“I suppose I can take some time off,” she said, “but only because you’re so adorable!”
“Adorable?” I complained as she hopped out of the car. “I was named as one of the most attractive billionaires in the world. And adorable was not what was in the write-up about me.”
Grace paused a few steps above me on the plane steps. She leaned down and kissed me lightly.
“Nope. You’re adorable! I could just tie you up in a bow!”
I greeted the pilot and the flight attendants once on board the plane then sat in one of the plush leather chairs. Grace plopped down across from me. After the plane took off and we were up in the air, I waited expectantly for her to start telling me how amazing being in a private jet was and taking a bunch of selfies.
Instead she very politely asked the flight attendant for a Perrier with lime and saltine crackers when she had a chance.
I tapped my finger on the handrest. The flight attendant brought Grace her snack. She very neatly took one of the saltines out of the little packet.
“Afraid of flying?” I finally asked her.
“Hm? No,” Grace said, taking a sip of her water. “I’ve done over a hundred solo skydiving jumps.”
My jaw dropped. “You skydive?”
“Not for fun,” she clarified. “I have had an inordinate number of brides want to do either engagement shoots, bridal portraits, or trash-the-dress photos while skydiving. One bride had her whole wedding ceremony while skydiving, and someone had to photograph the whole shebang.”
“Wow,” I said, taken aback. “And here I thought you were going to be super impressed by my plane.”
“Oh!” Grace cried, wiping off her hands. “No, of course! Your plane is super cute! I love it!”
“What the—this is a very expensive custom private jet,” I sputtered. “It is not cute.”
Grace gave me a wide-eyed look over her glass of water.
“It’s a Gulfstream,” she said. “It’s small. You don’t even have a shower. It’s a cute little plane. Fancy but little. Like a Pomeranian.”
She burst out laughing at my expression.
“I’m sorry!” she said, gasping. “It is a nice plane. I can tell you’re very proud of it.”
“I’m offended,” I said, a smile playing around my lips. “You know, other women are very impressed with my plane.”
“Are they?” she drawled, eating another cracker. “To be fair, it’s bigger than your dick, so it has that going for it.”
“I’m about ready to have them turn this plane around, and we can pick up my 747,” I said, crossing my arms.
Grace was still snickering about the plane situation when we walked into my historic townhome in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC. The butler took our bags while Grace gazed around with the awe that had been sorely lacking in the plane.
“This is amazing! This house must be from the eighteen eighties at least.”
“Eighteen sixties,” I said. “It also has all the original gas lighting.”
“It’s beautiful,” Grace breathed, carefully inspecting all the fixtures.
She turned to me with a grin. “This would make an amazing wedding venue.”
“Only for my wedding,” I joked.
Her face fell.
“Or, I mean,” I backtracked, “you could get married here, too, you know, when you meet the right guy.”
Even though the thought of her marrying anyone else except for me, being with anyone else except for me, made me want to punch a hole in the wall.
“Right,” she said and cleared her throat.
“I have some dresses for you,” I said, hoping to break the tension. I placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her up the grand staircase.
“And here I thought you had whisked me away for one-on-one time of debauchery and wild sex.”
“That comes later,” I said, my voice dropping. “And I do plan on ripping you out of whatever dress you pick, so don’t get too attached to it.”
“I hope my grandmother didn’t pick them out,” she said as I led her into the spacious master bedroom.
“As much as I want to see you in one of the obscenely sexy dresses she would have picked,” I said mildly, “we do have a high-society event to go to.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed as I opened up a wardrobe to show her the dress selection.
“These are…”
I held my breath. Would she like them?
“These are beautiful.”
“Good,” I said, my shoulders relaxing. “I picked them out myself.”
Grace raised an eyebrow.
“Maybe I do need to have you come into the wedding business with me,” she said. “I’m impressed with your skill as