As promised.
Love, K!
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Dedicated to:@aasthareadsbooks
Thank you so much for the consistent votes from the start of this book! I appreciate it so much :):)
"He was a warrior with a fighter's mind and she was a battle he lost every time."
~ c.l.
Carlton's POV
"I miss Poochie," Breanna pouted as we got off at the airport.
"He'll be alright with Avery." I smiled but I knew that Avery was probably crushing the poor dog with a hug until he wished for death.
An attendent was waiting for us as Phil and the chauffeur removed our luggage.
"Mr. Hargrave?" The Emirates attendant asked in a thick arabian accent, pulling the most polite grin she could, "This way please."
Breanna gave me a pursed smile, raising her eyebrows.
"What?" I matched her expression.
"If someone asked me that so nicely, I would follow them anywhere."
"See, this is why you always get in trouble."
She giggled, her gaze excitedly falling everywhere as we followed the Emirates attendent. The airport was pretty busy at this hour. People of all kinds were staggering down the collossal halls. Some were rushing, and some took their own sweet time. It was noisy in the most ambient way.
The echoes of announcements of departures and arrivals bounced off the walls of the airport, making me sleepy and excited at the same time. Breanna playfully punched my shoulder. "You guys are treated like babies. Who doesn't know how to get to their..."
Her voice faded away as the attendent led us right towards our plane. "...check-in counter."
"What's the matter?" I grinned as the Phil stopped behind to finish our check-in process and we were led into the plane.
"That was convenient," she said. I noticed she was visibly uncomfortable, all of a sudden; she sulked closer to me as if hiding from something.
Walking in, my claustrophobia hit me painfully, again. The scent of the seats and the oxygen-rich, airplane air, enriched my senses and made it a little bit easier for me. The plane was huge though, unlike Damien's jet where my claustrophobia made me suicidal. And I was beginning to feel like I needed to ban private jets for me.
The business-class was upstairs and Breanna cluelessly followed me as if she had never been in a plane before. So I reached down and clasped her hand, squeezing it gently; to show that there was nothing she needed to worry about.
An air hostess then lead us to our cabin. Breanna's mouth fell open.
The air hostess asked, "The flight will take off in thirty-two minutes. Is there anything you require?"
"No, thank you." I smiled.
After she left, Bree threw her hands up. "What is this madness?! We could live here!"
I suppose she was referring to the small cabin we were provided, with only a bed and a T.V. However, the best airline business-class services were provided by Emirates and I had made sure to make this trip the best it could be.
Was Breanna thinking this was too much? I asked with anticipation, "You don't like it?"
"I love it!" She screamed enthusiastically, throwing her bag on the floor and jumping on the bed like a little kid.
And I fell in love with her all over again.
"God, you scared me there for a minute." I let out a nervous chuckle, taking my shoes off and sitting beside her.
She was flopped diagonally on the bed, looking up at me with disgust. "Who wouldn't like this?!"
Never thought Breanna Riley would say that to me in bed. I felt like a kindergarten kid on a pretend date with his crush. "If you like it, then that's all that matters."
She threw her head the other way, face-palming. "Aw Carlton..."
I just couldn't erase the smile from my face. We both laid down together. I asked her a question that had been bugging me for a while though. "I feel like you're not opening up to me, Bree."
She turned around. "I told you everything."
"Yeah, but you seem to be really quiet all the time."
"Well, all of this is so new to me. I've never lived like this in my entire life. It's a lot to take in."
"Is it, really? Or is it me?" I grinned.
She returned the grin. "You too, actually."
"What?!"
"No, not in a bad way! I've never understood you. You're so different from all the guys I've ever met."
This conversation was becoming interesting. "How am I different? Is it because I'm a Hargrave?"
Her pupils dilated just slightly. "It's really not about the money. It's just that your mind works very differently from all of us. I've seen you hurt people and yet you love your friends beyond measure. Then I see you cheating but you appreciate rules and discipline. You hate the people below you and yet you treat Phil like your family and leave tips worth hundreds of dollars for your workers. How's that even possible?"
I wouldn't say I was surprised as I chuckled nervously. I've wanted this conversation for a while now. I've wanted Breanna Riley to try to understand me. And finally, it seemed that she was trying. Attempting to press her for more doubts, I asked, "Well I don't see why you're calling me "different". I thought everybody was different in their own way?"
I'm annoying — I thought to myself as she let out an exasperated sigh.
"It doesn't matter." Her warm fingers curled around mine. "All I know is that even though you can be a dick sometimes, I've seen that you have a bigger heart than most people I've met."
Even though the intensity of her answer swayed me, I responded playfully. "I can be a dick sometimes?!"
"Well, most of the time."
"Oh, shut it!" I laughed, pushing her away from me. Now that's what I was talking about! Please remain like this, Bree. I've missed this side of you!
I was really tired of all the fake respect and the unnessary love that my workers and some of my "friends" gave me. They did that as formality so I would help them in need. But truly, sometimes I needed people like Breanna to tell me the truth and slap me a couple of times to remind me how much of a dick I was.
After plane took off, and we were seated comfortably, I asked her, "Do you want to go to the bar?"
"What bar?"
I grinned perkishly. Oh she was gonna love this.
"There's a bar?!"
Taking her hand in mine, I led her out of our cabin to the bar lounge. There was a good amount of people there. Businessmen, models, stars, etc. The wine glasses clinked rhythmically as the bartender tossed them around, tending to his customers. There was a small, circular bar table in the center of the lounge, the sitting area lining the plane's windows.
Breanna was bewildered. "Wow. A bar in a plane. This is definitely a first."
"You'll be having a lot of firsts this vacation, then."
We sat at the table and ordered the drinks. Bree wasn't even noticing how skilfully and ardently the bartender was making our drink. She looked around, taking-it-all-in.
Out of the blue, she turned back around and snuggled closer to me. "Carlton, people are looking at us."
I followed her fretful gaze, then enquired back reassuringly. "Why wouldn't they? We're the best dressed people here." She face-palmed again and I just couldn't help but smile at her cuteness. Ah! I just wanted to...keep her!
Maybe those people were looking because they had recognized me. They were probably old business officials looking for a good gossip. 'Oh and by the way Gary, I saw a Hargrave on my flight this mornin'. He was literally making out with this ginger at a bar. Call TMZ.'
I sighed.
But I was not going stop Breanna from having fun because of a bunch of old men who had nothing better to do.
We had our drinks in peace when we moved to a spot away from the hustle-bustle. She had her head rested on the window pane as she smiled. She had been like that for a long time now.
"What is it?"
"I'm just so grateful for everything."
I smiled back at her, acknowledging how perfect she was for me. I might spoil her with my riches, but she deserved everything.
She sighed. "After Aunt Vivian was killed, I had to run away and live in a very run down apartment. I had to work hard to make a living. For a few months, I worked at a bakery with very little pay until I got a decent job at a news company. But Augustus kept trying to find me so I had to keep changing locations and jobs."
"If you had just given me a call..." I stopped the moment I realised that I was saying something wrong. This was the part where she would open up to me! Don't mess this up, tiger.
She got emotional all of a sudden. "I have seen some very bad days and this, this is so unreal to me."
Bree was fated to be with me from the start and I knew it the first time I saw her — that I was going to win this girl over someday. I just didn't know that things would unfold so terrifyingly for that to finally happen. All of the pain she went through led to this day, as she sat close beside me on a flight to Vegas. I will make her fall in love with every second of it.
"You're a nice person, Bree. You are worthy of everything. And the fact that you helped Ace when he was homeless, really warms my heart."
I thought I saw her eyes glistening for a fraction of a second.
I ran my hand through her hair, gliding it down to touch cheek. "Just enjoy for these three days. This is your time. You've helped too many people. You need to give sometime to yourself too."
My ice princess smiled through the pain, wiping the tears of her scarring past. And hugged me. She hugged me so tightly, that it mended my lost hopes together.
Although the flight was more than six hours long, nothing was better than the both of us locked up in a cabin, miles above Earth, where nobody would interrupt us. In fact, the six hours went by too quickly, considering she had decided to sleep halfway down the flight. So I patiently watched her and spent my time reading her book.
I was never a book person but her book was making me wish I had been.
*****
After the plane landed, we walked down hand-in-hand into a car. Once inside, I went over the schedule. "So first we'll check-in, have lunch, then go to the designer to see the dresses for the party. Then we'll go shopping and top it up with a dinner at Bellagio. And then, we'll head off to our impressive suite."
She had her hands crossed, looking straight ahead with wide eyes. "And when are we going to the actual party?"
"On the last day which is Saturday. So three days from now. Is there anything particular you wanna do?"
Her shoulders slackened perplexingly. "I don't know what vacation-things are done on vacations! I never had one, remember?"
Oh right. Oops.
"Then you're in for a lot of surprises." I lightened the mood by kissing her cheeks. But she puffed them cutely. "I love you. I hope this trip can make you understand how perfect we're for eachother." I gave her one of my most charming and ecstatic smiles. It got all the ladies, alright?
"Stoooppp!" She face-palmed yet again. "You'll make me blush."
A lot of face-palming going on today, huh? "Never in a million years did I think I'd get a reaction like that from Breanna Riley."
"But you haven't even lived a million years."
"Breanna, it's a phrase. You're a writer, you should know."
"Yeah, but most of my books are on Wattpad. Wattpad writers don't really give a shit about a lot of things."
"Really?" My eyebrows furrowed. "Wattpad writers sound a lot like me!"
"Oh, please!" She rolled her eyes. "We haven't fallen that low!"
I threw my head back and laughed. It had been so long since I'd had such a wholesome conversation with someone.
I was starting to think Bree and I might actually work out.
*****
As planned, I chose the perfect place for us. Of course, I avoided the crappy, Earth-touching mansions that suffocated the life out of me. Claustrophobia was a bitch, for real. I went for penthouses. Always penthouses.
Bentel and Bentel penthouse suite — one of the most elegant yet sophisticated suites in all of Vegas. She would love it.
And it had a nice bed too in case we needed a nice...sleep. You know, long day and stuff?
After having lunch, we went to the Designer. Carolina Herrera, one of the most renowned fashion designers in the fashion community. She designed only for celebrities, but there were exceptions like me; and she was perfect for Bree's attire. As for me, my first choice of suit was Brunello Cucinelli. Always.
"It must be so expensive!" Breanna gasped as the floral gown flooding the floor beneath it, encassed with fabrics from the richest towns. "Why're we dressing so much for a twenty-year-old's birthday party?!"
"He's not just some random dude. The dude is crazy rich. He owns a lot of real estate and I'm about to sell some of mine to him."
"Whatever! But I can't accept it!"
"Too late. I've already paid." Only the best for my ice princess. "Go on. Try it on."
After that, we went straight to the mall. Breanna followed me around, carrying a pile of clothes that I had picked out for her. She needed to look her best even on the street!
"Aw ywu du ye?"
"What?" I took a cloth off her face.
"Are you done yet?!"
"Just one more." I put the cloth back on her face and pushed her inside the dressing room.
"Nah."
"Nope."
"Maybe with your hair tied up...?"
"That would look great with a hat."
"That's actually disgusting. Take it off."
The people here would probably think I was a gay fashion designer. I just knew more about fashion than most girls.
We also bought her a very hot swimsuit. She said she wouldn't show me "yet" but she really wanted it. It was quite a pricey one though. But fuck it. If my ice princess wants it, she gets it.
Phil was trying not to laugh. The bastard.
I didn't think I'd ever come this far without even kissing. I usually hooked up with a girl first before dating her. This was quite the opposite and in all honesty, I was kind of enjoying it.
When was the last time I had a romantic dinner? Probably never.
I got very close to a "romantic" date with that one girl, Ruby. I was kind of digging her too. But then we slept together and it ruined everything.
I will not repeat that with Breanna.
The dinner at the Bellagio was as close to romantic as I could get. I chose to dine with her on the deck instead of inside the hotel. The sounds of the waves crashing nearby, the wind carrying the scent of the sea, the seagulls cawing ambiently and seafood made out of all the delicacies that I had been craving all day.
The sun had almost set, painting the sky dark-blue. Close by, you could hear families and friends setting up their barbeques and bonfires.
And Breanna was looking at me dreamily.
"What?"
She shook her head, but kept smiling.
So I smiled back. "You know? This is our first date together that won't end in a tantrum. "
She giggled. "That's true."
"I remember when I first asked you out and you agreed? In highschool?"
"I agreed?! No way."
How does she not remember? "Yeah, even I was surprised. You said you'll give me chance. We were like sixteen or something. I took you out to nice little dinner and we got into a fight. It was bad."
"Oh my God, why don't I remember all of this?!"
I sighed, jokingly making a sad face. "Well...maybe because it didn't matter to you that much."
"Oh my God, stop. You're making me feel bad about myself!"
I chuckled at her expression. "Yeah, jokes aside. I am so happy about where we are in our relationship. And you don't even know how satisfying it is that you don't hate me anymore."
She rolled her eyes.
Food came and she ate without regrets. I liked that. I didn't appreciate her offering to pay every time. I admired how softly her lips curled around fork, how beautifully her hair fell over her face and how she swiftly shook the strands away from her eyes.
I needed a girl who didn't fancy my money. Maybe I was spoiling her but it was a test. I knew that it was bad to "test" people but when you're a billionaire's son, you needed to be more practical about the lists you make.
So far she was ticking all of my boxes.
After dinner, we walked out to the deck, leaning on the railings. The ocean was spread out in front of us, silent and unwavering. It healed my claustrophobia like nothing else.
"Did you enjoy today, Bree?" I asked, standing close to her.
"Yes. Yes I did. I don't remember the last time I've felt so...free, like there wasn't a problem in the world."
"I'm very happy you feel that. In my world, this is an every-day thing. Leave it to me and it will all be okay."
I felt her smile beside me, instinctively coming closer. It was nice to see her so happy and carefree. I've always wanted this. My hopes were so damn high. Too high for comfort.
My hopes were that she would actually start dating me and see through me. I didn't want to raise my expectations too much. It was never a good thing.
"Your world doesn't sound too inviting." She laughed.
Was she hinting that it's a no?! "Well, why don't you give it a shot?" I turned around and faced her, challenging her.
I leaned down to her height, holding a gripping gaze with hers. "You never know, you might like it."
"Okay..." She whispered in the softest sighs. Her hair was swishing over her eyes again, but she didn't tuck them away. So I tried to do it.
And she kissed me.
She leaned up before I could move, and she kissed me; pressing her lips to mine, very, very gently.
My eyes fluttered close, my hand hanging in the air where I left it.
No hands. No movements. Just our souls connecting where our lips met.
When she moved away, it felt like I had been kissing her for years. The tingles still lingered on my lips, intimately, teasingly. It was really short, but so, so beautiful.
No voice came out of me.
She touched out foreheads, biting on her bottom lip. "I think I'm starting to like it already."
My whole body was frozen solid. Yet I placed my hand on my chest where my heart was and panted like a dying man.
Breanna's soft giggles were carried away by the wind as she walked away from me.
And I stood on the deck, my heart thumping loudly under my hands, and my lips quivering with passion.
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