The Billionaire's Saviour {*Completed*}

Chapter 26: Dean

Chapter 26: Dean

The small red and white blinking light on the wing of the aircraft was hypnotic. As I had never flown before, I was in complete awe on how beautiful it looks. The distinct shapes of clouds were illuminated on every alternate second against the midnight sky, painting a very pretty picture for any artist to recreate.

I took out my phone and quickly snapped a few pictures.

Then my eyes shifted to the woman sitting cross legged in front of me, her hands buried in her comfy black hoodie, her thick red hair escaping the attached cap and framing her face beautifully, looking outside at the same thing I was.

It became clear to me that very moment that she was the prettiest picture any artist could make. I clicked a few pictures of her too. I briefly wondered why she wasn't a model. Her candid photos looked amazing.

I smiled at my thoughts. Or maybe I am just an amazing photographer.

She was too concentrated on the lights outside that she practically jumped when the hostess brought the sundaes we ordered.

Murmuring a quick thanks and giving me a small embarrassed smile, she dug into the chocolaty goodness. I followed her lead. It was quite for a moment before either of us spoke.

"What all do you plan on doing in Dubai?"

I bit into my ice-cream as I wondered what I would do. I guess saying that I wanted to be with her seemed too direct.

"Visit the Burj Khalifa, Atlantis Hotel, go for a few adventure sports." I said, as I watched Veronica scrape the sides of the container for leftovers. She was adorable.

"What adventure sports would you like to do?" She asked as she glanced over and made a face when she saw the almost full container of ice cream in my hands. I gestured for her to share and her face almost lit up like a Christmas tree. She left her seat and came over to sit beside me.

Zara and Zavier had taken the bed to rest and the hostess had disappeared somewhere. It felt like we were the only two people there. My body although tired, became more alive when she was near.

"Well, I heard dune bashing and sky-diving are pretty fun."

"I want to do shark diving." She threw her hands up in wonder. "Go to the Ferrari World. And go for sandboarding. And riding a camel!"

I laughed at her cuteness and I stole a spoon of my own ice-cream from her. "Camel riding is not a sport!"

"Still." She dismissed me. It was quite for a while as she finished this ice-cream container too. I made a mental note that this girl loves chocolate ice-cream.

I watched as she placed the container on the table in front of us and seat herself in the huge chair so that she was facing me and sitting cross legged at the same time.

"Thank you for agreeing to all this and being a good friend throughout. You really helped me by signing on as my showstopper." She said quietly, her bottom lip slightly pouting.

I grinned genuinely although her words hurt. I was just sort of friend zoned. "Thank you for considering me for this, Veronica. You made me realize I am hot enough to be a model." I smirked.

She smiled back and then it was silent. I could have easily gone off to sleep right there on my super plush seat but I guess Veronica had other plans.

"Want to play twenty questions?"

I literally forced my tired eyes open to smile at her. "Sure. You go first."

"Why do you insist on calling me Veronica? You can use any of my nicknames; Ronnie, Ron, Vero..." she trailed off as she was listing, waiting for my answer. She rested her head quite close to my seat. In the silence, even if she murmured something, it would have been easy for me to catch.

In the dimmed cabin, it felt like I was cocooned. I felt nice. I felt nice because I was with her.

"Well I guess I really like the name, Veronica." I whispered, as if I was finally letting her in on a secret. I grinned as she started to blush a bit. "Of course, if you want, I can call you Panda." I dodged the pillow thrown at my head and grabbed her hand instead. "But if you really insist," I stopped as I pushed back a wayward strand of her hair, "I can call you mine."

A small silence ensued. It was amazing how easily I could fluster her. She opened a mouth a couple of times and closed it, speechless. I gave her a few minutes to respond before I started chuckling.

She seemed startled at first, but then started laughing with me.

"Oh, you are good." She lightly punched me on my arm. "It's your turn. Remember same questions are not allowed."

"Did you want to be a fashion designer when you were a child?"

"Well, no. As all little girls, I wanted to be a fairy." She smiled. "Just granting wishes left and right, you know. Not sure how I have done on that front. I love to help people as much as I can."

"Well, you gave my mom the red coat which she really wanted." I told her gently, watching her lips as they smiled. She was smiling a lot with me. It made me feel good about myself.

"I honestly didn't know your mom was a Pandomaniac. It was quite a surprise." She used the official name for the die-hard fans of her brand.

"Oh, she gets the newsletter and everything. She goes crazy when there is a sale. I swear I think half of your business comes through her." I grinned, thinking of my mom as Veronica laughed.

"I am glad she liked it. Okay, it's my turn. What is your favorite thing about being a fireman?"

"I love my job. It's like you said, about helping people. I like it when I can bring down kittens from trees and the owners just give me the biggest smiles. It fills my soul somehow. Do you understand?" I glanced at her, making sure she was following what I wanted to express. She nodded. "Not to mention our team is like a small family. In my line of work, Integrity and trust within the crew is essential. I need to be able to trust my team, trust them to know their job, trust them to have my back, trust them with my safety and even my life. Sure, it's a difficult job, but pros are worth it."

"I guess I should've become a firefighter then. Would love to have a family like that."

I knew I made a mistake when she said those words. Sure, she had convinced me before that her being an orphan was nothing new, even a way of life, but I guess this is something which is sensitive for her.

I have known her for a few months now and I was positively sure I will be dodging another pillow pretty soon if I gave her any words of comfort. So, I tried another tactic.

"With your feeble arms?" I grinned at her, holding her gently via her upper arm through her hoodie., slightly startled at how thin she was. I know her work life was crazy and stressful, but she had to take care of herself. Maybe she wasn't eating properly. I was concerned and took it upon myself to remind her to eat. "You need to be beefy like me." I flexed my other arm, the lean muscle standing to attention.

Her eyes followed every movement I made, her dilating pupils making me heat up. I decided it was good I decided to stay up and play this game. 

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I hope you liked this chapter!!!

Please please please any input would be amazing!

-A