As the plane took flight, Kendall gripped Zach's hand tightly. He looked at her with concern, as she had not exhibited any fear of flying when they had made the journey from Pine Valley a week earlier. She looked at him with naked fear in her eyes for a moment before he pulled her against him and kissed her forehead gently as he asked, "Are you afraid of flying? Or is it something else?"
"Something else… I… I think," she said haltingly.
"You do know that you can trust me… whatever it is, we'll work it out together," he said in that same gentle tone. His free arm was loosely wrapped around her and he rubbed her arm as if to warm her, a gesture she found very comforting.
"I don't mind admitting to you that I'm frightened, Zach. The problem is that I'm not sure what it is that I'm frightened of," she whispered as if concerned that the other passengers would overhear her.
He dipped his head low to hear her words, turning his head to place a gentle kiss on her lips as she finished speaking. He pulled back a little before answering, "Does it have to do with the direction we're heading? Is it that you don't trust me to keep up my end of our bargain?"
She pulled back and gave him a melancholy look without ever relinquishing his hand, "But I do trust you, Zach… it's just… well, it's all going to change now that we're going home… and I… I don't want it to."
"Why does it have to? Did you ever consider that it might get even better?" Zach answered. "This time we can show them all that they're wrong about you… and about us. All you have to do is trust in yourself… and in what we've already accomplished… then you won't be so damn scared of a bunch of hypocrites passing judgment on our marriage!"
"I don't want to be scared of anyone, Zach! But the last time I checked, you were the one who told me that this was a crazy idea… And in my experience things always get worse," she replied in frustration.
"This game of love we're playing… it's going to require a lot of work and we'll always have to be on our guard… but we've already proven that we can do it and we make a good team. I won't pretend that it's not going to get harder – we have to continue trusting each other," Zach said softly. He sighed before continuing, "It's not too late to change your mind, you know. Anything Stuart Chandler may have said can certainly be discounted if we want to go back to the original business arrangement."
She realized as he spoke that she absolutely wanted to continue as they had begun. She wished she could tell what he wanted to do, but he was wearing an indecipherable expression. Thinking back over the last twenty-four hours, though, she recognized that he had been giving her mostly unguarded moments – and those moments told her that he was enjoying their marriage as it was. She was starting to know the man he hid, and the real Zach was a person she wanted to be with. His carefully cultivated air of mystery served him well, but he had trusted her enough to remain open in their private moments. "I haven't changed my mind… unless you have," she answered quietly.
His face softened as he gave her a warm smile saying quietly, "It's what I want, too." He cradled her face with his hands kissing her tenderly on the forehead, the tip of the nose and then her mouth before releasing her. He continued with a twinkle in his eyes, "You will have the most attentive and devoted husband that has ever been seen in Pine Valley… I will certainly rival any of your mother's husbands. Perhaps I can give some pointers to Jackson… he's an intelligent man, I'm sure he can learn by example."
Kendall's laughter tinkled as the flight attendant approached with an offer of champagne. Before she could answer Zach replied, "No thanks… my wife doesn't drink the stuff."
"I do now… we have a lot to celebrate," she interrupted.
Zach looked at her in puzzlement but accepted the champagne without comment until the flight attendant had moved to the next row. "Does this mean that your pain over Ethan has lessened? Or are you punishing yourself?"
"Champagne baths are so boring and uninspired… and I find that I much prefer the feel of sand against my skin," she answered.
He smiled broadly and said with a chuckle, "Champagne baths? How very… cosmopolitan… of him."
Kendall's laugh could be heard through the plane in response to his comment. She should have realized that he would find it humorous. In thinking back over their time together at the Bellagio and the casita, a champagne bath did feel like an affectation. Despite the way she and Zach had used a very expensive bottle of cognac, the bathtub full of champagne now seemed more pretentious than romantic. Perhaps one day she'd tell Zach that… but she wasn't ready to admit to him or herself how much she preferred his touch to that of his son.
They tipped their glasses together in a silent toast, eyes conveying to each other everything that needed said. After taking a sip of the sparkling liquid, Zach lifted her hand and gently caressed it with his lips. Kendall's' response was to shiver deliciously and quite suddenly feel anxious to have the plane arrive in Pine Valley, which was exactly the response Zach had been hoping to achieve. He whispered in her ear, "Still frightened?"
She smiled and rested her head against his, "No… it's impossible to feel that way for long when I'm with you. Have you figured out how we can stay together all the time so I don't have a chance to get nervous?"
"We do have a lot to do when we get there. I'm sure that we can spend most of our time together… but how much is really up to you. The last thing I would ever want to do is smother you with my presence," he answered.
She thought for a minute before replying honestly, "You don't smother me, Zach. I know this may sound strange… but I've felt freer with you than I've ever felt by myself... or with any other man."
"Thank you. I would hope that it's because I don't expect you to behave in a certain way… I accept you as you are. As I trust you to accept me," he answered with the same frankness.
"We promised to be honest with each other… I really don't want that to change. As long as you can stand me, don't bother scheduling in any private time on my account. I'll let you know if you get on my nerves," she said.
"And I'll do the same," he smirked.
She smiled in response, "So… now that we've got that out of the way. What is our itinerary? I know you well enough that I'm sure you have at least the next few days scheduled for us."
"I called my housekeeper and had my condo readied for our arrival. I know it was once Michael's… but there is nothing there to remind you of him. The place was completely cleaned and redecorated. And your place has memories…" he paused.
"…Of Ethan. That's fine. I'll need to go back to my place and check the mail and get some of my things together, but tonight at your condo sounds just right. Plus… my mother has a key to my condo and she might show up unannounced and catch us… well, you know. At least she has to knock on your door," she finished for him.
"My thoughts exactly. Although if your mother should catch us… would that be all bad?" he asked with a mischievous grin.
Kendall laughed again, "Be serious, Zach. We really don't want her admitted to the hospital from a stroke or a heart attack... but then again…"
Zach's eyes danced with his own laughter, "Okay… let's try to concentrate on our own plans for a few more minutes before planning any revenge on your mother."
"I'll try," she answered barely containing another giggle.
"With the paperwork filed for your licenses, I'm anticipating that we'll be ready to re-open that casino within the next week. Of course, we can delay it if you want but the sooner we re-open the quicker your profits start rolling in. We have an appointment with Livia tomorrow to go over our strategy for overturning my father's will. Hopefully she's gotten a court date. And… if I'm not mistaken… we have another wedding to attend," he finished.
"Another wedding? Are you planning a ceremony in Pine Valley? We never discussed…" she said in confusion.
"I believe your mother and Jackson's wedding is coming up… although I wasn't invited personally, it's been in all the papers," he answered.
"Uh-oh… Erica will not be happy that I've beaten her down the aisle," Kendall said with a small frown.
"Beaten her down the aisle? Kendall… the woman's been married ten times… I wouldn't worry about it. Unless, of course, you're afraid she'll be threatened by our happiness," he said with a smirk.
"My mother would never admit to feeling threatened… but we already know that she's going to be very unhappy with us both. Oh… and before I forget… will you be my escort to my mother's wedding? Since you weren't invited, I'd be honored to take you as my guest," she answered.
"I'd be delighted," he answered as he signaled a flight attendant to refill their glasses. After one more silent toast, he encouraged Kendall to try and nap for the remainder of the flight while he pulled out his laptop computer to do some work. She dozed off quickly as they hadn't had much sleep in the last forty-eight hours, and her head naturally slipped onto his shoulder. Although it made working more awkward, he found that he enjoyed the weight of her head against him and was soon dozing in his seat as well. The next thing they knew the flight attendant was waking them to announce the plane's approach to the Pine Valley airport.