Runway Romance (Love in the Air Trilogy) (24 page)

“What?”

“When do you leave?”

“The flight leaves at o’dark thirty.”

“Can you just give us a straight answer?” Patricia said.

“Cranky today, aren’t we? I have to be at the airport at two-thirty.”

“I hate those kind of flights.”

“Me, too,” Jenny said as she joined Kate in the kitchen. “Coffee?”

“On this hot day? No way. Iced tea.”

“It’s got caffeine, works for me.”

“Are you heading over to Rich’s?” Kate asked.

“Not today.”

“You mean I’m going to have to wait to find out how this whole thing ends up?”

“I’ll text you.”

“It’s not the same. I need a play-by-play.”

“We can Skype. I assume you’re going to linger in the city.”

“You bet your boots. I’ve never been there before.”

“I still don’t get how you had two amazing destinations and I’m stuck with Portland, Boulder and Las Vegas.”

“Vegas is fun.”

“Not if you don’t like gambling.”

“The shows, woman, it’s all about the shows. Skip the gaming tables and head for the buffet and the entertainment.”

“Kate’s right. I’ve seen Cirque de Soleil, Celine Dion, Elton John…”

“All right, I’ll give you Vegas, but everywhere else has been dullsville.”

“Maybe you’re not sleeping with the right people,” Kate said.

“Weren’t you on a flight to Milwaukee last month?” Patricia said.

“Duly noted.”

“Well, I wish you safe travels, as always, and I’ll be in touch about a time to Skype.”

“Going somewhere?” Patricia asked.

“Maybe.” Jenny smiled, then headed to the bathroom to take a shower before heading out.

When she returned from mailing her package, she wondered what Rich would think when he received it. The ball would be in his court and she wasn’t sure he’d hit it back to her. She’d know by three p.m. the following day.

Before going to sleep, Jenny wished Kate a safe trip again and gave her a hug.

“Everything’s going to work out,” Kate said.

“I have my fingers crossed.”

“Call me.”

“You know I will.”

When Jenny woke up the next morning, the house seemed to know one of its inhabitants was missing. “It’s sad Miss Kate is gone.”

“What should we do to make it feel better?”

“Give it chocolate. Yep, definitely chocolate.”

“And just how does a house eat chocolate.”

“Well… I think we eat the chocolate for the house and then tell the house how wonderful it tastes.”

“I like the way you think.”

Jenny glanced at the clock on the wall.

“That’s the twentieth time you’ve looked at the clock, what are you expecting to happen and when?”

“I don’t exactly know, but it won’t happen until after three o’clock.”

“Then why are you looking at the time now?”

“Because I can’t not look.”

Patricia laughed. “It’s no wonder men don’t understand us. Come on, let’s watch a movie. It’ll take your mind off Rich. I know just the one.”

When she popped the DVD into the player and “Club Dread” came up on the screen, Jenny practically squealed. “You liked it that much?”

“Kate and I already watched it again.”

“I’m so glad. I was afraid you’d think it was horrible. It’s just fun, campy stuff.”

“It goes better with margaritas.”

“Then we must have margaritas.”

“I’m on it.”

The next few hours were spent watching movies and sipping luscious, fruit drinks. It was almost enough to distract Jenny from thoughts of Richard. Almost.

“It’s three o’clock,” Patricia said.

“I know.”

Three-ten came and went, then three-fifteen and three-thirty. Jenny began to think her clever idea wasn’t so great after all. Or maybe, just maybe, she had been right about her assessment of Rich and Becka’s relationship.

As the minutes ticked by, Patricia wasn’t sure what to say, so she remained silent. After an hour, she poured another drink and settled back into the window seat book nook.

At five o’clock on the dot, Jenny exploded. “Where the hell is he? Why hasn’t he called?” She checked her cell phone for the umpteenth time. No missed calls. No messages. “I just never expected this. I mean, it’s supposed to work out. Where’s my flippin’ happy ending?”

The disappointment on Jenny’s face had Patricia wrapping her arms around her friend to console her. “I’m so sorry. It’s his loss.”

“It’s not supposed to end like this. Happily ever after, that’s what I want.”

“Maybe that’s just for fairy tales.”

“I want to believe. I need to believe. I don’t want to live in a world without hope.”

A knock on the door startled them.

“It could be him,” Patricia said.

“What if it’s not?”

“What if it is?”

Jenny wiped the tears from her eyes and slowly crossed the room and opened the door. Richard Novatney stood on the other side.

“Jenny, I want you to hear me. No, not just hear me, but listen to me. I want to get one thing straight right here, right now. I love you. It doesn’t make any damn sense, but I do. We’ve done nothing but have misunderstanding after misunderstanding, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I swear you are some kind of infection that I can’t get rid of.” He paused. “That didn’t sound quite right.”

Jenny wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Her body clung to him as if he was the only other person on earth. And to her, he was. “I love you, too.”

Rich’s facial muscles relaxed, showing his relief. “I never thought you’d say that to me.”

“I never thought you’d say it to me.”

“I knew you’d both say it to each other. I’m shutting my mouth now and leaving you two alone.” Patricia headed down the hallway, grinning from ear-to-ear. When she reached her room, she texted Kate with the news.

“What took you so long?” Jenny asked, opening the door wider so he could enter the living room.

“Well, I’ve wanted to say it since the night at the hospital.”

“No, I mean to respond to my FedEx.”

“What FedEx?”

“I sent you one, guaranteed delivery by three o’clock today.”

Rich shook his head. “I didn’t get it.”

Jenny began to laugh, lightly at first and then full belly laughs.

“What’s the joke?”

“You’ll understand when you finally get it.”

“Tell me now.”

“I’d rather kiss you again, and never stop.”

“Well, if you insist.”

They held each other close as words from the past lost their heat and anger, replaced with feelings experienced in the here and now.

“You’re so beautiful. I never tire of looking into your eyes or seeing your smile.”

“We do have some things to talk about.”

“Yes, we do. The most important thing you need to know is that I love you. I want to be in a relationship with you. You can trust me.”

“I know. Sometimes I get all wound up and there’s no real way of unwinding me easily.”

“This seems to help,” he said, kissing first one cheek and then the other lightly.

“Just wait until I’m all jacked up, then try a stunt like that. You’ll be lucky to have your hand back not severed from the wrist.”

“You do have a fire inside you that knows exactly where to aim itself for maximum impact.”

“Carefully worded.”

“I’m not stupid.”

“No, you’re not. You’re a caring, compassionate, thoughtful man. If I ever say otherwise, remind me of this moment.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“I’m counting on it.”

Chapter Thirty

After ordering in for pizza, Jenny and Rich snuggled on the love seat. “Is now a good time to talk?” Rich asked.

“Good as any.” She turned so they were facing each other. “I’m jealous of your relationship with Becka. I didn’t know it. I just thought I was really pissed off the other day when I saw you kissing another woman, but it was more. I want what I saw you two had. There’s an intimacy and familiarity that was painfully obvious to me. We don’t have that.”

“It didn’t happen overnight. We built that over time. You and I’ll do the same thing.”

“What if we don’t?”

“There’s no reason to believe we won’t. Shared life experiences are what create that bond. Becka and I had a lot of soul-searching moments together. Times when Maya was in the hospital with breathing issues and we didn’t know if she’d live or die. You can’t create that on a moment’s notice.

Remember how it felt when we were in the car together?”

Jenny nodded her head.

“That was one of our moments. We’ll have tons of them.”

“Like the night in the hospital, in the recliner?”

“Exactly like that. I don’t just want you to believe that you can trust me, I want you to know in your gut that I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally.”

“You’d never invite me to dinner and then invite Becka to dinner a half an hour later in case I don’t show?”

“I’d never do that. I’d never even think about doing that. Becka thinks you’re awesome, by the way.”

“Yeah, I’m sure of that. I’m the crazy woman who humiliated and embarrassed her. I’m sure she’s dying to see me again.”

“She thinks you have spirit and that the only reason you were so het up is because you love me and don’t want to share me with anyone else.”

“She’s right. I’m not proud of that, mind you. How am I supposed to get over it?”

“I think time will do that, and getting to know Becka. My guess is the two of you will become great friends, given some time.”

“Is she still with Roger?”

“Yeah. He even called me this morning and asked for my blessing for their marriage.”

“He asked her?”

“Not yet, but he’s going to.”

“But you’re still married to her.”

“We’ll get a divorce.”