hitched•cl•

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"Now that is a sunset," Presley awed as she gazed out the jet window that her husband had managed to book last minute. "Come, Leclerc, look." She begged as she gripped onto the beige hoodie he was wearing.

The driver happily, if not awkwardly, obliged and shuffled out of his seat on the opposite side of the plane. The plane was steadily cruising, so he sat on the armrest of Presley's seat, who was leaning against the window.

Charles studied the brunette's movements as she brought out her phone to take a boomerang of the plane's gentle movements through the clouds. He watched as she tucked a tussle of her chocolatey hair behind her ear, pierced with a single diamond stud.

Presley bit down on her lip, "Isn't it beautiful." She gasped as the burnt orange mellowed into amber tones and light pink hues. Waiting for his reply, she turned around, "You're not even looking," She giggled,

Except Charles was looking, the sunset was incredible, but the girl amazed by the work of nature was far more beautiful in his eyes. Max had been right when he casually mentioned that Charles had been fascinated with the Haas Principals daughter since that day in Abu Dhabi. The moment he accidentally walked into her was the day he wished to know more about her.

"Oh yeah, it's pretty," Charles told her, but this answer did not satisfy her, going by the narrowing scold on her brow. "I mean, aren't sunsets all the same?" He nervously added.

She shook her head. "You have much to learn, Leclerc." Presley laughed. Charles took her attention from the glowing sky and onto him.

Their eyes lay on each other, the man captivated by the brunette's aura. He noticed freckles, no more than seven dotted across her sun-kissed face and almond-shaped sage green eyes reflecting the sunset. Presley took her glossy pink lip in-between her teeth and gently bit down as her attention remained on Charles.

The silence was broken by Charles, who asked, "Why do you call me Leclerc?" It came out slightly harsher than he intended, "Not that I hate it." He panicked.

Presley laughed at the man who ran his hand nervously through his tawny brown hair. His lips curled into a half-smile, but she could tell that he was chewing on the inside of his mouth as he waited for her reply.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure." She told him with a chuckle, "Is there something else you'd rather me call you?" Presley winked.

Charles was taken back by her comment, and his cheeks flushed red, and his head shook. He took his attention to the seat opposite her and promptly moved to sit. He sat on the edge of the leather seat and leaned forward to rest his arms on his legs.

"No, Leclerc is fine," Charles informed her, "Or you know, Charles is fine too." He added.

Presley nodded and took it under consideration. Perhaps it was time to call him by his first name; after all, they were now married but calling him 'Leclerc' was muscle memory. She wasn't sure where that started. Milo. It was Milo.

"So..." Charles began with an awkward tone. A smile crept onto his face as he noticed that his wife was once again staring out of the window. Her limbs curled up in the seat, and her mouth slightly as the sky darkened.

"You've been to Napa Valley before?" He asked, "And you like riding?"

As the words left his lips, Presley turned around with a smirk on her face. Charles suddenly realised the cause for her chuckle and quickly corrected his previous remark to reinforce that he had meant Horse Riding. However, Charles secretly wished that the former was also an activity she enjoyed.

Presley nodded and explained that her father used to bring her mother to Napa Valley every year for their anniversary, and they would always pick out a wine from that year to take home. Even though they had separated around Presley's 17th birthday, her dad would still go to pick out a new bottle every year. She had also learned to horse ride, although that had more to do with the cute vineyard hand.

"Plus, it combines two of my favourite things, wine and sunsets?" She told Charles, who had relaxed into the jet seat. "And even better, no tequila."

Charles laughed a toothy smile, "You like sunsets, huh?" He quizzed.

She nodded, "What's not to love about them? I did a whole collection based on the hues of the sunset over the Grecian islands."

Suddenly Charles interjected, "Summer 2019?"

Presley was shocked about how he knew that; it was one of Steiner & Jaxon's first complete lines and the first one shown at Milan Fashion Week. It held a place in her heart, and the image of the  finale dress of ombre burnt orange tulle was etched into her memories.

"How did you -?" She gasped

Now Charles looked out at sunset, "I may, or may not, have googled you." He admitted with a shy smile as his attention returned to her slowly.

A warmth came over Presley as he told her about the shows he had watched and how talented he thought she was. Her boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, Jaspar, had never paid much attention to her career and whilst it never bothered her, Presley welcomed Charles's interest.

"I may, or may not, have googled you too." Presley winked as she asked whether he did have three middle names, to which Charles confirmed that he did. The idea of more than one middle name was alien to her, but she added that if her father had had his way, she would have had a whole list of middle names.

"Do you want to see my sketches?" Presley asked as Charles questioned her show in Paris and why it had a space theme.

Charles nodded, "I would be honoured; Juno said she hadn't even seen them yet." He gasped as he recollected her comment on her Instagram.

"Juju has a habit of getting too excited and planning her wardrobe around my sketches," she stood up to get the sketchbook out of her now vintage Chanel Denim rucksack. "One time, we didn't talk for a week because I threw out a design she was wearing to the launch party in her head."

Charles laughed but inside; he knew that was something he would do. He had. When Ferrari showed him the mockup of their 2020 race suit, he was left bitterly disappointed when the ones he was provided with upon the season opening did not match the mockup.

Presley hesitated about where to sit, but Charles patted his lap to invite her to sit. She looked at him, unsure whether that was the best decision, but when his eyelashes batted, she had no choice.

He uncrossed his legs, and his wife sat down. Her back rested against the side of the chair. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she wiggled to get comfy. "Is this ok?" Presley asked to make sure that she wasn't hurting him. He nodded, and she opened her sketchbook.

By the time Charles and Presley landed at Napa County Airport, it was dark; however, they had missed out on the first of the activities Charles had miraculously somehow planned on such short notice.

"Are we calling this a honeymoon?" Charles laughed as they sat in the back of the town car to the lodge that Presley had booked.

She looked at him, "Well, I don't think we can call this a girls trip, can we?" Presley smirked. The image of how he held her on the plane was engraved in her mind.