“Can we get off this plane?” He leans toward me as if we’re not already squeezed together, and his nearness sends a current down my spine. “I’ll get you to Florida.”
Before I can respond, the flight attendant’s voice drones over the intercom. “Ladies and gentlemen, the cabin door is now closed. Please make sure your tray tables are in their upright and locked position.”
“Too late,” I tell him.
“Then I guess we’re flying coach.” He lifts a hand toadjust the air vents above us like that’s going to make a difference. “I hope we get peanuts.”
I choke out a laugh, my brain still trying to catch up with what’s happening while my heart sprints miles ahead, all hope and reckless wanting.
“Jeremy, why are you here?”
The teasing light drains from his gaze, replaced by something so intense that I have to look away.
“Because you left.”
“I was coming back.”
“Were you?”
I stare at the seatback in front of me. Because the honest answer is I don’t know, and he deserves better than another lie.
“Avah.” He reaches over the armrest and links our fingers. “You can’t leave me.”
The vulnerability in his tone that he doesn’t even try to hide cracks my chest wide open.
“We don’t have to do this here.” I glance toward the woman in the row ahead, who has angled herself between the two seats to watch us. The big man in our row blows his nose into a napkin.
“We do,” Jeremy says. “Because I should have said all of it before you left. I know about your dad, Avah. My assistant found out because he started reaching out to some of my contacts.”
It’s my worst nightmare, only I can’t wake up this time. “I’m so sorry, Jeremy. You must hate?—”
“What he did to you?” He pauses, his jaw tight. “There aren’t words for how much I hate it. And when she told me, I let doubt creep in for about five minutes, which made me even more pissed. Mostly at myself for allowing you to believe I’m another man you can’t trust with the truth. With your heart.”
The plane gains speed as we taxi, and the engines hum louder, filling the cabin with white noise. Seconds later, my stomach dips the way it always does after the plane goes airborne. Jeremy shiftsin the cramped seat, turning his body toward me as much as the space allows.
“It wasn’t that,” I whisper around the tears I refuse to shed. “My dad is using your name, but he can do so much worse. He’s going to target the NorthStar families. I knew—I know what he’s capable of, and I didn’t tell you. I should have warned you, but instead you were blindsided. Because I was so scared you’d look at me and see him.”
“I don’t see him. I said it before, Avah. I can’t see anything but you.”
“I should have told you all of it.” My voice cracks. “I’m so sorry I didn’t trust you with the truth.”
His hand tightens on mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t make you believe that nothing about your past is going to change how I feel about you. You don’t have to carry this alone.”
I shake my head. “I’m not sure I know any other way.”
There’s a familiar overhead ding, and I vaguely register other passengers letting down tray tables and pulling out electronic devices, but it feels like Jeremy and I are encapsulated in our own little bubble. Not like the soft seclusion of our time in the villa, but just as intimate.
“I’ve spent the last year trying to convince the Johnsons—and myself—that I deserve to be part of a community like NorthStar,” he says, completely unhurried. Like we’ve got all day, or at least the next several hours. “I thought showing up with a checkbook was the only way I could prove that I belonged. Then you taught me what it looks like to care about people in ways that are more important than investing from a safe distance.”
I press my thumbnail into my palm when my eyes start to burn.
“You made a huge difference in my sister’s life when she needed someone who wouldn’t treat her like she was fragile. And you changed mine, even though I didn’t think I needed anyone at all. You challenged every assumption I had about myself.” Histhroat works as he pauses again. “You make me want to be in the room for every moment, even when it means sitting in the cheap seats.”
A watery laugh escapes before I can stop it.
“I love you,” he says, the simple words cutting through every defense I have left. “I love the way you refuse to let anyone keep you down. I love that you bake when you’re stressed and swear like you’re elevating four-letter words to an art form. And I love how you fight for the people you care about, even if you thinkyou’renot worth fighting for in return.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, goosebumps trailing in the wake of his touch. “I want to fight for you, Avah. I also love that you went to see Mariel this morning to protect me, which meant exposing the secrets you’ve spent your life hiding.”
“How did you?—”
