Page 68 of Love Unwritten
“Fair enough.” His low chuckle tickles my ear and sends a shiver down my spine. “Now I finally understand why you didn’t want to take the private jet.”
“Have you seen the size of that thing? It’s tiny.” The massive plane we are about to board makes Rafael’s jet look like one of Nico’s toys.
“It’s not nice to insult a man’s size.” There’s a hint of a smile in his voice.
“Rafael Angelo Lopez. Did you just make a dick joke?” I sneak a glance at my boss, whose cheeks turn pink.
“How did you find out my middle name?”
“The same way I find out most things.”
“My aunt needs to learn how to keep her mouth shut.” His blush intensifies.
I used to be a glutton for Rafael’s smiles, but I prefer the way his cheeks flush with embarrassment even more, especially when I’m the cause of it.
“Hey, slow pokes! Let’s go! It’s hot in here!” Nico shouts.
Rafael sobers, and his serious mask returns as he gives me another little push.
“Are you okay?” Nico looks at me when we finally make it to the door of the plane.
“Yeah. Just feeling a little sick.”
“Oh no!”
I plaster on my best reassuring smile. “Yeah, but I’ll be fine.”
“Good, because it’s gonna be a long flight.” He really enunciates the word long, which further fuels my panic.
Rafael seems to notice my cracking composure and gives the back of my neck a reassuring squeeze. The gesture is far more intimate than he probably intended, and it makes my heart jolt.
A flight attendant waves to get our attention, and Nico grabs my hand and pulls me toward the open cabin door. “Let’s go!”
I follow behind him without protesting because, regardless of my personal fears, I’m willing to do just about anything for Nico Lopez, including suffer through ten hours of misery and motion sickness if it makes him happy.
Nico talks my ear off throughout the entire plane boarding process. I try to keep up with the conversation, and he seems to have forgotten about me feeling sick until I rip my sweaty hoodie off and pop a Dramamine into my mouth.
“Are you still feeling bad?” he asks in the loudest whisper known to man.
“Kind of?”
“What’s wrong?”
Thankfully, I’m saved from having to answer by none other than Rafael.
“Nicolas?” his dad calls from the seat behind me.
“¿Si, Papi?”
“Do you mind switching seats with me?”
He makes a slight frown. “Ugh. Why?”
“Because my window screen won’t open.”
“Mm.” Nico leans in and whispers in my ear, “Papi likes keeping it open because he’s a scaredy cat.”
Well, Rafael is going to be mighty disappointed when he learns I’d much rather leave mine closed.