and queasy stomach. He must notice because he lowers the blind on the window and dims the overhead lights so I don’t have to shield my eyes anymore.
“Sutton, I’m serious. Promise me.”
He nods. “OK. I promise not to laugh.”
“Good. So, I didn’t want to tell you, but I’ve never actually flown before.”
He tilts his head. “What? How have you not flown before?”
“I don’t know. I grew up here and didn’t really have much of a reason to leave. If we ever went on trips, they were road trips. Not all of us are fancy chefs traveling the world for cooking school and opening restaurants.”
“Wow,” he mouths the word quietly and silently looks around the jet that’s still sitting on the runway in Jackson. His eyes land on Grace and TJ looking at something on her laptop toward the front of the cabin. “At least your first flight is going to be in style.”
TJ looks up and sees us watching them. “You guys alright? If you need anything just let Stacy know or grab it yourself from the galley.”
“Thanks, TJ. You know you’re really setting the bar impossibly high for me with my girlfriend.”
TJ shrugs and winks. “You’re welcome.” Sutton and I laugh because there is something still surreal about the two of them being best friends—the chef from a small town and the older, retired rockstar turned real estate mogul and philanthropist.
They keep talking and now in the dimmer lighting, I sit there admiring Sutton’s profile. Everything from his square jaw that he’s been letting the stubble grow out on, to his dimples and tousled brown hair—all of it blends together into a man so handsome that he doesn’t seem real. Most of all, he’s freaking obsessed with me and I’m finally coming to terms with that and enjoying it for all that it is.
I must’ve been staring too long because he catches my eyefucking out of the corner of his eye. His lips curl into a knowing smile that makes my heart flutter and core clench all at once.
He looks back at TJ and they keep talking, but his fingertips inch their way a little higher on my jeans reminding me exactly how my body responds to him. I feel need pooling low in my core and I can’t wait to get to New Mexico and get some time alone with him.
“So I heard your brother stopped in the other night.” TJ’s deep voice snaps me out of my lust-filled, hungover daze.
Sutton’s jaw stiffens and he exhales. “Yeah, he did. Don’t tell me that you knew he was planning to come and didn’t give me any warning?”
“Nope,” he says, swirling his mimosa in his hand. “I’m guessing it had something to do about Seattle though.”
Sutton sighs and I feel his body tense next to me. I grab his hand and now I feel like I’m the one comforting him because I remember how irritated he was that night when Slade dropped in. “Yeah, he’s hellbent on getting me to go there even if I’ve been pretty clear I was only considering it. What do you think?”
TJ chuckles. “Well, if Grace has taught me anything lately, it’s that you should do whatever the fuck you want, man. Don’t let some messed up sense of nostalgia pressure you into something you don’t want to do. That said, I’m an investor in that restaurant and I think you’d be perfect.”
Sutton throws his head back and groans. “Great. That’s a lot of help.”
“Then again,” TJ continues, “anyone who you and your brother hire is always impeccable. So I don’t think there’s really a wrong choice.”
I think back to the other night when Slade came in. Sutton looked right at me and said he was pretty sure he knew what he wants. I cling to that thought because the idea of him leaving ties my stomach into knots worse than my hangover.
An increasingly loud whirring sound from the back of the plane, followed by a sudden lurch forward startles me. My hand instantly flies to Sutton’s leg and he looks over at me. “Relax. We’re just taking off. That’s totally normal.”
He rubs soothing circles on the back of my hand and I relax back into the seat as the plane takes off. “Thanks,” I whisper.
He leans over and brushes my bangs out of my face and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Just get some sleep. I want you feeling better because I’ve got a surprise for you when we get there.”
I nod and rest my head on his shoulder. Normally, a surprise would terrify me and sleeping would be the last thing on my mind. If I’ve learned anything with Sutton though, it’s that surprises from him are the kind to be excited about. I doze off to sleep with my head on his shoulder, relishing in his warmth.