Cruel Trust

Thirty-Six

The week before we left for the beach flew by. Julia stayed with us for two nights and Andrew only let her go back home in the middle of the day, following her there to make sure her house was empty and safe.

Before we knew it, it was time to fly to the beach. Julia would come down the following day, so it was just us in the car on the way to the airport.

"Man, it's early," Andrew grumbled as we threw all of our bags, plus my wedding dress and his suit, into the back of my 4-Runner.

I yawned and nodded in response. I jumped into the passenger seat of my car and leaned my head against the window. He shut the back window and climbed in behind the wheel. I had my eyes closed and I felt a poke in my side. I opened one eye and looked at him.

"Don't you want to drive? It's your car," he said, dangling the keys in front of me.

"No thank you, sir," I said, laughing.

"Ugh, spoiled brat."

"Yep!" I agreed, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"You're lucky you're hot," he joked, reaching over and slipping his hand into my tank top, giving me a playful squeeze.

I laughed and shoved him away. "Drive, you perv," I ordered.

"Yes ma'am," he said, tipping his baseball cap in my direction, and drove toward the airport.

When we reached the airport, it was bustling with activity. I guess 5:30 AM isn't that early for the airport crowd. We checked our bags and trudged through security and to our gate. We still had about forty-five minutes before boarding, so we grabbed a coffee from Starbucks and settled into the waiting area.

I was sipping my coffee when I felt Andrew staring at me. I cut my eyes to him and raised my eyebrows.

"What?" I asked, putting the coffee in between my knees on the seat.

"I was just thinking about how in two days, you're not only going to be my baby mama but my wife too," he said, bumping my shoulder and winking.

I laughed. "How romantic."

His face softened, and he turned toward me, pulling his knee up against the metal arm of the chair. "No, but seriously. In two days, you are going to make me the happiest man on the planet. You are so incredible, Charlotte." When I protest, he put his index finger against my lips. "Don't even try to argue. You're amazing. You're smart, funny, sexy, goofy, kind, selfless...and beautiful on top of all of that." He laughed. "Jesus, if someone had told me in first grade that I'd be marrying you one day, I'd have said, 'Ewww, she has cooties.' If someone had told me in eleventh grade that I'd be marrying you one day, I'd have said there was no way in hell that I'd ever be so lucky."

By this time, I was crying, wiping a steady stream of tears off my cheeks. He leaned to me and kissed them away, first one cheek, then the other. Then he closed his lips over mine and I melted...once again. This man could make me melt a million times over and it would never, ever get old. He broke away from me and looked at me, running his hand through my hair.

"Andrew, I—" I started, clearing my throat. "I can't even tell you how much I love you. There's just no way I could have the words. You've been there since day one. We've shared so many experiences, and I wouldn't trade any of that for anything. Since I realized what love was, I knew I loved you. And I never thought I'd get to be with you. It's so insane to me that we are where we are. Since we were five, I've leaned on you. You've been my rock. But—" My voice cracked. "This past year...Jesus, I would not alive if it weren't for you. You saved my life. In every way a life can be saved. I can't wait to be your wife. I love you, Drew."

It was his turn to have tears in his eyes, and he reached over and squeezed my hand. His eyes twinkled. "I don't know why we chose the airport to have this conversation, but I think we've entertained the crowd," he whispered, jerking his head up toward the people sitting and standing in the waiting area, who were all watching us.

"Oh jeez," I said, putting my reddened face in my hands.

An elderly woman stepped toward us and pulled my hands off my face gently. I felt her thin, velvety skin against my wrists and looked up at her.

"Don't ever be embarrassed of love, darling," she said softly. "It's all that matters. And you two—you have it," she said, smiling and walking back to her seat.

Andrew and I looked at each other and I laid my head on his shoulder. We sat that way for about twenty minutes, when we were called to get on the plane.

I was surprised when we were called in the first group. "How did we get to board first?" I asked him, throwing my duffel bag and purse over my shoulder.

He grinned at me. "Do you think I'd let us fly to our wedding destination in anything less than first-class?" He took my bag off my shoulder and threw it over his.

"First class? For real?" I'd never flown first class before, but it was on the bucket list.

"For real," he said, handing the staff member our tickets and leading me down the air bridge.

I shook my head. Just when I thought Andrew couldn't outdo himself, he surprised me again. When we got to our seats, not only were we in first class, but we were in the first row, so we had tons of leg room. I settled in and stretched my long legs out in front of me.

"Damn, babe, you got the best seats on this plane."

"Like I said—only the best for my fiancée," he said, kissing my cheek as he sat down.

I smiled and leaned my head against the plush headrest. This was going to be a pleasant flight.

Not only was it a pleasant flight, it was a short one too. It only took about an hour and forty-five minutes to get to the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.

We hopped off the plane, got our luggage, and made the trek to the rental car office. When we got there, I wasn't surprised to find out Andrew had rented a freaking Escalade for our trip. I looked at him and laughed. He shrugged. "Like I said—"

"Only the best. I know," I said, stretching up on my tiptoes to kiss his nose.

He smiled, wouldn't let me carry a damn thing, and walked us out to the Escalade, where it was waiting on the curb.

I got in and breathed in deep; this thing was brand new. Andrew closed the back hatch and hopped in the passenger side, that goofy grin on his face.

"Let's get to the beach," he said, speeding out of the parking lot.