Page 43 of Targeted By Love

“Then I guess I better get my shoes on if we’re really going.” I’d worry about the logistics when it was time. I was too excited to ask questions that might lead to my mate changing his mind and deciding bodyguards were the best choice, after all.

“Yeah, we’re really going. Let me arrange everything with my brothers and cousins first.”

Better him than me. I was confident that at least one of them was going to despise the plan.

I rushed to get my shoes on, brush my teeth, and throw a quick change of clothes into my backpack, just in case I needed it. By the time I came back out, he was ready with a backpack over his shoulder too.

“Let’s go.”

It took us a lot longer to get to the airport than it would a normal couple. His brothers wore our clothes and drove off in his car, and we hid in the back of a van while one of his cousins drove us to the airport. Part of me thought it was ridiculously over the top, but the other… I was growing our pup. There was no amount of safety that was too much. Goddess, I even considered changing my mind about the bodyguards halfway there. But as Maynard was the most overprotective papa-to-be I’d ever met, I dropped the idea.

I’d never lived a life where just going to the airport and booking a flight on a whim was a possibility. But sure enough, since weweren’t checking bags and he had the finances, it was as easy as that. And my mate didn’t mess around—he even got us first-class seats.

I’d never flown first class before. As I held his hand over the armrest separating us, I smiled. “Thank you. This is wonderful.”

He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. “We needed this. Both of us.”

The flight was smooth and so different from anything I’d experienced before. The attendants were so attentive, which given their titles made sense, but still… it was... wow.

When we arrived, we opted to skip the rental car and go with a good old-fashioned taxi to be on the safe side. Maynard took his time deciding which he thought was “acceptable,” which I took to mean “the safest,” and we had the driver take us straight to the restaurant. I was starving.

Just as the show said, it was packed, but we managed to get seats at the bar. I wasn’t picky. All I wanted was to devour the brisket.

The food was everything I’d imagined it would be.

“This is better than I dreamed.” I licked my fingers, not pretending to have table manners. This sauce was too good to waste.

My mate watched my lips with heat blazing in his eyes.

“What?”

“Oh, just a little jealous of your hand right now.” He smirked.

I rolled my eyes. “If you play your cards right, you won’t need to be jealous for long. I can…” I licked my lips.

The elderly woman next to us gasped. Oops. I hadn’t thought I was being loud or too blunt. Wrong on both accounts.

After our late lunch, we walked around the city, stopping at a bakery for a slice of cake to share and taking in the sights. Baltimore wasn’t a destination city of mine. I’d never had a bucket list for this city. But now that we were here, I was discovering more places I wanted to visit.

When my mate asked if I wanted to spend the night, we ended up in the honeymoon suite of a posh hotel. At first, the staff looked at us like we didn’t belong. Or that was how they looked at me. My mate held himself and spoke in a confident way that carried a hint of wealth. Money talked, and their attitudes changed quickly when we told them what we needed.

I knew this wasn’t going to be my everyday life, but that didn’t have me enjoying the experience any less. In the morning, we’d fly back, and I’d once again be surrounded by bodyguards. I’d be worrying about when we’d get more bad news regarding my brother or when I’d have to face my mother. Our new normal would be back.

But for tonight?

For tonight, it was the perfect escape.

“What would you like to do next?” Maynard set our backpacks on the dresser.

“I was thinking I could use a little dessert.” I eyed his zipper and licked my lips, not wanting there to be any confusion as to what I was asking for. “Do you happen to know where I can get some?”

“I do.” He crossed over to me. “And for the record, I could use some dessert too.”

22

MAYNARD

“I need to show you something.” Ezra was at the front door and he mouthed the message. I didn’t need an interpreter to understand he didn’t want Rhodes to hear. And I refused to upset my mate any more than he had been since he met me, especially now that he was pregnant.