The Arrangement

Chapter 7: Declan POV

I sipped on my third glass of red wine. It was dry and tangy with hints of grapes. Tess had dozed off with her forehead pressed against the window of the plane. Drool rolled down the side of her mouth. I chuckled to myself.

The redhead on the other side of me was reading a book on her Kindle. Most of the plane was quiet and sleeping. It was dark outside now. We already had one layover with one more to come. Unfortunately, the very long flight and short layover time wasn't enough for me to stretch my legs. They were beginning to get sore. My eyelids were closing with exhaustion, but just as they started to close, Tess started to stir next to me. She stretched up and yawned, effectively wiping the drool out of the corner of her mouth, and turning red when she realized I saw.

"Nice sleep, Angel?" I asked.

"Too much sleep," she replied.

"Hmph." I shifted my weight to get comfortable. I wasn't used to flying economy. There wasn't even an option for first class on this plane.

"So, have you ever been to Rio De Janeiro?" Tess inquired.

"A time or two," I said. I shuddered at the thought of my last trip, hoping she didn't catch that. I had made some not so great choices in life in the past.

Admittedly, it was only half my fault. My father was to blame for a great deal of the turmoil I endured. I got wrapped up in the wrong crowd, and it nearly costed me my life. I'm only alive because of a friend I met while there. He saved my life.

"What's it like?" She questioned.

"You'll see when we get there," I replied sarcastically.

"It's nice to know I can count on my husband for a good conversation."

She sighed and continued, "you know you're going to have to tell me more about yourself sooner or later. We are married now."

"I'll make you a deal. I'll share something about me if you share something about yourself, and we can keep doing that for as long as we have things to share."

"Deal," she said.

"What do you want to know, Angel? I have no secrets." This could be fun.

"Well, for one, I saw your brother and sister at the ceremony but you never told me their names."

"Anna and Jason."

"Okay, and-"

I waved my hand and cut her off. "It's my turn now." I paused a moment, thinking about what I might ask her, then, "have you ever been with another guy before?"

"Only one in high school. His name was Steve. He wanted to join the military after high school and wanted me to move away from home with him to base. But I couldn't because my mother was starting to get sick."

I thought about that for a moment. "And that's why you married me. For her." Tess just nodded.

"What made your parents decide to start up a tech company, anyways?"

"Money. Anywhere money is involved you can expect my father to be there!" We both laughed at that. "No, really. He was just looking for some extra money to support us on. Believe it or not, I wasn't always a spoiled rich kid. My mom, dad, brother, sister and I at one point lived in the slums of New York City. The tech company was a saving grace. My father worked hard to make it work and once it really started taking off, our lives changed for the better."

"Do your parents still live in New York City?"

"Yes. They never left. My brother and sister, too."

"What made you move all the way to Washington?" I swallowed hard at the question. Another part of my troubled past I didn't want her to know about. Not yet, anyway.

I just redirected the conversation, "That's more than one question, Angel. It's my turn again."

"What happened to your dad?" I inquired. I knew he had died but she kept me in the dark about the how ever since we met.

"He was killed by a drunk driver when I was six. My mom and I have been alone ever since..." she trailed off, her eyes fixed on something out the plane window.
Physically, she was here but mentally, she was someplace else. I decided not to push the conversation anymore.

"So where's the nicest place you've been to outside of the US?" I changed the subject quickly.

Tess just shook her head. "We haven't really done a lot of traveling. As a single mom, it was a lot for her just to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. She worked a lot of overtime just to be able to keep the house. We didn't have the extra income to spend traveling."

I felt bad for Tess. What a shame it was not to experience all this wonderful life has to offer. It suddenly made me feel better about my upbringing. At least my father had made a start up tech gig turn into a billion dollar company. Tess' life has never been easy.

"Well, you're in for a real treat. You'll love Rio."

She smiled and told me, "maybe hanging out with you on our honeymoon won't be so bad after all."

No, maybe it won't be, I thought to myself.