between his eyebrows.
I was surprised when the limousine stopped and the chauffeur got out of the car. Benjamin didn’t offer an explanation, so I sat with my hands linked in my lap, waiting to see what the hold-up was. A minute later I was shocked to see the passenger door open and Colin Easton enter the limousine.
Colin smiled as if he’d been expecting me. I tried to hide my shock. Benjamin hadn’t mentioned his cousin would be joining us on this trip. Not that I minded. Colin had been very kind to me over the past few days, but I didn’t know how much Colin knew about my relationship with Benjamin. If you could call a couple of days hot sex a relationship.
“Lovely to see you again, Kate,” Colin said. “I’m glad you’re joining us on our London trip. Benjamin can be such a boring travel companion. All he does is work.”
I tried to hide my smile as Benjamin looked up from his iPad.
“Have you been to London before?” Colin asked.
I told him I hadn’t, and he began to list all the tourist attractions and sights London had to offer. I couldn’t wait to see Big Ben and the Tower of London and walk beside the Thames.
I imagined walking along the banks of the Thames hand in hand with Benjamin, until Benjamin said, “She is coming to London to work Colin, not to sightsee.”
My daydreams evaporated.
“You’re a slave driver, Benjamin. Not everyone is a workaholic like you,” Colin said and winked at me. “Don’t you worry, Kate. I’ll make sure you see at least some of London.”
A frown flickered over Benjamin’s face as he looked at me. “I didn’t mean you couldn’t see the sights. Of course, you’ll have time off, and it’s up to you what you do with your leisure time.”
2
AT LOGAN AIRPORT, WE boarded the eight am British Airways flight to London Heathrow. All three of us sat in the first-class section of the plane at the front. I wanted to pinch myself. I’d never flown first class before. On all my previous plane journeys, I had been wedged in with economy passengers. I settled back in a huge, soft seat and accepted a glass of wine from the stewardess.
To be honest, I was very surprised Benjamin Easton didn’t have his own private jet, ready to take off on a moment’s notice.
After the stewardess dimmed the cabin lights, I mentioned it to Colin, and he smiled indulgently at me. “Oh, the Eastons do have a private jet, but honestly flying to place like London, where the flight times are frequent, it makes sense to fly with an airline.”
Although Colin was charming and very willing to chat, I felt a little put out as Benjamin ignored me, seemingly engrossed in work. The seats were wide and set out so there were large gaps between us. Seeing as I wasn’t going to get any attention for Benjamin, I tucked the blue blanket around myself and decided to sleep.
The flight time to London from Boston was over seven hours. I slept for at least five of them. When I woke, despite the comfort in first class compared to economy seats, I still felt stiff.
I opened my eyes and turned to look over at Benjamin. He was looking at me with a sexy smile that made my heart race, even though I’d just woken up.
“Did you sleep well, Kate?”
I flushed and rubbed a hand over my face. Oh, God. I hoped I hadn’t been snoring, or dribbling. Then another horrible thought hit me: Had I been talking in my sleep? I did that sometimes when I was stressed, and the past couple of months had definitely been tense.
I nodded and smiled shyly back at him. “Yes, thank you. Are we nearly there?” I sounded like a kid on a road trip, but I was so excited.
“We should land in less than twenty minutes. We are circling London, waiting for a landing slot. Why don’t you lift the window blind and take a look?”
I did as he suggested, lifting the window blind and peering down at London. A slow grin spread across my face. What a fantastic view.
Below us, the river Thames snaked its way through the centre
Debby Herbenick, Vanessa Schick