Page 4 of If You Were Mine
Unsettled, I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Joshua fiddled with a few things on the dash. “Okay, if that’s what you think.”
“That doesn’t sound very helpful.”
The other man let out a breath. “I’m not trying to be helpful. I’m trying to be your friend. I mean, you were there for me when Harper needed me. When my parents died and the grandparents were hell-bent on trying to split us apart. You were there for her to open up her shop. To make sure I knew what I was doing in each of our businesses. You’re the best, man. Fuck whatever your daddy thought. And fuck the fact that your mom thought that she was going to mold you into a perfect pawn.”
I swallowed hard at that diatribe, wondering exactly how long Joshua had been holding on to this particular rant. “Why does that make me sound weak?”
“No, it makes you sound like you had family issues. Believe me. I know what you mean.”
“This is about me and Amy. Not my past.”
“Okay then. Ask her to move in. If she says yes, I’ll be right there with boxes and tape to help. I promise. But Amy?—”
“But Amy what?” I bit out, annoyed now. I thought Joshua would be happy for me finally trying to settle down. Joshua didn’t have a serious girlfriend, but he had one at one time. And he was still looking for that perfect person. They didn’t have to be perfect, just perfect for him. That’s what I thought I was doing with Amy.
Once again, Joshua was quiet. “I love you, Dorian. You’re my best friend. And I’m sorry if I’m off base. If I’m wrong, then you can punch me in the face later. But I don’t know if you’re truly seeing what we see.”
“Who is we?”
“I misspoke,” he said quickly, and I didn’t believe him. “But Dorian? Amy likes Fun Dorian. Club Owner Dorian. Cage Money Dorian.”
“That’s a fucking lie.” I practically spat the words into the headset.
“If that’s what you think. But I think it’s the truth.”
“Just because you can’t get a woman to actually love you doesn’t mean you have to shit on my relationship.”
I didn’t even realize the words were out of my mouth until they filled the small cabin. And they were such a goddamn lie, that I hated myself.
“Well, good to know how you really feel, Dorian.”
“Joshua. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Seriously. I don’t think that. At all. I love you, damn it. Just like one of my brothers. I didn’t mean it.”
“Whatever. Shit.” There was an odd sound, and I swallowed hard, realizing we were descending faster than we had been before. Joshua had started the descent for our landing earlier, but now, everything got oddly quiet.
“What’s going on?”
“The engine stalled.” Joshua cursed again. “Mayday, mayday, mayday. November-niner-seven-eight-Charlie-Papa. We have engine failure upon descent and request immediate landing. Mayday, mayday, mayday.”
He continued to say a few other words, and I barely swallowed, panic rising. I knew Joshua trained for something like this, but the ground was coming up really fucking fast.
“What can I do?” I asked, bile coating my tongue.
“Just breathe. Tighten your seatbelt. And hold on.” He let out a slow breath, his entire body focused as he worked. “We’ve got this, Dorian. I’ve got you.”
He met my gaze for a bare instant before turning to once again to speak to the control tower, his gaze on the runway. The engine sputtered once and started again, and my heart leapt out of my chest.
“I trust you,” I repeated.
“I know, buddy. I know.”
And then there was nothing.
Chapter One
HARPER
