Married by Monday

“That we blow the lid off this before anyone else. And we do it with your uncle at your side. Hell, he doesn’t even need to know why he’s there. We can tell him the media wants photos of you both.”

“Max is vain, but not so much that he’d fly out for a photo op.”

“What about the fund raising dinner scheduled for Saturday?” Eliza suggested.

Carter wasn’t convinced. Making a deal with the devil might prove a better risk than his uncle. “What exactly do you think my uncle can do for us?”

“Like it or not, Carter, Max is respected and probably feared by his peers. As you already know, politicians might sit on opposing sides of the fence on how to pass bills and run this country, but all of you have one common bond. Protect your families. What you do will reflect on Max and him on you. It would be in his best interest to stand united with you and Eliza as you move forward with this information. Max didn’t earn a senate seat being stupid.”

Max was anything but stupid. Max was dangerous. The thought of owing him a favor rankled in Carter’s stomach like acid.

“What’s going through your mind?” Eliza asked quietly.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I don’t know if we can trust him. In fact, I know I can’t.”

“Could he make things harder for us?”

“In the short term, probably not.” But the devil always manages to get paid in the long run.

Jay stood to the side and fiddled with the pen he held between his fingers.

“Why don’t we ask your mother? She knows Max better than all of us.”

Carter forced a smile he didn’t feel. “Yeah… Okay.”

Eliza squeezed his hand and turned to Jay. “Make sure we have extra space at our table at the dinner. We’ll let you know what names need to be added to the guest list.”

“Great.” Jay started to leave the room to carry out their requests. “Remember what they say, Carter. Keep your enemies close and all that...”

****

Once again, Eliza used Gwen’s fashion expertise to dress her as a political wife. Carter opened his accounts for Eliza to use. As an independent woman the thought of spending someone else’s money felt wrong. Wrong or not, Eliza’s personal bank account wouldn’t hold up long under the strain of Gwen’s taste.

It wasn’t until Carter asked her opinion on the size of a private jet that the magnitude of his wealth sunk in.

“You’re serious?” she asked him.

“Like I said, I can’t keep using Blake’s. He has his own business to run.” Carter pointed to the sleeping quarters within the plane. “It sleeps two. Even the chairs fully recline.”

“It’s a plane. A jet plane.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Can you fly it?”

“That’s what pilots are for.”

“You’re seriously considering buying an airplane?”

He leaned forward in his chair to peer deeper into the monitor that covered one-third the size of his desk. “I’m not sure about the interior,” he mused aloud. “I think darker colors would feel more modern.”

Eliza closed her eyes and shook her head. “Have you seen the amount of zeros behind the first two numbers? How big is that coffee can buried in your backyard?”

“I’ve been saving.” He clicked onto another page and grinned. “Oh, I like that better. What do you think? It seats twelve.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I like the dark wood.”

“You’re talking millions, Carter. You can’t be serious.”

He clicked another page and his eyes lit up. “Now we’re talking. This has a range of over five thousand miles and it seats eighteen. Perfect.”

Eliza grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look in her direction. “What are you doing?”

“I’m buying a plane. What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Why?”

“Because we need it. I fly damn near every week, and I’m sure as hell not going to put you on a domestic flight. Blake encouraged me to invest in this years ago, but I didn’t see the need. Now, I do.”

“Blake’s a duke. He can wipe his ass with hundred dollar bills if he wants. You don’t have to keep up with your best friend.”

Carter cocked his head to the side and offered her a coy smile. “I’m not keeping up with the Joneses, Eliza. I’ve considered this for a while.”

“Why now?”

He pulled her down into his lap and perched her on his knee. His arms circled her waist and the pure masculine scent of him surrounded her in a familiar warmth.

“It’s time,” he said. “Time to stop pretending I don’t have the means to afford this…to take care of you.”

Eliza lifted her hands to his broad shoulders and kneaded the muscles behind his dress shirt. “I don’t need a plane.”

He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. “I disagree.”

“You’re crazy,” she told him again.

He laughed and swiveled in the chair with her in his lap until they were both facing the monitor filled with luxury jets. “Which one do you like?”

“Crazy.”

“Dark wood or a light pine?”

Eliza’s gaze found the monitor. “The light looks dated.”

Carter’s fingers squeezed her side. “So dark it is…and we want to make it across the country without refueling, so we need one of these larger models.”

It was hard not getting caught up in the shopping experience. But good Lord, they were looking at jet planes. “If we’re going all out, it has to have a bedroom.” Her thoughts returned to the short time they had on the return trip from Hawaii. Her cheeks grew warm.

Carter snuggled closer and clicked the mouse on the two most expensive models on the screen. The lush interior of the jet sparkled through recessed lighting and leather reclining chairs. A bar area with a small kitchenette took up a small corner. The full bathroom contained everything a traveler could need.

“The bed isn’t that big.”

Carter kissed her shoulder and nuzzled her neck. “We don’t need a lot of room.”

Eliza turned her head and found his lips. Thoughts of airplanes and bedrooms disappeared as Carter reminded her of how very little room the two of them took up on a bed.

****

Abigail agreed with Jay. Though she didn’t completely trust her brother, she knew he would avoid family scandal to preserve the family name.