21. Isla

21

ISLA

“Did you weigh your bags?” Kavanaugh asked as I wheeled my bag through the airport.

“Yes,” I gritted out for the tenth time.

“Because you’ll get overcharged if?—”

I spun around before he could finish, glaring at my boyfriend, who was soon to be buried in my suitcase and sent on a plane to Japan. “Look, I know you’re trying to be helpful, but you’re driving me crazy. Yes, I checked my bags. Yes, I made sure that all items in my overhead bag are in line with airline requirements. I’m aware of the fact that we are two minutes later than we wanted to be, but that’s only because you made me stop five times since we left the house to triple check all my bags. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to catch this flight instead of the next one.”

He quirked an eyebrow at me, slinging his arm around my shoulder. “Maybe we should get you a drink before you get on the plane. You seem a little tense.”

I gritted my teeth, doing my best not to snap at him. It really wasn’t his fault. He was trying to be helpful, but I was so on edge I was getting angry over the smallest things. I really needed this job to go well. It was the first decent-sized job I’d had in ages, and it would help me pay off some of those student loans I was so close to getting rid of.

“Maybe a drink wouldn’t hurt,” I agreed.

He grinned at me, squeezing me tighter. “I’m sorry I’m being a pain in the ass.”

“You’re really not,” I admitted. “You’re just trying to make sure everything’s going right.”

We were close to baggage check and got in line behind an elderly couple. “Well, it’s possible that I’m being a little anal because I’m out of work. Maybe I could join your graphic design business.”

My head swiveled to look up at him. “Doing what exactly?”

He shrugged. “Protecting your projects.”

“On a computer,” I said slowly.

“Well, it’s not a perfect idea.”

“Kavanaugh, no offense, but if I had to work with you day in and day out, I’d probably murder you.”

The woman in front of me grunted in agreement.

“I thought you liked me being around.”

“I do, but you need to find a hobby or something.” He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. “And watching me work is not a hobby.”

“Mhmm,” the woman agreed.

Kavanaugh gritted his teeth at the woman and I squeezed his hand, letting him know not to say a word. “You don’t complain when I make you breakfast.”

This time, the man grunted.

“Making me breakfast is very nice.”

“See? You like me being around.”

“But if you found a job or got a hobby, I would still be perfectly capable of making my own breakfast.”

“Mhmm,” the woman agreed.

“Yeah, but you don’t make pancakes the way I do. You know, with the little sprinkles and the heart made of syrup,” he whispered.

“You’re right. I don’t make any of those things. I also don’t run a security check on the entire street while making breakfast.”

“You never do that for me,” the woman hissed at her husband.

The line finally started moving again, giving me a break from the conversation. Or so I thought.

“I’m a cautious guy.”

“You’re paranoid,” I hissed. “Mrs. Dorset is not spying on me when she brings me apples and Mr. Crosby is not really Bing Crosby come back to life in disguise!”

“You don’t know that,” he glared at me.

“And I also know that the kid riding his bike up and down the street is not really scoping out the house for times when I’m most vulnerable. He is literally just a kid on a bike, riding around and having a good time. And he’s taunting you because he knows he can.”

“Yeah? Well—” He snapped his mouth shut and glared at me.

Pretty soon, we were done checking our bags and in line to go through security. Everything was moving so quickly until it was my turn to be scanned. Something beeped and the TSA agent stepped back. “Ma’am, are you wearing any metal?”

I ran my hands over my body, taking note of everything on me. “Nope.”

She ran the wand over me again, this time pursing her lips. “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me to be patted down.”

“Go with you?—”

“No,” Kavanaugh intervened. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”

“Sir, this is part of the process. We just need to make sure she’s not concealing anything.”

“You’re not taking her anywhere!”

I saw the anger and panic in his eyes, but I didn’t understand it. I put my hand on his arm and smiled. “It’s fine. This happens all the time.”

“Bullshit,” he snapped, his eyes flashing around the airport.

“What are you so worried about?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“Ma’am, we can either do this out here or in private.”

“It’s not a big deal,” I whispered. “I’m just following them.”

“Then I’m going with you.”

“Sir, you’ll need to stay here.”

“It’s fine,” I said again, squeezing his arm lightly. “I’ll be fine.”

I gave him a reassuring look before stepping away with the TSA agent while he was scanned. Hopefully, he wouldn’t throw a temper tantrum and get kicked out of the airport.

As expected, the woman patted me down quickly, and then I was free to go. The minute I stepped out of the room, I saw Kavanaugh pacing by the belt, running his fingers through his hair. What the hell was he panicking about?

I smiled brightly as I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. Only then did he relax. “All done and in one piece.”

His eyes flicked to the TSA agent and he scowled. “That was completely unnecessary.”

“You need to calm down. You’re going to get us kicked out and this job is too important to me.”

With a few deep breaths, he was calm enough to move on. I grabbed my things, but he immediately took my hand, holding it tight as we made our way through the airport. He was silent as we walked, his eyes taking in everything. It made me uneasy, and it wasn’t long before I was doing the same thing, looking for danger in every dark corner. If we kept this up, I’d go mad by the time the trip was over.

“Promise me something,” he said, pulling me aside when we got to the gate.

“Sure.”

“I mean it. Swear to me you’ll listen.”

Worry settled in the center of my chest at the earnest expression on his face. “Yeah, I swear I’ll listen.”

“Whatever happens on this trip, swear to me you’ll listen to everything I say.”

“Kavanaugh, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I’m just—I’m on edge after everything that’s happened. I’m not used to being on my own for security. Usually, I have a team at my back.”

“But this isn’t a job,” I reminded him. “No one’s after us, right?”

It took him just a second too long to answer. “Right.”

“Kavanaugh…you would tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Because I don’t want any more lies between us.”

Finally, he smiled at me, shaking his head. “I’m just being paranoid.”

“You swear?”

“It’s the senator and Shawn. I just keep getting the feeling that it’s not really over.”

“It will be soon enough. My lawyer assured me it should only be a few more months before the divorce is finalized. And you didn’t take the job with the senator. All of that is done. You’re just looking for trouble.”

He blew out a harsh breath, chuckling lightly. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“I know I am. Now, how about we find that drink before the flight takes off?”

Even though he was smiling now, I knew something was still bothering him. I really hoped it was just as he said—nerves over what had already happened. But my gut was telling me I wasn’t getting the full story, and if there really was something else going on, why wasn’t he telling me?