Ocean Breeze

by Laura Conway

  Abbey dipped her head, running her tongue up Payton’s slit and through her wet folds before swirling around her swollen bud.

  Payton’s hand ran through Abbey’s hair, guiding her, silently begging her to keep going.

  Abbey’s tongue flicked across her clit, causing Payton’s hips to lift with every stroke.

  “I want you to come for me,” Abbey whispered, her breath tickling Payton’s most sensitive spot.

  Payton’s breath caught and she cried out when Abbey’s tongue returned to her clit, encircling it, teasing it, pleasuring her with every stoke.

  “Right there, right there!”

  Payton bit her bottom lip as she held Abbey’s head right where it was and Abbey’s tongue went into overdrive.

  Payton’s body shook as an intense orgasm took over her, the muscles in her legs clenched, her hips lifting off the couch, until she fell back into the cushions with a content sigh.

  Abbey wiped her hand across her lips before climbing back on top of Payton and kissing her deeply, her tongue finding Payton’s, knowing that she’d be able to taste her juices on her mouth.

  “Hmmm,” Payton moaned softly.

  “Worth the wait?”

  “Definitely.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  August 19th

  When Abbey woke up the next morning, she felt like she’d been hit by a bus. Her legs were so sore and stiff as she padded her way into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

  They couldn’t keep their hands off each other last night. They eventually moved upstairs and Abbey had lost track of the times she came.

  Today though, Abbey couldn’t wait to tell Payton about her plan. Well, it wasn’t so much a plan… Just an option.

  She didn’t want Payton thinking that she was turning her life upside down to be with her. Their relationship was still too new for that. She did want Payton to know that this was an option, that if they wanted to stay together after January, it didn’t necessarily need to be a long-distance relationship.

  Abbey had a quick shower and towel dried her hair before returning to Payton’s bedroom to find her fast asleep on her back, tangled up in the sheets.

  Abbey smiled to herself as went into her room to get dressed and head downstairs to make them some coffee.

  Almost an hour later, Payton came down the stairs, her hair tied up in a messy bun.

  “Morning… I think,” Payton said, glancing at the clock in the kitchen.

  “Just about.”

  “We did have a late night,” Payton said, wrapping her arms around Abbey from behind as she started making them breakfast.

  “We did. Scrambled eggs okay?”

  “Sure… Hmmm… Coffee. Definitely required today,” Payton said, pouring herself a cup.

  Abbey finished making breakfast and brought over two plates full of eggs and toast to the dining room table to sit across from Payton.

  “So… You know my friend, Eve, from college?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I was talking to her about Tampa and she was showing me around… I asked her to help me find some office space,” Abbey said, her eyes searching Payton’s face for her reaction.

  “Office space?”

  Abbey nodded. “We found a few places that would work…”

  “You’re thinking of starting your own firm here?”

  “Not exactly. It was Melissa’s suggestion actually… I’ve always wanted to expand our firm in New York and she’s been reluctant to do anything too drastic. She’s happy with her workload, our partnership, and the people we already had working with us. So… she suggested that I open up a branch of our firm here.”

  Payton’s lips moved into a smile as she leaned forward, her arms resting on the table as she waited for Abbey to continue.

  “She’d run the office in New York and I’d work on getting set up down here, building up a new client list.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “It’s not a definite thing. I just wanted to know that if I wanted to stay, I wouldn’t be letting Melissa down and that I’d be able to make it work. It’ll be hard… And I haven’t made that decision yet. I’m just keeping my options open.”

  Payton laughed to herself. “I uh… I know we spoke almost every day for the last two months but I couldn’t see it working in the long term. The only thing that got me through it was knowing that it was temporary, that I’d see you again in a few weeks. I still couldn’t let myself think about what would happen in February, when you went back home.”

  “I really thought that I might be jumping the gun,” Abbey said with a smile. “But I guess not?”

  “No,” Payton said, pushing back her chair and standing up. “Definitely not,” she said as she came around the table to reach for Abbey’s hand and pull her into a hug.

  “That’s such a relief.”

  “If you want to go home… I’ve always loved New York,” Payton said, brushing a lock of Abbey’s hair away from her eyes. “I’ve never lived there but I wouldn’t rule it out. I don’t want you to think that the only option is for you to move here.”

  “You’d move to New York? For me?”

  “Yes,” Payton said with a smile.

  “We’ve got it bad,” Abbey said with a smile as she leaned in, brushing her lips across Payton’s.

  “I know,” Payton said before kissing her back, parting her lips against Abbey’s, deepening the kiss, running her hand through Abbey’s hair.

  Abbey broke the kiss a few seconds later, laughing softly to herself.

  “What’s so funny?” Payton asked, taking a step back to look at her.

  “I came down here with a one-way ticket... With no set date to return and no specific day to start back at work with Melissa.”

  “It’s like you knew you weren’t going back.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know,” Abbey said with a smile. “It seems like that’s what’s happening though.”

  “Will you show me where you’re thinking of setting up?”

  “Sure.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Abbey watched Payton go find a pair of flip flops and her car keys. She was almost frozen in place, shocked that this was going better than she ever could have imagined.

  “What are you going to call it?” Payton asked as she opened the front door. “Butler Family Law? The Law Offices of Abbey Butler?”

  Abbey smiled. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I don’t know. ‘The Law Offices of Abbey Butler’ does sound good though.”

  Abbey followed Payton out to her car and got in. She couldn’t wait to call Melissa later on and tell her that this was more than likely happening.

  She needed to start getting serious about all this planning and making sure her clients in New York were still happy before she moved onto this new venture.

  Abbey let down her window, the wind blowing through her hair.

  How did I get this lucky?

  Epilogue

  January 26th

  Abbey stood in front of the two-story building that now had a new name on the sign outside, the metal plate glistening in the morning sunshine.

  It was almost two years to the day that she’d landed in Tampa and a year after she was supposed to go home and return to her life in New York.

  Abbey lifted her hand to trace over the freshly engraved letters.

  The Law Offices of Abbey Butler

  A lot had to happen for her to get to this point but she was finally in business.

  She could remember a similar moment, when Melissa had been standing beside her, in front of their building in Brooklyn, doing the same thing, marvelling at how far they’d come, both excited to see their names on the front door.

  This was different though. Abbey knew that she was a good lawyer and she was used to seeing her name on the door.

  This was about change, about finding a life that she didn’t even know she’d been searching for.

  This was the start of something new and she c
ouldn’t believe that Payton was the woman she was going to share it with.

  Thank You!

  Thanks for taking the time to read One Way Ticket. I'd love to hear from you and find out what you thought of it.

  Reviews are so important for indie authors like me, so if you have a second, head on over to Amazon or Goodreads and let people know what you thought of One Way Ticket.

  Also by Emma Collins

  Second Chances

  Love Unscripted

  Dreaming of Paradise

  Christmas Wishes

  The Business of Love

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

  Copyright © 2020

  Chapter One

  Payton Sutton pushed through the glass doors of her mother’s law firm, barely registering the names on the door. Blake, Sterling, and Wilson. She left Manhattan’s snow-covered streets and entered the modern offices, breezing past the secretary manning the desk downstairs.

  They all knew her. She’d practically grown up here, reading a book underneath her mother’s desk when she was a child or working on her homework in one of the empty conference rooms, and she always thought that she’d be adding her last name to that door, but lately she didn’t know what she wanted.

  Payton waved to a few familiar faces as she waited for the elevator doors to open, smoothing her hands down her dark wash jeans. The elevator pinged, the doors slid open, and Payton was met by her mother’s crystal blue eyes, so much like her own.

  “Morning, Payton,” she said, tucking a lock of her wavy blond hair behind her ear as she stepped out, her red winter jacket draped across her arm. There wasn’t even a hint of a smile. They had the same hair and eyes, but thankfully that’s where the similarities ended. “Finally ready to sit an interview and start practicing law?”

  Payton’s jaw clenched. Ever since she’d graduated from law school almost two years ago, her mother had been relentless, always asking her when she was ready to join the firm, and Payton was so sick of it. She didn’t even know if she wanted to be a lawyer, but she’d yet to say those words out loud, knowing exactly what her mother’s reaction would be.

  Payton cleared her throat. This wasn’t a conversation for the lobby of a busy law firm. “I was just on my way up to your office.”

  “And I was just on my way out.”

  Payton followed her to the door as her mother put on her jacket. “Can I walk with you?”

  “Sure. I’m meeting a potential client, so, you have two blocks.”

  Payton nodded. “Okay. This won’t take long.” She kept up with her mother’s brisk pace, trying to figure out the best way to say this.

  Wet snowflakes danced to the ground as they joined the steady stream of people coming and going on the busy sidewalk.

  “So,” her mother started. “What did you want to talk about?”

  Payton stepped to the side to let a man and his child get by her, their breath evaporating into the air. She tucked her black scarf in closer to her neck, the bitter cold already reaching the bit of skin that had been left exposed.

  “I’m going to go to Spain,” Payton said. “I’ll stay at Dad’s apartment in Benalmadena.”

  “For how long?”

  “I don’t know. A month or two. Maybe more.”

  “I hope you don’t think you can live on your inheritance forever,” her mother said as a taxi blared its horn. “Fifty-thousand dollars won’t last long, even in Spain.”

  “I’m not-” Payton took a deep breath, her gloved hands balled into fists at her side. “I don’t plan on living off it for long. I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do, and I’m tired of this cold weather. I just need a change. I haven’t been there since he died, so I know it’s not going to be easy, but I feel like I need to go... Think. Relax.”

  They waited for the lights to change, the snow falling a little heavier now. “Why didn’t you tell me?” her mother asked as they started walking again. “I thought you’d be joining the firm. I understand that you needed time to grieve, but it’s been almost a year, and now you’re jetting off to Spain?”

  “I haven’t been planning this. I had a dream last night,” Payton said, her boots crunching against the freshly fallen snow. “It was more of a memory, really. I was over there, with Dad, just like we used to in the summers, swimming in the ocean. It made me realize how much I miss spending time there, and I woke up this morning, thinking, why don’t I just go?”

  “So, you’re letting your dreams dictate your life?”

  Payton could hear the judgement in her mother’s voice, but she bit back her reply. “I’m in a very fortunate position. My father left me his old place in London and the holiday home in Spain, along with some money. I think I should use those resources to make sure I’m doing what’s best for me.”

  “I’m surprised he didn’t leave it all to that tramp,” her mother mumbled.

  “Hey,” Payton said. “Angela is one of the nicest people you could meet. You divorced Dad when I was fourteen, and he waited years to start dating again. He looked after her, too, not that it’s any of your business. She’s keeping the flat they bought together in Shoreditch.”

  “Of course, she is.”

  “Anyway,” Payton said, running out of patience. “That’s what’s happening. I know you want me to put my degree to use, and I will. Just not right now. I’m not ready to settle down. I know how hard I’d have to work to make it at Blake, Sterling, and Wilson.”

  “Well, at least you have that right. I wish you would consider taking my name. Sterling has a lot of pull in this city.”

  Payton sucked in another deep breath. She was definitely not going to change her last name. “Good luck with your meeting. I probably won’t see you before I go.”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Oh. Well, I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for Payton,” her mother said, and then she was marching towards the hotel’s door. The doorman held it open for her, and she never looked back.

  Payton rolled her eyes, moving to the edge of the sidewalk to flag down a taxi. She’d always been happy being an only child, never having to share her room with anyone or babysit them, but right now, she would have loved to call a sister or a brother and complain about their mother to them.

  Payton knew that was how that conversation was going to go, but it still stung. Her father was the only person who ever got her, who encouraged her to go after her dreams, as crazy as they might seem, and now he was gone. A heart attack. He worked out five days a week and had a personal chef, making him healthy, nutritious meals. It just didn’t make sense. He’d only been forty-five.

  A yellow taxi pulled up, and Payton tugged open the door, giving the driver the address to her apartment, glad to be out of the snow and inside the warm car. Tomorrow, she’d be in the south of Spain. She slid her phone out of her pocket to check the weather forecast. A sunny sixty-five degrees. She could do that.

  Payton didn’t care if her mother thought she’d lost her mind. This is exactly what she needed. Before she was going to commit to her mother’s law firm, she needed to know if it was what she really wanted. It wasn’t until the middle of her third year in law school that she actually thought about what her life would look like if she pursued this career. She’d always done well in school, and she could remember the smallest details that someone else might have overlooked. Going to law school was the obvious choice.

  Her mother had been her biggest encouragement, but only when it came to law school. She never suggested going to art school even though Payton had spent most of her free time as a child drawing or painting. Her mother never mentioned finding singing lessons when Payton’s father had gotten her a guitar for her fourteenth birthday, and she had a natural ability for it.

  Payton’s only career path for
as long as she could remember was to be a lawyer, to follow in her mother’s footsteps. When she graduated and Payton’s friends were all talking about what firm they were going to go to and what kind of law they wanted to practice, Payton had none of that ambition.

  Two years later, she was still avoiding putting her degree to use. A lot of that came from her father’s sudden death almost a year ago. Payton knew life was short. Everyone did, but it’s not until you’re faced with your own tragedy, with your own loss, that it really starts to sink in.

  The idea of seeing her mother every day, of going into the same office, sitting at the same desk, it made her shudder. She wanted to do something different, to explore all of the things she’d ignored for so long, like spending time in London or Spain, like drawing or photography.

  A one-way ticket to Malaga was exactly what she needed.

  Chapter Two

  Jackie Willis closed her book and slid it into the pocket behind the seat in front of her, leaning back into the slightly cramped airplane seat as one of the flight attendants came onto the PA system. From her seat, Jackie could see the flight attendants making their way down the aisle, and she ducked back to get out of the way.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re expecting to hit some turbulence in the next few minutes. Please remain in your seats and fasten your seat belts.”

  Jackie glanced at her watch, wondering if they’d be delayed. Not that it mattered when she arrived in Malaga. She knew Oliver, her best friend and business partner, would be working at their tapas restaurant and could cover for her if she wasn’t back in time to start her shift. She was just anxious to get back, to start the next chapter of her life.

  She’d spent a week in London, finalizing all the paperwork after she’d sold her flat in Shoreditch. She hadn’t lived there full time in years, not since she settled in Benalmadena, a seaside town on Spain’s southern coast, but it was considered an up and coming area in London, so selling it made sense. Jackie could use the extra cash to invest in their growing business.