CHAPTER 085: At The Hotel

Desiree glances at me out of the corner of her eye, her lips twitching like she’s debating whether to stay mad at me or give in.

After a short while, she tilts the phone toward me, scrolling back to the beginning of the flight.

“Here’s the first one,” she says, her voice a little softer now.

It’s a shot of her in front of the jet, her hair blowing in the wind and that excited, almost childlike smile on her face. I can't help but smile too.

“And this one,” she continues, swiping to the next photo. It's her making a goofy face in the luxurious cabin of my private jet, her tongue sticking out while she flashes a peace sign. “I was trying to get you to smile in this one, but you were too busy brooding.”

“I wasn’t brooding,” I say defensively, though the truth is I probably was. “I was... thinking.”

She arches an eyebrow. “Thinking? Sure, let's go with that.”

We fall into a comfortable silence as she scrolls through more pictures—selfies, shots of the island from the window, random pictu