Page 10 of Stay for Me
When he died, Reggie took it as hard as I did. They were brothers even though blood didn’t run between them.
Cybil rolls her eyes as she rests her head on his shoulder. “Oh, stop it, you two. You can have your affair once I’m dead.”
We both smile, and I roll my eyes. “We aren’t going to wait until then, Cyb. We are already in love.”
He smirks. “I love both my women.” That has her turning and biting his chest. “Damn it, woman.”
She raises one brow. “My best friend. You can’t have her.”
I sigh and lean my head back. “I miss you guys.”
“You should come back,” Cybil says, not bothering to hide her hatred that I left California.
She knows why I couldn’t stay. “The kids are happy here. There’s no jet noise.”
Reggie clears his throat, the unease clear between the three of us. “We all miss Luke. Each time I get in the cockpit, I feel . . . well, I feel him with me. Don’t think it’s easy for any of us.”
“I know it’s not. But moving was the best thing for us. We have family here and it’s quiet.”
Cybil smiles softly. “I know, buttercup. I just miss you. And, of course, Mel and Seb. They were the closest we were ever getting to kids.”
“You’re welcome to raise them,” I joke.
“No thanks, sugar. We’re just fine sending them gifts and loving on them. And don’t think I don’t know what you are trying to do by keeping Reggie on the phone. Tell us about meeting Jacob Arrowood!”
I knew she wouldn’t let this go. I also know that lying to Cybil is a mistake. She sees through it all—hence why it’s always video chats. She knows me too damn well.
“He was nice and extremely attractive, but that’s it.”
Reggie’s face changes just slightly. “Do you like him?”
“I met him for about five minutes, so I don’t know.”
“Did you want to jump his bones?” The animation in Cybil’s voice scares me. She’s almost too excited over this. However, the only person who can rival Sebastian’s love for the Navigator, is my best friend. She’s a total superhero movie geek and is who got Sebastian into it.
“Define jump.”
“Oh, oh, oh! I knew it. He’s hot!” She slaps Reggie’s chest and he jumps.
“You’re abusive!”
“You can take it, Big Guy.” She turns back to me. “Now, tell me on a scale of one to ten... what’s he in person?”
An eleven. The girl inside me wants to swoon and sigh, and if Reggie weren’t watching me with a keen eye, I might have done that. But he is watching, and I don’t.
“I really didn’t have time to rate him.” I shrug. “Not to mention, for all we know, he’s just that . . . looks. He could be arrogant and a total asshole.”
“Yeah because total arrogant assholes just love spending time with kids,” Cybil scoffs.
“I’m just saying that I didn’t spend a lot of time with him and during that small amount, I wasn’t looking at him like a potential anything. He was a guy. Just a guy.”
I’m a liar. A really big one.
Cybil purses her lips and Reggie takes the phone from her and sits up. “Brenna, you know he would’ve wanted you to move on, right?”
I nod. “I know.”
“We talked about this—Luke and I did—because when you’re deployed and know there’s a chance you won’t make it back, it’s important you know that someone will watch out for your family,” he explains with kind eyes. “You don’t have to feel like you’re doing something wrong if you like someone. Not saying it should be him, but just that . . . he wanted you to be happy above all else.”
