My job dressing up as a princess had been fun, despite the strict park rules on what I was able to say or do, and the only part of my life in Florida that I’d miss. I'd also enjoyed being a mom, but it hadn’t been easy to find day care. The woman I’d hired to watch Sam had soon taken a week’s vacation, which was how Hunter had ended up watching my son for a few hours a day. That was after I’d realized that Dan was drinking on the babysitting job.
I had wished every second since that I’d taken Sam with me to wander the park while I worked. He knew how to avoid security. I shouldn't have been afraid he'd be caught. That was the worst reason in the world to have put Sam in harm's way.
I spoke about nothing important to Elon during the plane ride.
If I’d have told him about Sam years ago, maybe our lives would have been different. He’d always been a good man who watched out for me. I’d convinced myself when I was a girl that we’d had a major love affair.
Once again, just from sitting next to him during the flight, I was already half-convinced he was the only man for me.
The plane landed.
I woke Sam, and he yawned but then jumped up. He raced out the door, full of energy.
On the steps leading to the runway, Sam stopped and pointed to something. “Is that a helicopter?”
Elon patted him on the back. "Yes, it is."
We continued down the steps and walked across the runway toward the helicopter. “My house in Connecticut doesn’t have an airport, but we can land on the helipad.”
This would be my first time on a helicopter, not that I said a word. Whenever my parents had brought me along on a job, the staff had flown by commercial airline.
When we were almost to the helicopter, Sam pointed to it. “Mom, this is way better than Betsy.”
We climbed on as Elon asked, “Who's Betsy?”
My face heated. He’d probably never named a car, especially one on its last legs. Of course, he'd never had one of those. “My yellow car you ended up paying for.”
We fastened our seat belts, and the roar of the propellers drowned out conversation. The helicopter rose, and in the distance, I spotted the ocean.
My body trembled, but I doubted anyone would notice. I glanced at Elon. As a girl, I'd often wondered what it would be like to be a princess who lived in a castle and had servants—instead of being a servant. Once upon a time, his kiss had almost made me believe I didn’t need to conjure up a fairy-tale world, because the real world had been good enough.
Dating him had made me feel like I mattered, but then our relationship had burned out. My belief in love had been shaken, but I'd found a way to live in the real world.
While I was lost in the past, I’d not even felt the helicopter land.
We got out of the helicopter, and Sam darted ahead of us to the main house. The brick two-story house was picture perfect. As we reached the door, a member of the staff opened it for us to step inside.
I kept my head down. I didn't know whether anybody on staff would recognize me, but the last thing I needed was for my parents to find out Sam and I were here with Elon.
Sam ran into the grand room and gazed up at the chandelier.
I looked up at the twelve-foot ceilings and imagined they could only be dusted by someone on a tall ladder. The beach art was clearly original, and it was nice that Elon had gone with a coastal theme.
Elon said, “This is the house.”
Sam ran left and right, not caring that he trampled on Persian rugs that were probably rare. “Wow!" he cried. "Which is my room?”
Elon said, “Whatever one you choose.”
Sam clomped up the stairs. Elon and I followed behind him.
“Your house is nice,” I said.
He nodded and walked with me down a hall. “My bedroom is the last room on the right.”
Sam had chosen the bedroom that was the first room on the left.
I ended up picking the bedroom between their rooms.
