Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter #2) - Melanie Martins Page 0,133
pinned on the broken phone. “You already have a new one.”
“It’s not about the phone…” Unable to disguise my sadness, my head dips a bit down.
Alex reaches out and squeezes my left hand. “I’m sure everything is on the cloud. We will transfer your data onto the new one.”
I give him a smile in return, trying to bury my nostalgic feelings.
Then Alex keeps driving in the direction of East Hampton, more precisely to the marina and harbor, which spikes my curiosity. “Where are we going?”
Without taking his eyes from the road, he just says, “Far away, Miss Van Gatt.”
As we arrive in the driveway of the marina, I see from afar a captain and crew members getting a modern sailing yacht ready.
“Is that for us?” I ask, barely containing my excitement.
And Alex seems to revel in it. “Yep,” he mumbles as he parks in front of the dock. “We are leaving New York.”
Oh jeez, my heart pounds faster and faster at the idea that we are going to sail away.
We step out of the car, and I can’t help but gape as I observe the majestic sailing yacht, all lit up at night, with its sails the height of a tall tree already wide open. The sails are so tall that it seems like they could reach the sky. Now that I’m standing closer, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a boat so large. Looking around, I see that we are lucky there is no one here but us. After all, this is the type of boat everyone would want to take a picture with. It’s the perfect combination of contemporary and classic design, with its near vertical bow paired with a powerful yet sleek figure, and the dark hull contrasting seamlessly with the walnut color of the teak deck and the white tones of the sails.
Alex stands beside me and gestures for me to give him my bag. I do so, my head still tilted back as I can barely take my eyes off of the impressive design of our new “home.” The closer we get to the stern of the boat, the bigger it seems to be. Then, we are welcomed by a set of two boarding stairs and the crew waiting for us at the base.
“Good evening, Miss. Welcome on board,” greets the captain as we shake hands. He then introduces himself along with the crew members and explains what each one of them is in charge of. Afterward, while he shares a few words with Alex, my eyes keep looking ahead to the stairs that will take us up to the deck.
“Petra,” Alex calls suddenly. “It’ll take five and a half days to arrive at our final destination—”
With excitement thundering in my chest and flowing through my veins, I cut him off and ask, “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” he answers promptly, gauging my reaction. “But I want you to be as aware as possible of what we are about to do here.”
“Well, we are about to run away,” I say, my tone cheeky. Then I wrap my arms around his neck, and as I come close to his deliciously kissable lips, I whisper, “Very far away.”
But his expression remains just as stoic. “We are. And this will have serious consequences once your parents find out. You know that, right?”
Furrowing my brows, I press my lips tightly together and ponder his statement for a beat. “What kind of consequences?”
But Alex keeps quiet while considering me. As we look each other in the eye, I wonder why he’s taking so long to reply. “I’m not sure if we’ll ever be able to return to New York. Are you okay with that?”
Oh, wow. My heart falls to the ground as I let the severity of his words sink into me, but I try my best to appear unbothered. From my classes at Columbia to his home in Bedford Hills, a million questions are already running through my mind. And what about my paintings stored in my atelier? And his duties as CEO? Is he still working at the headquarters? With everything that ties us to New York, how can he believe we might never come back here? Does he truly mean never ever? But for now, and not wanting to ruin the evening, I silence my torments, and say, “As long as I’m with you, I can be anywhere.”
Chapter 33
Petra Van Gatt
I had no idea that the first requirement once we stepped onto the boat was not