Page 95 of Come Fly with Me

“I know,” I reply. “I wish I had too. I think I just… I don’t know. I hated that I’d fucked up that bad. It was such a train wreck, the whole thing, and…”

Taylor scoffs a little. “And you think my marriage wasn’t?”

Now it’s me nodding as I step closer and put my hands on her arms. I feel her stiffen beneath my touch, but she doesn’t pull away, and I take that as a promising sign. “I’m so sorry, baby,” I whisper. “I know I fucked up, and I know that you know better than anyone what a shitty marriage can look like. But please believe me when I say I will never, ever lie to you again. Will never keep secrets from you again.”

I step closer, so there are only inches separating us. Taylor looks up at me, her eyes meeting mine. Neither of us says anything, just watches each other.

“I’m sorry,” I eventually whisper.

“I know,” she says. “I just…”

“Please don’t give up on us,” I whisper, cutting her off.

Taylor takes a deep breath. “I’m not,” she finally says. “But I just…I just need some time, okay?”

My heart sinks in my chest, but I force myself to smile, to nod, and say, “I get it, and I can do that for you.”

She offers me a small smile. “Thank you.”

I nod, dropping my hands from her arms but not moving away. Before I can change my mind, I lean in so my mouth is against her ear, as I close my eyes and breathe her in. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Taylor sways a little, her hand moving to my chest as if to steady herself. We both freeze, neither of us moving, neither of us sure what happens next. It feels so good to be touched by her again, just to be close to her.

“Taylor! Jake!”

At the sound of our names, we pull back, our eyes meeting again. Taylor tries to fight a smile but doesn’t and I find myself smiling back at her.

“Are we learning about these gauges or what?” Sofia shouts.

“Yes!” Taylor shouts back over her shoulder as she rolls her eyes.

I chuckle. “Kinda reminds me of someone, that one,” I say.

Taylor cocks a brow. “Is that so?”

“Mmm hmm.”

She purses her lips because she knows exactly who I’m talking about. She looks so fucking sexy, though, and it literally takes everything I have in me not to lean in and kiss her.

“You coming then?” she asks, completely surprising me.

Our eyes lock, and for a second, she looks at me the way she used to, and my god, I just want to pull her into my arms and kiss her until she forgives me, until she forgets all about my ex-wife and the bullshit surrounding that.

“Sure,” I say, smiling.

“Well, let’s go then,” she says and together we turn and walk over to the hangar to help the girls.

We spend the afternoon running through plane mechanics with the girls. I follow Taylor’s lead, not interrupting, not cutting in and not doing anything to undermine what she’s telling these girls.

She knows her shit, and I remember how she spoke when she first saw my ‘Vette back in Sydney, how she told me her dad was a mechanic who loved fixing up cars. It’s actually kind of hot listening to her talk about gauges and electronics and I find myself sitting here, enraptured like the rest of the class.

Afterwards, the girls help us pack everything away, Sofia sauntering up to me, a wrench in her hand and a dangerous look on her face.

“So,” she starts, and I watch as she throws up the wrench before catching it in her hand. I have to force myself not to laugh.

“So,” I reply back to her.

“Have you two sorted things out?” she asks, nodding in Taylor’s direction.

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