I’ll call you in a couple days and explain everything. I promise.”
“Sure,” she said softly, attempting a smile.
Nobody stays. Everyone leaves.
With one more urgent kiss to her lips, Rick once more whispered that he was sorry and walked away, leaving her alone in her bedroom. A bedroom that still smelled like them.
Charlie hugged herself, trying to find some kind of comfort. She didn’t want him to leave, but she had no reason to make him stay. They weren’t a thing. Hell, they weren’t even close to being a thing. She’d only just found out his name.. Yet she couldn’t stop wondering…
Was he coming back?
Chapter Seventeen
After taking care of a few things at his brother’s place, Maverick headed to the airport. His seat had already been booked, courtesy of his cousin Jack, and several hours later he landed in Miami. The flight had been uneventful and the only person besides him in first class had slept the entire journey.
Even though the flight attendant kept looking his way, and most probably knew who he was¸ she didn’t bother him beyond asking after refreshments. He’d taken a double scotch but had nursed it for most of the flight.
“Have a good evening, ” said the flight attendant, Rose according to her nametag, as he rose from his seat. He smiled and gave a curt nod before exiting the plane. As he disembarked down the jet way, he pulled his ball cap low over his forehead and reached into his pocket for his aviators. Damn, they were in his carryon and he didn’t feel like fishing through the bag.
If he were in any other airport in the country (other than LA but that was a whole other ballgame), he wouldn’t worry. But here in Miami the Simons were well known and sightings of them were common. With the recent turn of events Maverick decided to play it safe—he sure as hell didn’t feel like talking to anyone, especially about his cousin Teague—and kept the ball cap tugged low.
He wasn’t going there. Not yet.
Maverick walked through the airport wearing only jeans and a T-shirt and he wondered how cold it was back in Fisherman’s Landing. Funny how in the space of a few weeks, the place had grown on him.
Or rather, one woman had managed to get under his skin.
Shaken from his thoughts by his vibrating cellphone, Maverick fished it out of the pocket of his jeans and narrowly avoided a collision with a woman and her rambunctious toddler.
“Sorry,” she said with a smile as he passed.
“No problem.”
The kid darted in front of him again and she pulled the child back, her expression one of exasperation. Maverick offered a small smile before glancing at his cell to see who was trying to reach him. It was his brother Cooper.
“Hey, aren’t you…” Her words faded to nothing as he held his cell to his ear, issued a curt shake of the head, and picked up the pace.
“I’m out front,” Cooper said.
“I’m in the terminal. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
“Just look for the pink Volkswagen.”
“Pink as in pink?”
“Is there any other kind? Bright fucking pink.” The level of annoyance in his brother’s voice was high, so high that for the first time since he’d left Charlie, a genuine smile broke open on Maverick’s face. He maneuvered around a group of teens, his eyes on the exit. “I can’t wait to hear the story behind this.”
“You have no idea.”
“It better be good.”
“The details don’t matter, but Grace better watch her back because payback’s gonna be a bitch.”
Ah. That explained it. His cousin, Grace. She was a hellion with a heart of gold and was always on Cooper’s back about something.
Maverick’s grin was still firmly in place when he exited the airport and spied the car. It wasn’t hard to miss, the damn think stood out like a pink flamingo among a crowd of crows. He walked over and slapped the window before tossing his bag into the back and sliding into the passenger seat. It was a miracle that both Simon men could fit inside the car because it sure as hell was small.
“It’s not so bad,” Maverick quipped as Cooper pulled away from the curb.