Billion Dollar Boyfriend (Celebrity Love)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"A funny thing happened when I checked into my flight," Shelby called out, her footsteps echoing against the hallway floor.

Aiden looked up from his phone when she walked into the living room. "Your flight was canceled, so you're staying the rest of the week and going back with me?" He appeared hopeful.

"Not quite." She perched herself on the arm of the sofa. "I've magically been upgraded to first class. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that?"

"Me?" He gave her his best innocent-little-boy expression.

"Yes, you. No one else has my full itinerary with my flight numbers and reservation code." She leaned over to kiss the top of his head. "Thank you."

Aiden reached forward to set his phone on the coffee table. He continued to look angelic. "You seem to think I'm behind this, but how do you know it wasn't upgrade luck?"

Shelby got up from the arm of the sofa and moved to sit beside him. "It could be. Between being here with you for the last few days, and you surprising me with Calais and Paris, I'm feeling pretty lucky."

"Me too. I just wish we could have stayed in Paris for longer instead of coming back to real life."

"I need to go back one day and spend more time there," she mused. "I know there's so much more to see."

"Paris is beautiful in the fall, when the leaves on the trees change color." Aiden twirled a lock of her hair around his index finger and gazed into her eyes. "We could go then."

In the fall. A fluttery and elated feeling welled up inside of her at his proposed future plans for them to vacation together. It was the same joy she'd felt during their whirlwind day and night in Paris.

She and Aiden had checked out of their hotel in Calais the morning after getting there and had driven to Paris, arriving in time for lunch. They'd wandered the city after that, blending in like any other tourists. While her guard had initially been up in Calais after her encounter with the man in the hotel lobby and elevator, Shelby hadn't seen anyone pay much attention to her and Aiden in Paris.

After a day spent seeing the sights, Aiden had brought them to a private chateau he'd rented for the night, where they'd enjoyed champagne, the chateau's jacuzzi, and beautiful views of the city. They had talked about so many things that night, from past memories to plans for the months ahead. As close as they had been growing since Aiden had shared the story of his life in her hotel room in London, and as close as they had been before he'd left L.A. the first time, there was a depth to their connection now that Shelby had never experienced with anyone. When Aiden talked about plans for months from now that included him and her together, she could tell he meant it with his heart and soul.

"It's a date," she told him. "I'd love to see Paris in the fall."

Aiden put his arm around her and she snuggled into him. "Speaking of dates, what's the first thing you want to do once we're both home?"

"See you." She leaned her head against his chest. "It will be nice to do normal things without looking over our shoulders."

"If you call anything in L.A. normal. I have singing beach chairs in my neighborhood, and I just finished reading about a Hollywood Boulevard superhero brawl in yours." He jutted his chin in the direction of his phone.

"Where'd you read about that?"

"On Wally Hood Goes Hollywood," he admitted. "I was looking at the articles there just now."

Shelby had a hunch his online browsing hadn't been limited to strange Hollywood news. "Have you heard anything more about Seraphine's post? Emily hasn't texted me since the weekend."