“She would know.”
“Speaking of your mom, I overheard a strange conversation?—”
She put her finger over my lips. “Don’t even tell me. Its better I not know anything.”
“Okay, so you prefer to not know things?” I took her finger and kissed it.
“Abso-freaking-lutely. I want to live in a world where the skies are filled with rainbows, unicorns, and glitter.”
“I see. Well, we can shoot for that tonight.” I was fighting the urge to push her back on the seat and let my mouth do the walking. Instead, she leaned over and kissed me.
Her kisses were something out of a fantasy and put me in a time warp. Before I knew it, the car stopped. She pulled away, and it took me a second to regain my brain balance. I sat back, awaiting her reaction to the surprise that had me calling in favors until after midnight.
She looked out the window as her eyes went wide. “What is this?” She looked over at me. “That’s a plane.”
I nodded. “Yeah. We’re going to Chicago for dinner.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? We’re going to Chicago?”
I rubbed her knee. “I said I was taking you to my favorite pizzeria of all time. Right?”
Her eyes, lips, and spirit all at once smiled at me. “We’re going for pizza in Chicago? Tonight?” She giggled. “Like right now?”
The chauffeur opened the door.
“Like right now.” I stood and extended my hand to her. “Come on, Fern Ethel, a night filled with rainbows and glitter is right before us.”
She wrinkled her nose as she stood up. “Aw, that was so damn sweet, Gabe.”
We scooted through the frigid air to the stairs and into the plane.
“Holy crap.” Fern did a spin as she looked around like a child at the circus. “I can’t even believe this.” She turned to me and rested her hands on my chest. “You did this so I could have pizza?”
I watched her eyes travel the stunning plane. White leather seats, a sofa, and dark mahogany everywhere.
“I’d swim across shark-infested waters to bring you a slice.”
She shook her head and started to dig in her purse as she blinked back a tear. “This is the sweetest fucking thing ever.”
I handed her my pocket square.
“Excuse me.” We both spun around to see our pilot. “Good evening, Gabe and Fern. I’m Captain Dan Reid, and I’ll be flying you into Chicago. Let me know when you’re ready, and we can be on our way.”
I looked over at Fern who was staring in disbelief.
“Are we ready?”
She bit that lower lip and nodded. “Yes.”
I took her coat and purse and hung them in the closet by the door before we sat down on the sofa.
“How did you do this?” She buckled her seat belt.
“Let’s just say I have a friend of a friend who has a friend. And that friend loves the Minnesota Wild.” I clicked my seatbelt. “Last night I spent a few hours bargaining on the phone, getting him a suite at a VIP event with a few of my teammates in exchange for the use of this here jet.”
“You did all that for pizza?” She put her hand over that beautiful mouth that I was having trouble staying away from.
“No. I did all that for you.”
