Fly With Me (Wild Aces #1)(49)

I stayed in my f*cking seat.

“Jordan! Aren’t you going to get up there?” my mother called out from the table next to ours.

I gritted my teeth at the sound of her overly cheerful voice. It didn’t matter if it was my third grade dance recital or my sister’s wedding, my mother never shied away from embarrassing me.

I looked at the dance floor—four singles. Awesome.

“I’m okay.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Go out there.” She turned to her sister, my aunt Shirley, lowering her voice slightly, but still loud enough that I couldn’t miss her next comment. “She’s thirty this year. No boyfriend.”

I bit my cheek trying to keep from offering up a retort. I did have a boyfriend. He just unfortunately had a wife in the United States Air Force.

“Are we ready?” the DJ asked, scanning the crowd.

Meg walked up to the front of the room, bouquet in hand. Our gazes locked across the room.

“Come on,” she mouthed, gesturing toward me with her free hand.

I loved my sister, and it was her wedding. I stood, feeling like everyone’s gaze was on me as I made my way to the group of girls eagerly awaiting the toss.

Oh God, my seventeen-year-old cousin was here.

So freaking embarrassing.

Meg turned her back to us, and then she heaved the bouquet over her head, the flowers sailing through the air.

I didn’t know if she did it intentionally, or if the bouquet gods had just decided to add to my embarrassment, but either way, the thing practically fell into my waiting hands as though pulled there by a magnetic field.

Meg grinned, coming over and giving me a big hug, while all the people cheered.

Whatever.



NOAH

I was exhausted after the ONE, my day spent essentially flying circles in the sky. I was in a shit mood, knowing I’d let Jordan down again, my mind with her the entire time. I didn’t want her family to think I’d flaked out, didn’t want her to think that, either.

I checked the time in Florida and pulled out my cell and called her, wondering if she would be back from the reception yet. She answered immediately.

“Hey. How was the wedding?”

I could hear the excitement in her voice, and the telltale sign that she’d been partying a bit. “Really beautiful. Meg was so happy.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there.” I stared at the picture she’d sent me earlier of her dressed in pink, flowers in her hand; I’d made it my backdrop. “You looked gorgeous. Did you have a good time?”

“Yeah, I did. I caught the bouquet.”

I grinned. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry I missed that.”

“Me, too.”

Silence filled the line.

Worry hit me.

“Are we okay?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes. Maybe a little no.”

A pang hit my chest. “That’s fair.”

“I know this is fast, and believe me, I kind of feel like an idiot for even bringing it up, but I’m thirty and I just caught the bouquet at my little sister’s wedding and endured days of relatives asking me why I hadn’t met a nice guy, and I’ve drunk like a freaking bottle of champagne, so I’m just going to ask—this is going somewhere, right?” She took another deep breath. “I’m not crazy here, thinking we’re on the same page when we’re not.”

I’d had the talk before with girlfriends, and honestly, it had never been something I enjoyed, but with Jordan, it felt different. I didn’t blame her for asking, and maybe it was too soon in the sense that we’d only known each other over a month, but in a way, it didn’t feel too soon. I’d been with girls for six months and felt less for them than I did for Jordan after just six weeks—a lot less.

“Yes. This is definitely going somewhere.”

“I don’t mind having fun, and I’m not asking for a proposal or anything,” she added, “but I really care about you, and even though I have no clue how it would work with our lifestyles, I could see myself having a future with you. I want to work toward that.”

God. Me, too. I was falling in love with her. I wanted to be able to tell her that we had a future together, wanted to give her the possibility of forever, even when my forever came with a host of military-provided caveats and asterisks.

“I don’t know what our future holds, and given the way everything has gone with my life in the military, I can definitely promise that it will be bumpy, but I’m with you—I want to work toward building a future together. I know it’s early, and I know it’s fast, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. You have me for as long as you want me.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Silence filled the line again and then I could hear the smile in her voice. “How was your flying thing?”

I grinned. “It was good. Wish I were in Florida with you, though.”

“Can I come see you soon?” she asked.

“I was hoping you would. I miss you.”

“How about next weekend?”

“Next weekend is perfect.”

Relief filled me. I’d been so worried that this would screw things up between us, but now I clung to the hope that there was still a chance.