Page 99 of The Billionaire Experience

“And I’m also sure that our pilot didn’t choose to be stuck in traffic.”

“I know, I know.” Jaylyn picked up her phone and pecked into it again. She’d been texting for the last hour, her fingers flying over the digital keyboard.

They’d finished the sushi, which Reagan had devoured. She felt better, actually. Well, not better, but less…lost. So she’d gotten in over her head with Brody—in over her heart, to be precise. She would make it right. She would have a few days at home alone to reframe her relationship with Brody. To accept it for what it was: a casual, temporary fling with no strings attached. It was kismet, in a way, that the man who had bought her grandfather’s house didn’t want to live there forever. She had a lot to be grateful for—living there again at the top of her list.

She let out a gusty sigh. It was going to take some effort to convince her heart that everything had worked out for the best, but she was willing to try.

“Do you wish you’d stayed with Brody?” Jaylyn set her phone on her lap, her full attention on Reagan. “Instead of being stuck with me on a grounded jet?”

“I’ve enjoyed Chez Jet, and your company. I’m thinking of moving in.”

Jaylyn’s smile was patient while she waited for a genuine answer.

“It’s time Brody and I took a break from each other. I have family duties. He has family duties.”

“Duties.” Jaylyn snorted. “Sorry, whenever I hear that word, I turn into a twelve-year-old. Also, you are completely adorable when you’re full of crap.”

Reagan’s head jerked on her neck. “Excuse me?”

One eyebrow hitched high, Jaylyn said, “You guys are so in love with each other it’s disgusting. You’re sitting here with me, and he’s smoking a cigar with Dad and Dante instead of telling each other how you feel. He doesn’t even like cigars! Dante’s right. He’s an idiot.”

“He’s not an idiot. And why would I tell him I’m in love with him when I know he’s not in love with me?” Her voice cracked with emotion. That part sucked. “Maybe I’m the idiot.”

Jaylyn pecked something into her phone before returning her attention to Reagan. “You’re not an idiot.”

“It’s nothing I can’t undo.”

“What do you mean? What are you undoing?” Jaylyn asked, stricken.

“Your brother likes to be in twelve places at once, Jaylyn. You know this. I happened to catch him at a time he was experimenting with staying in one place for a while. But that’s not the real him.”

“I was hoping it could be.”

So was I.

“I got caught up,” Jaylyn said, her shoulders sagging. “I wanted everyone to be together. I was hoping to start some new traditions as a family. I guess it’s not our way, you know?”

Reagan understood. For years she’d wanted to change her family dynamic. To fix her mother, to know her father, to be together on Christmas morning. In a way, she’d placed the same expectations on Brody—expecting a fantasy instead of accepting reality.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” Jaylyn’s phone buzzed. “Just a sec.” She hopped out of the seat and rushed to the bedroom at the back of the plane.

“I’m sorry too,” Reagan said to herself.

A man in a uniform opened a curtain and poked his head into the cabin. “Hello. I’m Jeff. Your pilot. Sorry for the delay. We’ll be out of here in fifteen minutes, tops.”

“Thank you.” Reagan was glad to finally have an ETD.

Jaylyn rushed back out, slightly out of breath. “You have to listen to this.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Jaylyn grinned. “Nothing is wrong. Everything is right. Here let me—where’d it go? Crap. It was just here!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Dante.” She fussed with her phone.

“The pilot said we’re leaving in fifteen minutes, by the way.”

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