Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
So, she’s a romantic? I thought to myself with a smile. I wasn’t sure why it came as such a surprise to me. After all, Remy was a sweet girl and I’d often thought she would make someone a wonderful girlfriend someday, but I’d never seen her be interested in anyone romantically before. Besides, she was pretending to be in a relationship with me, so it didn’t seem like dating was a real priority for her. Either way, it only endeared her to me more and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling as I watched her.
“Here, Remy, take this,” I whispered to her before retrieving a handkerchief from my suit jacket. It was monogrammed with the letters ‘G.S.’ and something about giving a small piece of myself to Remy like that made me smile.
“Oh, thanks,” she said as she took it gratefully and dabbed at her watery eyes. She smiled up at me with her eyes still glistening and I couldn’t stop myself from imagining whisking her away and surrounding her in bubble wrap to shield her from all the horrors of the world that might once again bring tears to such a beautiful face.
This is bad, I told myself.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so emotional,” she mumbled as she wiped her eyes once more. “I appreciate the handkerchief though.” She attempted to pass it back to me, but I stayed her hand.
“You keep it,” I told her. “Just in case.”
She beamed. “Thanks, Griff.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything after that. I didn’t want to admit how touched I was that she was holding onto a possession of mine. I didn’t want to confess the strong pull I felt toward this alluring woman. If I was a smart man, I would have done everything I could to keep the distance between us, but if anything, I only wanted to get closer to her.
I was going to be in for a hell of a rough trip.
As we were touching down in New York, I noticed Remy’s unease with the descent of the plane. I could hear the familiar whining of the motors and I watched as Remy gripped tighter to the seat beneath her. It was clear that she was also a bit of a nervous flyer and I felt a bit of kinship with her in that moment. I reached out and touched her hand comfortingly.
“It’ll all be over soon,” I told her with a small smile. Remy nodded and took my hand gratefully.
Once we were finally free from the confines of the plane, I thought our difficulties would be well and truly over, but they had only just started. Since I had been to JFK many times before, I took the lead and helped Remy toward the baggage collection area. It was a rather short wait, however, there were plenty of people hanging around waiting for their luggage to appear on the conveyer belt.
I glanced to my right and noticed that Remy was hugging herself tightly. Her eyes were wandering over the crowd of people surrounding us and I could see her chest rising and falling rapidly. Is she nervous? I wondered. It was sad that it seemed I knew so little about Remy, but I was determined to help her as much as I could.
“It’s a bit crowded in here, isn’t it?” I pointed out as I took a step closer toward her.
“Y-yeah,” she admitted with a shaky nod. “It’s a busy place. I should have expected it. I just didn’t think I’d feel so...”
“Feel so what?” I inquired.
“Overwhelmed,” she admitted with a sigh.
My heart ached for her and I couldn’t resist my urges anymore. I reached out and wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer until she was flush against my chest. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you,” I promised in a quiet voice. “The baggage won’t be long, okay?”
She nodded feebly against my chest and I felt a pang of longing strike me. I so desperately wanted to make her feel better, but there wasn’t much I could do. I just held her close until we could finally get our belongings and leave.
“Let’s go, Remy,” I said to her as I took both of our bags in my free hand. “I’ll get us back to the hotel, don’t worry.” With a determined stride, I headed for the entrance of the airport. Remy followed along beside me, quiet and unreadable.
Once we were out on the streets of New York, things weren’t much better. There were herds of people walking along briskly down the pavement. It was so busy that we could hardly step out without brushing shoulders with another person. I glanced over at Remy and noticed that she was visibly bristling away from the crowd. It was obviously too much for her.