He nods and smiles widely, likely thinking about the commission he’ll be making off this sale. I climb into the car and pull away from the curb. The sensation of driving myself feels foreign at first, but I quickly readjust and enjoy the quiet morning as I drive toward Fourth Street.

I pull up in front of the blue house, and Jace appears in the doorway. He walks down the brick walkway with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He tosses it into the trunk and climbs into the passenger seat before kissing me hello.

“Sweet ride,” he tells me, looking over the brand-new interior.

“Buckle up,” I reply, shifting the car into drive.

“Any chance you’re going to tell me where we’re going?”

“None,” I reply, grinning over at him.

“Any chance you’ll let me drive so we make it there in one piece?”

“None.”

We arrive safely at the small airport about an hour later. Julie and Steve are already waiting on the runway as I carefully park the car in the private lot.

Jace looks around in confusion. “Where are we going, Vivienne?”

“Have a little faith,” I tell him. “Come on.”

I climb out of the car and grab my bag. Jace does the same before I lock the SUV.

We walk over to the small plane parked on the runway. A tall older man who must be the Vanderbilts’ pilot stands next to Julie and Steve. He bows slightly as Jace and I reach the runway, suggesting he’s either been told or simply figured out who I really am.

Jace looks understandably bewildered.

“Princess,” the pilot greets me. I say a bad word in my head. “It’s my pleasure to fly you and your friend today.”

“Thank you for accommodating this in your schedule so last minute.”

“I do whatever Duke Vanderbilt or his guests ask, especially when it’s for our future queen.” The man smiles. I nod to Julie and Steve and grab Jace’s hand, pulling him up the short set of stairs.

“What the hell is going on?” Jace whispers to me as we settle into the luxurious leather seats on the plane. “Who are those people? Why was he talking to you like that?”

“I’ll explain everything when we get there, I promise,” I implore. “Just trust me, please.”

Jace looks far from appeased, but he nods and stops asking questions.

The pilot gives me a respectful nod as he climbs the stairs and heads into the small cockpit. Julie and Steve take two of the seats several rows behind us. The door automatically raises and closes. A couple of minutes later, we’re whizzing down the runway and are airborne. Jace looks out the window, his handsome face impassive.

It takes us just over three hours to arrive in South Carolina. Jace dozes off about twenty minutes into the flight, while I stare out the window, trying to decide what I’m going to tell him when it’s just the two of us again. I could still concoct some sort of story to explain it all away, but there’s a large part of me that just wants to reveal the truth. Explaining my departure by telling him the same packaged story as I’m supposed to share with everyone else, that I’ve decided to leave Lincoln and transfer to a university in London because I miss the city, seems ludicrous now.