He sighed. “All right. But make it tomorrow.”
Jack dropped the phone, taking a moment to stare at the dark brown eggs still stuck to the pan. He flipped the water on to soak the pan before grabbing another one and placing it on the stove. Turning around, he grabbed another carton of eggs from the fridge and set them on the counter.
“Did you plan that complete failure at making eggs to try and coerce me into helping?” Daisy teased. “Because you could have just asked.”
“Not a chance. I’ll get this right this time,” he said, cracking the shells again, one by one.
“You going to tell me what Stuart wanted or should I guess?” she asked finally, as he still struggled to accept that their time here was being cut short.
“It’s Aaron Leary. The guy who will be gunning for me in the primary next year,” he said, whisking the eggs in an angry frenzy as he relayed what little he knew about the editorial and Stuart’s recommendation he get back in town and nip this latest in the bud.
“It makes sense,” she said slowly, her attention on her coffee mug rather than meeting his gaze. “You’re away and there’s no better time to try and position themselves better.”
The disappointment he felt was also evident in her tone, and he set the bowl down and took a seat next to her, turning her to face him. He looked into those dark, luminous eyes, hating the sadness. “Just because Lily and I are leaving sooner than we planned, doesn’t change anything about how I feel about us.” He took her hand, holding it higher so the engagement ring caught the light. “After all, we are engaged. I put that ring here the other night because I knew in my heart I wanted it to be permanent. And although we’re really just coming into this relationship now, I have no doubt that we will be saying I do one day.”
Her face broke into a smile that was one of surprise and happiness, and it was hard to miss the mist in those eyes. She paused, as if processing the words, before the smile turned more impish. “You’re awfully sure of yourself. Assuming that I’ll accept. Is there anything that you’re not sure about?”
“Nothing important.” He leaned forward to kiss her again. But there was still more to talk about. “There will be a plane waiting to take Lily and me home tomorrow at noon. I’d like you to come with us.”
She blinked. “A plane? As in your own plane?” She sounded incredulous.
“I wouldn’t say it’s my own. It’s more of a plane-sharing arrangement the Harrisons have with a few other families.”
“Right. You have your own plane,” she repeated.
“Okay. Something like that,” he said, grinning. “I know you weren’t planning on leaving until Friday. But consider the long, torturous drive that even if you left at the crack of dawn probably wouldn’t put you in Salt Lake until that night. Wouldn’t it be so much easier, more relaxing to just come with us?”
Tempting. So tempting, but there was a big problem with that prospect. She got up and went to the coffeepot to refill her cup, adding a touch of half-and-half as she did. “My car is here and I could hardly expect my aunt to drive it back to Salt Lake alone. Which reminds me. I’m going to need to get a ride to the shop to pick that up. It should be ready for us by now.”
He grinned. “Actually, I’ve already taken care of it. It’s sitting in the driveway as we speak.”
“You—what?” she asked, setting the spoon down she’d been using to stir her coffee.
“I had the car brought here this morning. I know you’ve been restless without it. Although to be honest, I am surprised it’s even running after everything the guy told me was wrong with it.”
“But I haven’t paid for the repairs yet.”
“I took care of it this morning,” he said blithely.
Her eyes clouded over with frustration. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
He cocked his head, confused. This wasn’t going at all how he’d planned. “I wasn’t doing this to make you angry. I was trying to be helpful. I know how stressed you were about the cost of the repairs.”
“Yes, I was stressed, just as anyone would be. But it’s my responsibility. Not yours.” She breathed in and released it before meeting his gaze again. “Thank you for trying to help, but it wasn’t necessary. And I’m going to pay every penny back.” Her eyes flashed at him in warning.
“All right. I’ll send you a bill,” he said, willing to indulge her on this issue even though he didn’t really see the problem since he had the means to easily pay it and she didn’t. He walked back around the counter and added some seasonings before whisking the eggs again. “As for getting the car back to Salt Lake, it’s no big deal. I’ll be doing the same for my Mustang—there are services that will get it back for us. Just think about it. Instead of the long, torturous ten plus hours of drive time—if you’re counting all the bathroom and food stops you’re bound to have with three kids in tow—you’d be back home in the comfort of the state-of-the-art private jet at a fraction of the time.”
“What? We get to ride home in an airplane?” Paul shouted, racing into the kitchen, the other kids right behind him.
“Hold up, Paul. I haven’t agreed to flying home,” Daisy said.
“But that’s what Jack just said,” Paul argued. “I’ve never been on anything so cool. Does it have its own bathroom?”
“It does,” Jack said, smiling at the kid’s excitement. “But I’m afraid that the reason for the plane is because Lily and I have to leave tomorrow.”
This sent up a wave of disappointed groans from the kids, especially Lily. “But, Dad, you said we were staying until Sunday.”
“I know, sweetie. Unfortunately, something has com