Seventeen Days (15 page)

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” 

Handing my ticket to the attendant without making eye contact, I finally make my way onto the plane. Figures she’s already in her seat. 

Her arms are crossed and she’s taken the window seat. Maybe I should kiss her and change her mood. She’d probably still be pissed off but it may do us both good. Or she’ll think I want her to fuck me as payment. 

What. The. Fuck? Like I’d ever make her pay me back in any form, sex
or
money. I’d never take either as a payment from her. Her heart? Now
that
I would take as payment. Since I’ve practically already given her mine. 

Crazy ass woman. 

Instead of kissing her, I take my seat, buckle my safety belt and close my eyes. This is going to be a long flight.

The first half of the flight is a cold and lonely one. 

And it’s all my fault. Harrison is pissed because I offered to sleep with him as payment for his taking me to Paris. Of course, I didn’t mean it
exactly
like I said. Okay, who am I kidding, we both know I did. 

“I can’t believe you sprang for first class. Sienna didn’t bother book first class for my birthday trip. She sent us in coach. Not that she’d ever travel in coach, but she thought it was good enough for her daughter and her friends.” 

“What? Are you speaking to me? I’m not sure because I haven’t heard a word from you in over four hours.” 

Stupid, stubborn, irritating, sexy man. 

“Of course, I’m talking to
you
. You’re the only person I know on this flight, aren’t you?” 

Sounds like he’s still pissed off. I get it, trust me, I do. I’d be pissed off if he offered to sleep with me as payment for something that was meant to be a gift. But how can I accept this from him? He’s been so generous already, and I could never thank him enough as it is. 

After a full minute, he still hasn’t answered me back. 

“I get it; I know you’re pissed off. I’m … I’m sorry. I’ve told you I’ve never gotten anything for free before, right? I’m used to having to pay in some form for whatever I wanted. I’m sorry Harrison, please forgive me. I can’t stand it when someone is mad at me.” 

He’s never been mad at me, though, at least, not that I know of. This silent treatment is hell. 

“I’m not exactly mad at you. More like, I’m pissed at myself for making you feel like you need to pay me back in any way. You don’t owe me anything, Morgan. Not a single fucking thing.” 

“Oh, no, you have
never
made me feel like I owe you. Never. Not once. It’s only what I’ve come to expect whenever I’ve been given anything. You don’t know what growing up with Sienna was like. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what she has done to me. It’s no wonder I’m so fucked up, Harrison. I’m incredibly sorry, I can’t say it enough.” 

He has to forgive me. It’s not so much that I wanted to sleep with him as payment, but I want to sleep with him, period. End of discussion. He’s gotten under my skin like no else ever has. Not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. 

Lifting my hand, resting closest to him, he threads his fingers through mine and squeezes. 

“There’s nothing to forgive, babe.” 

And we’re back to being normal again. Whatever normal is for us. 

“How long is this flight? I didn’t pay attention when the announcements were made. And how in the hell did you manage to get a direct flight to Paris from frickin’ Alabama? That’s practically unheard of.” If we were flying out of New York, I can see a direct flight, but not in some place that until my banishment, I’ve never heard of. Call me ignorant, I don’t care. 

“Slightly under ten hours, I believe. Wasn’t paying too much attention myself. Guess you can call it luck; I honestly didn’t expect to get a direct flight. I figured we’d have to stop in Atlanta first or fly out of New Orleans. We should take it as a sign that we were supposed to be on this flight.” 

“You’re like my own, personal, lucky pebble,” I say while trying to hold back a yawn. Guess I’m more tired than I thought. Goes to show you how little sleep I actually got last night. 

“Lie your head on my shoulder and sleep, babe. I’ll wake you before we land. Would you like me to ask for a blanket?”

Sleep sounds like the best idea I’ve heard of all day. 

“No, I trust you to keep me warm enough.” 

Making myself comfortable on Harrison, I’m sleeping soundly within minutes.

After the disaster that was my birthday, I never saw myself returning to Paris. It may be one of my favorite cities but now it’s … tainted. I never saw a man like Harrison entering my life, either. Or shit, finding out who my father is. Or the small fact he was married to my aunt, not my mother. 

The last thirty-six hours has changed my life in ways I never dreamed possible. 

I know who my father is. I’ve barely taken a moment to let it all sink in.
I know who my father is.

And I’m in love with Harrison. What he did last night and this morning has sealed the deal for me. I’m head over heels in love with a fishing cowboy. Too bad it’s not the craziest thing that’s happened to me this week. 

I’m sitting and waiting for Harrison to get back from the rental car counter, and the older lady next to me is attempting to get my attention. It hasn’t worked much so far—I’m too consumed in my own thoughts to care what some stranger wants to talk about. If all goes as planned, I’ll be meeting my father
for the first time ever.
Holy shit. 

If you would’ve asked me a day ago if I thought my father was alive, I would’ve said no, there’s not one cell in my body that believed he was. Sienna has never said one word about him to me. Now, I know why she wanted to keep Aunt Savannah from knowing me. Or, at least, part of it. The other part, I’m not so sure of. I quit questioning her actions long ago. She’s never done anything for my benefit. Keeping my aunt’s love from me I’m sure was purely a selfish act on her part. She knew from the time I was conceived that Savannah loved me more than her. 

My family is so messed up. 

The lady next to me is talking away in French, and I’ve yet to respond to her. Pretty sure she called me a bitch. “I’m sorry, but I don’t speak French,” I tell her. Obviously. I do speak the language but like I already stated, I don’t feel like talking to a stranger. Maybe it’s rude, but I couldn’t care less. 

A few minutes later, Harrison is back, and I’m saved from the rude lady. “We were in luck; I was able to get an awesome rate on a rental for the next few days. If we happen to stay longer, we can extend the rental. Should we try to find a hotel first, or see if Julian is home?” 

“Since we don’t have a hotel booked, why don’t we drive by his home and scope out the area? At the same time we can see if there’s any hotels nearby. If we luck out we may find one fairly close, so we don’t have to drive too much.” His address is in Paris, but I’m not familiar with the street he lives on. “Does the car have a GPS?” I have a feeling we’re going to need it. If this trip was planned by me, or planned at all, I wouldn’t have rented a car. My ass would’ve hailed a taxi and used the train system to get around. 

“Yeah, that’s what took me a bit longer, the first one they offered didn’t included a GPS. It cost slightly more each day, but it’s worth it. I’d rather not get lost on the streets of Paris. It’ll be hell enough driving on the opposite side of the road.” 

 “I’m fairly familiar with the city but not the area where Julian lives. We wouldn’t have gotten too lost.” At least, I don’t think so. 

“Ready to take off, babe?” 

Instead of answering him, I stand to leave, grab my bag, and say a halfhearted goodbye to the rude women sitting next to me.
In French
. She’s looking at me like I’ve suddenly grown another head. Giving her a strange look of my own, I start walking toward the rental car lot. 

I’m so scared to meet Julian. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. 

“Thank you for bringing me all the way to Paris, Harrison. I’m scared shitless to meet Julian. I feel sick, to the point where I think I could actually throw up. If I would’ve known who Julian was when I was last here, I probably would’ve met him. Or, at least, I hope I wouldn’t have been so consumed with partying that I wouldn’t have taken the time to meet the man who helped create me.”

What if he doesn’t want to see me? What if he regrets my ever being born? I’d hate me. My conception ended his marriage to the love of his life. Sure, he slept with another woman so he’s in the wrong too, but my being born ended his marriage and basically ruined his life as he knew it. 

“Don’t be scared. Be the fearless woman I met a few days ago … Be the spitfire I met the first day in the woods. There’s no way he’s not going to love you. You make it impossible. Trust me, I know.” 

Did he basically say that he loves me? My heart must have heard what it wanted to. No way he said he loves me. I must be hearing things because I
want
him to love me. Because I only recently came to the conclusion … I love him. 

Stopping in my tracks, I turn to stare at him and take him in. He’s damn attractive. Those eyes of his get me every time. They’re such an intense stormy gray. I’d love to get lost in them forever. And that hair. Wow. All its deep-chocolate goodness, it makes me want to run my fingers through it. My fingers are practically itching. He’s missing his signature cowboy hat and has replaced it with a ball cap, I miss the Stetson. The scruff showing on his face is definitely doing it for me. 

“You should keep the scruff. It’s extremely sexy.” Giving into temptation, I brush my fingers over his chin. It’s not quite his hair, but this will do. 

Forgetting we’re in public, I pull his head down to mine for a kiss. His lips are so damn soft. He tastes of spearmint and the coffee he had on the plane. All of my favorite tastes combined. Perfection. 

“Mm, I could keep you forever,” I say before I kiss him again. This time taking the kiss much deeper. His tongue licks across my bottom lip begging for access, as soon as our tongues meet, he groans and pulls back. 

“We need to stop, we’re in public, and I’m unable to take this where I truly want to.” 

Grabbing my hand yet again, he starts walking toward our rental. 

“When we find a hotel, will you request one bed? I sort of loved sleeping in your arms last night, and I’d like to continue to do so. If it’s okay with you?” 

“Babe, it’s more than okay.” Letting out a frustrated groan, he adds, “Sleeping is
all
we will be doing, though.”

We’ll see. Obviously, he knows I’m not a virgin, so I’m not sure why he’s holding himself back. Especially since we only have a few more days together before I leave. Sex with Harrison would be life-altering, I know. So why is he holding back? If he feels a tiny bit of what I’ve been feeling since the moment we met, he’s
got
to want me. With comments like “I’m unable to take this where I truly want to” why would he turn around and say we’d only be sleeping together? As in, not having sex? I’m so confused. He’s probably keeping me at bay to stop us from getting too far involved. Fuck that. I may not know what my future holds, but I know I want to experience a future with Harrison in it. Even if he’s strictly my friend after all this, I still want him in my life. Aunt Savannah, too. After all, she’s my only
real
family. I couldn’t care less if I ever talk to Sienna again and she’s my own mother.