Saltwater Kisses (The Kisses 1)

He stepped out into the bright sunshine and then my one-time husband closed the door carefully behind. I felt a piece of my heart go with him as I heard his car drive away.

Chapter 9

I leaned back in my seat, wondering how my life could have changed so much and yet not changed at all. Everything felt different since I met Jack, but everything was still the same. I was going back to my normal, boring, life and in a few hours this vacation would be nothing but a memory.

A stylish blonde woman sat next to me with headphones jammed in her ears. I sighed and didn’t bother trying to introduce myself again. She had plugged her ears the moment she sat down. Besides, what would I say? Hi! How was your vacation? I had a great time on the island. I married a billionaire! The idea made me giggle a little as she pulled out a magazine.

On the cover was a black and white photo of Jack with the tag line: Billionaire Bachelors. Seeing him took my breath away and made my insides ache. I missed him and my plane wasn’t even back in the states yet. The woman flipped to the article, Jack’s eyes catching me from the page. I wished I could take the magazine and hold him close to me again. I didn’t expect to miss him like this. The woman gave me a dirty look for reading over her shoulder and angled the magazine away from me, flipping to a new story about a basketball star’s lavish wedding.

I sighed and looked out the window. Who would ever believe that shy, cautious Emma would marry, let alone marry a billionaire on vacation? I put my own headphones on and tried to settle into the chair. It was going to be a long flight home and the ache in my heart wasn’t going to speed things up. Maybe if I fell asleep, I thought.

I felt the plane bank slightly as I drifted off, Jack’s smile filling my dreams. Time to go home.

***

The plane landed with an unceremonious thunk, waking me from my sleep. The captain droned on about the freezing temperatures outside and the local time, but I barely listened. The world outside the window was a frosted gray. It was snowing, providing the perfect contrast of real life to my vacation. Time to get back to reality.

I turned my phone on and sent a quick message to my friend Ashley to let her know I had landed before putting it back in my pocket and heading off the plane. My suitcase rattled behind me, as I followed a mom trying to convince her two young sons that they should put on their coats. She sounded so much like my mother that I couldn’t help but smile and make sure my own hat and coat were on.

I was paying more attention to the mother’s frazzled explanations about the weather than my surroundings when she fell silent as they stepped onto the moving stairs down towards baggage claim. I followed her gaze and felt my jaw drop. The normally empty greeting area at the base of the escalator was crowded with people and cameras.

“Mom, are those Pizzerias?” One of the kids asked.

“You mean 'paparazzi', and I think so. I have no idea why though. Somebody famous must be coming to town,” she answered, smoothing the young boy’s hair down as a flash went off.

“What if it's Goliath the Fighting Machine?” the younger son asked excitedly, turning to face his mom.

“Maybe it is. W

e’ll check the paper when we get home. Watch your step and, Jimmy, put your coat on,” the mother coaxed as the three of them stepped off the escalator. I wondered who all the fuss was about, but the photographers kept watching the stairs and taking random pictures as passengers emptied off their planes.

I was almost to the door by the baggage carousel when one of the paparazzi turned excitedly and snapped my picture. Small bright stars filled my vision from the flash, and I stumbled forward towards the door. I turned to yell at the photographer, but suddenly every photographer there seemed to be heading my way. Instinct took over and a sudden need to get out overpowered me. I wheeled to escape out the door, but two large cameras blocked my exit path.

I could see Ashley’s car waiting outside the glass doors, so I lunged forward, trying to avoid the cameras suddenly appearing in front of me. Fighting through the crowd, someone pulled my hair, and I felt a pocket on my jacket rip and give way. It was hard to breathe in the mass of electronics and people, but I finally managed to escape out the automatic doors.

I threw my suitcase in the backseat of Ashley’s car and jumped in the passenger seat, a wave of cameras following me out the door. Seeing the wall of people headed out the door towards her car, Ashley gunned the gas as soon as I was sitting, escaping out of the small airport.

“What the hell is going on?” I shouted, looking at my torn coat. I slammed the seat-belt in the lock and turned to Ashley. “Thanks for getting me out of there. Those people are crazy!”

Ashley grinned and tossed me a magazine. It was one of the trashy ones called The Press that she always picked up whenever she went grocery shopping. On the front cover was a picture of my wedding. Jack’s arms were wrapped around me as he kissed me under the white awning with the headline “EXCLUSIVE!” plastered across the cover in garish red. I felt my jaw drop again. At this rate, I was going to end up with a bruise on my chest.

“They’re here for you, Mrs. Saunders. I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t seen the pictures. Cute dress by the way,” Ashley said nonchalantly as she headed towards the highway. I looked at the picture again. It was incredibly sensual, but sweet, the way a real marriage kiss should look. “Your phone’s going off by the way.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. The ancient thing was shaking angrily as it counted up missed messages. The number rolled into over 100 missed calls with just as many voice mails, and the darn thing was still shaking as it counted. I stuffed it back into my pocket and looked at Ashley like she had something to do with it.

“I can’t believe you really did it! You have to tell me all about it!” she squealed as she veered around a car going too slow for her taste. I couldn’t find words and stared at the magazine. She laughed at the expression on my face and tapped her hand on the glossy cover. “Go on read it. It’s today’s issue. Tell me if it is all true! I can’t believe you bagged Jack Saunders. Way to go Emma!” Ashley grinned at me as she turned onto the highway. The car felt suddenly hot with me bundled in my jacket and the heater on full blast, but I had a feeling it had more to do with the adrenaline and shock moving through my system. This was not what I had expected to come home to.

I opened up the magazine and flipped to the article, reading it aloud. “Playboy billionaire Jack Saunders married a homegrown girl from Iowa during his vacation to the exclusive Ocean Blue Resort on Ocean Key Island. Not much is known about this small town beauty, other than her name is Emma LaRue and she currently works as a veterinarian.” I stopped and looked over at Ashley. “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not a vet.”

Ashley smacked my arm with her hand and then waved it so I would continue reading. “These exclusive photos show the happy couple very much in love. Sorry ladies, this ‘Prince Charming’ is now off the market!”

“So, is it true?” Ashley asked excitedly as I flipped through the photos. They looked like they had been taken by someone hiding behind a bush near the wedding site. I couldn’t believe how happy we both looked. The car swerved a little as she turned with an excited grin to point at the pictures.

“Eyes on the road! Well, it’s sort of true. It was kind of an impulse thing. It isn’t legal or anything. No one was supposed to know.”

Ashley squealed with excitement and the car swerved a little again. I resisted the urge to grab the door frame and instead glared at her.

“But it really was Jack Saunders? That really is you?”