Beyond Layers: Layer Series Book Four (Layers Series 4) (27 page)

She
finally
shuts off her iPhone. “I miss them.”

I growl. Yes, I literally growl.

Sam laughs. “What’s up with you?”

“I miss you. I need you. All of you.”

“You’re pathetic, and spoiled.”

“I know.”

“Ms. Grant, Mr. Romano, can I refill your drinks?” Mark, the flight attendant, asks.

Sam hands him her empty martini glass. “Mark, you make the best dry martinis.”

The asshole blushes. “Thank you, Ms. Grant.”

“You can call me Sam, ya know.”

He turns redder. “Okay.”

I clear my throat and shake my tumbler.

“Another scotch, Mr. Romano?”

No, Mark. Why don’t you go fuck —your unprofessional flirting ass—off?
“Yes please, Mark.”

I put my glass on his tray and he leaves us.

Sam frowns at me.

“What.”

“You’re being an ass.”

“He’s flirting with you and I don’t like it.”

“No, he’s not. He’s nervous. You make him nervous.”

“I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

She unbuckles her seatbelt and stands.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to pee. If that’s all right with you,” she huffs.

I nod and look out the window, watching sunlight fade as we fly into dark clouds.

Sam kisses the top of my head. “He’s gay, you know. He looks at me because he’s too shy to look at you. He thinks you’re ‘divine.’” She giggles. “If you’d stop being such an ass, maybe you could see it.”

She walks to the back of the plane.
Mark’s gay?

He returns with our drinks. “Mr. Romano,” he says, handing me my scotch.

I look up at him. His pale skin is flushing as he looks at me through his long lashes. Fuck me. He is gay.
Is that mascara?

He places Sam’s martini on her table. “Can I get you anything else, Mr. Romano?”

“No, thank you, Mark.”

He nods and turns to leave.

“Mark?”

He pauses. “Mr. Romano.”

“Please call me Logan.”

He grins like a gay fool. “We should be landing in about twenty minutes, Logan. If you or Sam needs anything, please let me know.”

I nod and he walks to the galley.

Sam returns and sits down. Her short pants are now long.

“What happened to your shorts?”

“I checked the weather in Whistler. Forty degrees.”

“Balmy,” I joke.

She downs half her martini. Her fourth.

I put my hand over hers. “They’re going to love you.”

She frowns. “Your parents seem cool, but your sister…?”

“Steph is messing with you, angel. And the rest of my sibs… I couldn’t care less what they think.”

“Well, I care what they think.”

I shake my head. “You shouldn’t.”

“What about your brother Jared and his wife, Sandy? She’s best friends with Janet, right?”

“Don’t worry about them.”

“You said Sandy doesn’t like you, tries to make your life difficult. Why?”

“Long story.”

She frowns. “Can you give me the short version?”

Big sigh. “Sandy dated Luke; she was in love with him. She thinks the wrong twin was killed. She hates me for living.”

“That’s stupid.”

“I agree.”

“So she was in love with Luke, hates you, and now she’s married to your brother. Does that strike you as… odd?”

“She is odd.”

“What about Jared? Do you get along?”

“Before Luke was killed, Jared and I were close. Now we only talk at family functions. And even then, he doesn’t say much.”

“That’s sad.”

I nod. “Yes, it is.”

Mark walks from the galley. “The captain said we are on approach. Can I take your glasses?”

We put them on his tray. “Thanks, Mark,” I tell him.

He nods and leaves us.

We buckle up. “I still can’t believe you have your own friggin’ plane.”

She frowns. “I shouldn’t have told you it was mine. It’s not a big deal, Logan. I fly a lot. Mostly for work.”

“I’m just messing with you, angel.”

Within minutes, we are on the tarmac, making our way to a private hanger. Sam takes out her iPhone and begins texting. She receives a reply within seconds then puts it in her bag.

“Who did you text?”

“Checking to make sure our car is ready.”

“Okay.”

Within minutes, we taxi into a hanger. When we come to a stop, Mark opens the door.

We stand. “Go ahead and exit, Logan. I need to talk to Ms. Waters about our return flight.”

I nod and grab my things. Ms. Waters steps out of the cockpit, and she and Sam chat about our schedule. Sam is nervous about Lex and the babies. She wants to make sure Ms. Waters is ready in case we need to fly home early. It was hard for her to leave home. I practically begged her. Okay, I did beg her. My family has been looking forward to meeting her and, I hope, seeing me.

When we exit, a man is waiting next to a Range Rover. He nods, hands me the keys and puts our luggage in the back. I get in and Sam speaks with him for a few minutes before joining me.

She buckles up. “Ready?

“Sam, I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For being an ass.”

She leans over the console, planting her lips on mine. “I love you, Romano. Even when you’re an ass.”

I start the Rover and we’re off.

“How long of a drive?”

“Not long. About twenty minutes.”

She sighs, looking at her iPhone and texting.

“Who are you texting?”

“Jax. There’s a… situation.”

“Situation?”

“Problems on a jobsite, a manufacturing plant in Dublin. It looks like I’ll need to fly there next week.”

“We’re meeting up with Matt and Allie at their lake house next week.”

“Hopefully I can resolve the issues in a couple of days. Then I can join you.”

“Can’t he get someone else to take care of it? We’ve already changed our Caribbean plans so you could be closer to home. And now he wants you to fly to Dublin.”

“There are many others working on the situation. It’s a sensitive matter, and Jax wants a Grant to oversee it.”

“Why sensitive?”

“There have been numerous problems and construction delays. Jax thinks the project is being sabotaged.”

“Sabotaged?”

She nods as she continues to text.

“I don’t want you getting mixed up in something like that.”

“It’s my job.”

“I don’t care.”

She looks at me. “I said I loved you even when you’re being an ass. That doesn’t mean you have to be one all the time.”

“I’m not being an ass. I’m pissed that our holiday hasn’t been much of a holiday, and I’m concerned about your safety.”

“Lee’s sending extra guards and an investigator from his London team to Dublin. And two guards will be going with me. I’ll be safe, Logan.”

With her?
“Are these guards both men? Are they single?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I just want to make sure they’re focused on their job, your safety.”
Not your ass and tits.

She puts her iPhone in her bag and looks at me. “Logan, I’m sorry about our holiday, but shit happens, plans change. Being a Grant isn’t all about estates, cars, private jets, and holidays spent on private islands. It’s about family, Logan, my family and thousands of others. Grant International employs thousands of workers, workers who have families, mortgages, college tuitions, medical expenses, food, and rent. When this plant in Dublin is finished it will employ three thousand, but many more lives will benefit. So when things don’t go as planned, don’t go your way, Logan, try to think about the bigger picture.”

You’re a selfish bastard, Romano.
“I’m sorry, angel.”

“Let’s enjoy the time we have together.”

I nod.

She looks up at the mountains. “Steph was right. There’s a lot of snow for this time of year.”

“Do you plan on skiing?”

“Hell, yeah. You?”

“I can’t.”

“It’s in your contract?”

“Yeah.”

“Where do you stand? I mean your contract with the Rangers.”

“I signed for a year, which is up in a couple of months, so now I renegotiate.”

“What are you going to do if…?”

“If they don’t sign me?”

She nods.

“I don’t know. We hardly see each other as it is, when we live in the same city. If I live elsewhere…”

“Let’s pray they sign you.”

I reach over the console, holding out my hand. “I’m sorry, Sam. About Dublin, about everything.”

She takes my hand, squeezing it. “I’m sorry too, Logan.”

“I can’t help but worry, Sam. I’ve been looking for you for years, my other half. Now that I’ve found you…”

She squeezes my hand again. “I get it, Logan, more than you know. I’ll be safe; you don’t have to worry about that. I’m never without security. The guy that met us at the airport?”

“The big bald guy.”

She nods. “His name is Harvey Leeds; he’s on Lee’s team. He’s former CIA and Navy Seal, and he’s right behind us in the gray Rover.”

I look in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, he’s behind us.

“He texted me, said he’s renting the Millers’ cabin.”

“That’s a house down from my parents’ house.”

“Yep.”

“Sam, I get why you need security, but… there’s more to it, isn’t there?”

“There is. I’m not allowed to tell you.”

I chuckle. “Allowed?”

She looks at me, all serious.

“You’re not kidding?”

“Lee told me you weren’t cleared.”

“I don’t understand. Did he tell you why?”

“He told me not to worry about it, my safety wasn’t compromised. He said if the subject came up, I was to tell you to contact him.”

Fuck.
“You’re not worried about it?”

She shakes her head. “I trust you and I trust Lee. I’m sure it was your nondisclosure about Luke, and I didn’t have a problem with it. I knew you would tell me about him when the time was right.”

“I’m sure that was it,” I lie. I pull off the main road and we drive though part of downtown Whistler. “When was the last time you were here?”

She smiles. “The last time was my junior year at U of O. I came up here winter break with a group of college friends.” She laughs. “I recall a lot of drinking, not a lot of skiing. I wish you could ski this trip.”

“Maybe next time.”

“Steph said she was an expert level skier.”

I roll my eyes. “She was on the Canadian ski team a couple of years ago. She injured her knee, never made it to the Olympics.”

“That sucks. I told her she’d be eating my powder. Sounds like I’ll be eating my words.”

I chuckle.

“Accommodations?”

I nod.

“Your mom said she was putting
me
in a guest room. I don’t want to disrespect your parents and all that, so I was thinking we could stay in a hotel a couple of nights.”

“Great minds think alike, my dear.”

“You mean horny minds. I’m not sure I can make it through even one night without you. That thing you did with your tongue last night. And when you—”

“Don’t say another word.”
Damn woman!

“Oh, poor baby.”

“Just looking at you makes me hard. When you talk dirty, well, let’s just say I shouldn’t have gone commando. My cock is rubbing rivets right now.”

“Would you like me to kiss it better?”

“Fuck, angel. You’re killing me.”

We make our way through town; I pull off the main drag and we drive down my parents’ driveway.

“You didn’t tell me you grew up in a log house.”

“I didn’t. Mom and Dad sold the house we grew up in and built this about five years ago.”

We pull up behind my sister Steph’s ancient BMW. I chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“Steph and her Beamer. That thing is shit in snow, rusting out, but she refuses to buy another car.”

We come to a stop and Sam hops out before I can open the door for her. We walk to the back of the Rover and get out our bags.

“It’s about fuckin’ time. Don’t tell me, the private jet was late,” Steph yells from the porch.

Sam laughs. “This is going to be fun.”

As fun as my last root canal.

My parents join my sister on the front porch. They love to tease me as much as Steph does. I haven’t been home in a while so it’s going to be brutal.

Sam hands me her bigger bag, giving me a half smile. “Are you ready to feed me to the wolves, Romeo?”

“The wolves, huh?”

We make our way to the pouch. My parents and Steph are grinning like fools.

My mom’s arms wrap around Sam before she makes it up the last step. “Um. Hello,” Sam says, and laughs.

My mom steps back, holding her hands. “Let me look at you. Logan is right. You’re breathtaking.”

Sam blushes as my mom steps aside and my dad takes over. He kisses her on both cheeks and looks her over. He winks my way. “You’re one lucky son of a—”

My mom clears her throat.

“You’re way too beautiful for my son,” he tells her.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Steph steps in front of Dad. “So you’re the bitch who has my brother all hot and bothered.”

“Steph,” Mom warms.

Sam just laughs. “So you’re the bitch who said she was going to ski my fat, pathetic ass off a cliff.”

Steph’s eyes go big. She actually looks embarrassed. Never thought I’d see the day.

“You heard that, huh?”

Sam nods. “Yup, Logan had you on speaker phone when we were flying on ‘prima-donna Airline.’”

“Oh, shit. Heard that too?”

“Sure did, bitch. Take a good look at my firm, small ass, because you won’t be seeing it when I bury you in my wake of powder,” Sam tells her.

They laugh.

“I like you, Samantha Avery Grant.”

“I like you Stephanie
Gwendolyn
Romano.”

“Shit,” she says, and looks at me. “You told her my middle name.”

I shrug. “You called my girl a bitch with a fat, pathetic ass.”

“Oh, I see. We’re playing what goes around.”

“Yup.”

“Bring it on, Romeo.

“Enough, you two,” my dad says, giving me a man-hug. He lets go and my mom gives me with her python hug.

We walk into the house. “Let me show you your
rooms
,” my mom says.

Sam and I look at each other, noting my mom’s emphasis on the word
rooms
.