My Vegas Groom (The Greene Family #3) - Piper Rayne Page 0,70
“Okay, if you think so. I’ll be at your fight in a few weeks then.”
I understand what my mom is thinking, but things have progressed so fast for Nikki and me. If I let the press eat her up now, I might as well sign the divorce papers. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” She runs her hands down my back.
Craig comes to the door, the other trainers all loading their bags into the truck behind him.
“I’m going to say goodbye to Craig. I think Zoe might miss him.” Mom winks. I can already see her matchmaking skills hard at work.
“Remember, Craig lives in the lower forty-eight.”
“So, do you?” She raises her eyebrows, and I shake my head.
“Hey, Nik?” I call after my mom leaves.
She walks in, and I can already tell from the look in her eyes that this is going to suck.
I take her in my arms and kiss her forehead. “You’ll be so busy you won’t even notice.”
“Um… did you miss that we’re in Sunrise Bay, Alaska?”
“What did you do before me?”
She rests her chin on my chest and stares up at me. “I don’t remember. It feels like a lifetime ago.”
I nod. “I know how you feel. Going back to Vegas doesn’t seem like a good fit anymore.”
She rests her hands on my chest. “It is. It’s where you make your living.”
I cover her hands with mine. “So I’ll see you soon, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I hope you like phone sex, because it’s going to be a struggle without you being an arm’s length away.”
She giggles. “Maybe abstinence will help your training.”
I shake my head. “Nah. Overrated. Done it before. Just makes me angry.”
“Which is good for the ring, right?”
“You don’t want to be responsible for the death of Rinaldo, do you?”
She laughs and I wish I could record it to play it over and over again. I’m not prepared for this separation ahead of us. “Go. We can’t do a long, teary goodbye. Besides, it’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon.”
I stare at her, trying to memorize everything about her even though I snapped a picture of her sleeping last night, wondering if I’m making the right decision. The press can twist things around, and I’m counting on Nikki not to read into things she may see or hear. Distance can do crazy things to the most well-established couples. It could be suicide to our relationship.
I lean down and capture her lips in a kiss I hope conveys all my feelings for her. She moans when I slip my tongue in her mouth, and she grips me harder, her body flush to mine. Damn, I’m going to miss her something fierce. She’s the one who ends the kiss, and we take a moment to catch our breath.
“I should get going,” I say with a hoarse voice.
She nods a few times fast.
“I’ll call you when we land.”
“Great.”
“You going back home tonight? I don’t want you here by yourself.”
She pushes me toward the door. “You do know I was a functioning adult before you came into my life, right?”
“That’s before. Now it’s my job to protect you.”
She smiles and shakes her head. “Well, I promise I’ll be fine.”
I kiss her one last time before heading down the steps with my bag. Right before I step into the truck, I stare at her in the doorway. My mom’s with her now, her arm through Nikki’s. I can’t imagine how those men who go off to war handle this because my heart is shredding from thinking about spending the next few weeks without her.
I wave and she waves back. Then I head into the truck, under the darkness of the tinted windows.
“You’d think you just broke up. It’s only a few weeks.” Craig slaps me on the knee.
“I’m fine,” I choke out, staring at her through the window.
“Man, she sure won you over fast. I’ve never seen a man fall so fast and so hard.” Craig laughs.
I refrain from making a crack about Zoe.
When we arrive at the Anchorage airport, Vince is already in the private jet. He does love to fly on my dime. The latest gossip magazine is on the table, and I pick it up and ask the flight attendant to throw it away.
“You should know what they’re saying,” Vince says.
“I don’t care what they’re saying.” I sit in my seat and strap in, as does Craig and all the other trainers.
“Being blind to the issue isn’t going to make it any better.”