Total pages in book: 197
Estimated words: 199143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 996(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 996(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
And yet ... the safer things became and the happier Cece seemed to be in her life—like now that she was a wife and had a daughter who reminded her of herself more often than she didn’t—that fear became worse. Like she had things more things to lose and her heart wasn’t about to let her forget it for even one single flight.
So be it.
In the leather seat next to hers, Juan’s hand came across the flipped-down armrest so that his fingers could find hers. His digits wove tightly with hers—the softness of his hands belied the rough pads of his fingertips that stroked over her skin. He didn’t say a single thing while he held her hand and calmed her down. The jet continued taxing and Cece absolutely refused to open the shade on the port window until the jet had stopped moving completely and the pilot came out to stand at the door in front of the cockpit.
“It’s irrational how much worse this has gotten the last few years,” she muttered to her husband.
Juan glanced her way with a chuckle. “I think it’s cute.”
That had her narrowing her eyes. To his benefit, her husband didn’t even look bothered by her show of attitude. Not that it was anything unusual for him. Always her perfect match, no matter what. Everything was always so easy for them.
Not that it made up for his comment.
She’d not forgotten that.
“What, why? Why is me being scared, cute?”
Cece would give him a minute to answer. He was owed that. Depending on the way he answered would determine how she reacted. Fair was fair. Right?
Juan chuckled as the plane came to a jerky stop. All at once, he tipped his head sideways to stare at her that way—all amused and not at all bothered by her attitude. “The powerful queen pin scared of flying?”
“I’m not scared of flying!”
“No, just the landing. Like we could avoid that, Cece.”
“Stop it.”
Juan grinned. “It’s only really bad when Catherina’s not with us.”
He wasn’t wrong.
It was the only thing that made Cece think ... maybe her fears were more about her anxiety at being separated from her child than it was being scared of the plane crashing. The fears barely made themselves known when their daughter came along on trips. This time, however, Catherina had school. Juan’s parents were keeping an eye on her. Cece and Juan would be home before their daughter even laid her head back down to sleep on her pillow tomorrow night. This wasn’t a work-trip.
More a social call.
“New York, Mrs.,” the pilot said as he came to stand in front of the door of his cockpit. His familiar smile greeted Juan and Cece while the one flight attendant they kept on call came out of the cockpit as well to finish up the tasks she had started before landing. “Say hello to your family for me—and congratulations to your brother, of course.”
Cece felt better already.
“I will, thank you.”
Leaning over her, Juan reached for the port window and lifted it for them to look outside. Unsurprisingly, a black car sat there ready with lights on.
“Better get going,” Juan said, winking her way. “Nobody keeps those Donatis waiting.”
He wasn’t wrong.
*
“Here he is,” Naz said.
Cece turned at her younger brother’s voice to watch him enter his living room where she and Juan currently sat with Roz—her brother’s wife. The bundle of white cashmere in his cradled arms was the first thing to gain her attention, really.
“Cross,” Naz introduced, “my son.”
Cece had been all the way across the country when her brother’s first child was born. She was one of the first people he called to announce Roz was in labor, however. And she immediately started making plans to leave Cali for a trip to New York to visit and see the new baby. It was times like these when she seriously considered moving back to New York to be closer to her family but at the same time ...
Cali really was home.
They just made do with what they could.
“Oh, my ... bring him here,” Cece said, giving Roz a wide smile before standing with her arms already outstretched to take the baby. Little Cross—named for her and Naz’s father—was sleeping happily when he switched arms from his father to aunt. He didn’t even stir a bit. She stared down into the face of her newborn nephew and completely melted. “He’s perfect.”
“He is,” Roz echoed from the couch.
Fell in love.
Just like that.
Babies had that effect.
Knowing exactly how her sister-in-law must be feeling as a new mother, Cece kept one arm tight to the newborn baby, and then leaned down to hug Roz while she whispered in her ear, “Congratulations—welcome to the club, huh?”
Roz laughed under her breath with a nod. “Thank you.”
Sometimes people forgot in the chaos of a new baby being born that there was a woman who brought that baby into the world. A woman whose entire life would never be the same because now they were a mother.