A Sense of Guilt ✔

Chapter 56

Joe tried to stretch out in his seat as he readied himself for the plane taking off. Even in business class he felt hemmed in and was grateful his dad hadn't booked him into cattle class. It was the kind of thing Adam would normally do but lately, he'd been borderline reasonable, even buying Shannon's ticket without so much as a snide comment.

'Oh my god, I can't believe we're actually going,' Shannon exclaimed for the numerous time, her face giddy with excitement. 'This is unreal.'

He smiled at her indulgently. 'I'm pretty sure I'm going to be put through my paces, but you should treat this as a long vacation.' He fully expected Adam would have his nose to the grindstone but there was no reason why she shouldn't enjoy herself. Well maybe not too much without him, that would suck.

'Oh I know I'm going to have a fantastic time,' Shannon said twisting in her seat to face him. 'How could I not when we're together.'

Joe exhaled slowly, his remaining reservations alleviated. At the back of his mind the thought that she'd given up her job for him, her life in Boston, had given him cause for concern. From his point of view moving away from his family and friends was probably a good thing, a necessary step in gaining more independence, Shannon, however, was years ahead of him. She'd been there, done that, returned home, and now he was dragging her away again. He hoped to God she wouldn't resent him for it.

He fastened his seatbelt although the plane was still boarding, his nerves about flying beginning to set in. 'I can't believe you did this for a living.'

Shannon squeezed his thigh. 'Relax, it's perfectly safe.'

'Ahem, I'll remind you of that when we're landing in Boston Harbour.'

Shannon rolled her eyes. 'And in that situation, the plane landed safely, so what are you worried about?'

He grimaced imagining his face was now a few shades whiter. 'Just having this conversation is getting me thinking of every crash, every hijack, I've ever heard of.'

'Okay,' Shannon said slowly. 'I know what'll distract you. Shopping!'

Joe frowned at her. 'I'm not following.'

'I'll need new clothes, the style is probably completely different in London.' Inwardly he groaned, he'd noticed her suitcases had been surprisingly light. 'I don't want to stand out or look like some sort of hick, and besides, you hate half of my outfits.'

'It's not that I hate them,' he said carefully. 'But some of your clothes, I think they should be for my eyes only.'

'You probably mean my "show Mark what he's missing" clothes,' Shannon said and Joe winced. 'But you're right, they're cheap, I need to update my look.'

'I can hear my credit card crying,' he said the corners of his mouth twitching in spite of himself.

Shannon laughed. 'I think it's about time your credit card had a good work out.'

'I guess I walked right into that one.' He reached for her hand, his finger caressing her ring finger. 'You know if things had been different, if the timing had been better...' He left the thought lingering in the air.

'Yeah I know,' Shannon murmured looking down at their entwined fingers. 'But let's just live in the here and now, this isn't really the time to be making any big decisions like that. We haven't been back together all that long.'

'You do know that's where I see this heading though?'

Shannon smiled, her eyes meeting his. 'Of course. I can read you like a book Joey, I always could.'

'That's true.' He settled back in his seat thinking his relationship with Shannon was in a pretty good place, better than he could have hoped for a few months ago. He knew he had to resist the temptation to make any impulsive declarations; if he pushed Shannon too hard he'd push her away. If he tried to control her in the way he'd let Katherine control him, their relationship would not go the distance.