by Boyd, Eliza
Jumping from the seat, she rushed away from his touch. “It’s not okay. We’re in exactly the same place we were in before. You’re busy with work and I don’t feel like I can talk to you. After all the years I told you I didn’t want any of this, I can’t.”
Slowly, he stood, trying to meet her gaze as he figured out what in the world she was talking about. All the years she told him she didn’t want any of what? What can’t she do now because of it?
Instead of making any of it clear, she shoved the pill bottles into her bag and raised the handle so she could roll it behind her again. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she said, “I’m going to go pay that three hundred dollars to just go home. That’s the only place I want to be right now. In my own bed.”
She turned away, pulling her suitcase behind her. Before she got too far, he shot his arm out to stop her, gently grasping her arm.
“Wait,” he said.
Though she faced him again, her expression held no hint of patience for his stunt. “No, Jared. I’m tired. You can’t follow after me. Otis needs someone to watch him, and I’m holding you to your offer to take care of him for me. I just can’t do this right now.”
He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. I just want to help.” As he dug into his other pocket, he held up one finger. “Give me a second, okay?”
She shrugged tiredly, only her good shoulder rising and falling. “Okay,” she said breathily.
He used his speed dial to make the call, turning his back to Hailey and speaking quietly. After explaining that it was an emergency and he needed them to rush, the pilot of his plane agreed and said they’d be ready in an hour. Then he hung up and told Hailey, “I called in a favor. If you don’t mind waiting an hour, I got you on a flight. They’ll come get you when it’s time, so stay right here.”
She looked exasperated as she said, “You didn’t have to do that. I can take care of myself.”
“I know,” he told her, his hand itching to caress her cheek and wipe her tears. He wanted to her know just how much he believed that. She hadn’t built a cupcake business that was about to go national without being able to take care of herself. “I wanted to help because I want you to know you can trust me. With anything. And I was never trying to go behind your back.”
Hailey ran a hand through her hair. It didn’t seem like she wanted to, but she accepted that answer, nodding. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Those words stung his own heart. Because he realized he should have been doing that all along instead of asking what he could do. He could have taken charge and been there for his wife the whole time. Instead, he’d floundered and let the whole relationship fail under his watch. If he could manage to actually get that second chance, he’d never let that happen again. But he could tell she didn’t want to hear it. If she wanted to go home that badly, he’d make it happen for her.
Stock-still, she stood there as he enveloped her in his arms and pressed her to him, making sure not to hurt her shoulder. He placed a gentle, heartfelt kiss on the top of her head. When he didn’t get a reaction, he pulled back and tried to meet her gaze, but she wouldn’t let him.
“Get home safe,” he said, hoping those weren’t the last words she’d let him say to her.
Then he walked away, leaving his heart with her at Portland International.
19
Exhausted, Hailey followed behind a woman dressed in a flight attendant uniform. Annabelle, as she’d introduced herself, was taking her to the plane, which apparently wasn’t part of the normal flight pattern at PDX. Hailey wasn’t sure what kind of favor Jared had called in to get her on this flight, but he must have known people in high places to have made it happen. The moment she stepped onto the aircraft, she was absolutely sure of it.
Her eyes flashed wide as she took in the space. The outside had looked like a normal plane, but inside, it appeared to be a living room with a place to dine near the back. Cushy couches lined the edges, and a lamp sat on a table between the couches on the right side. It even had a TV mounted to the wall.
What kind of people did Jared know these days?
“If you want to take a seat,” Annabelle said, “we’ll get you out of here as soon as possible. Anywhere you’d like is fine.” She gestured a sweeping hand.
Hailey could barely make one foot go in front of the other, let alone take a seat wherever she wanted on this fancy plane. Somehow, she ambled to the closest seat to the door and plopped down, looking around for a place for her carry-on.
“Want me to store that for you?” Annabelle asked.
“Um, sure,” Hailey slowly replied. Then she handed the bag over.
Annabelle placed it in a compartment toward the cockpit. “Can I get you something to drink? Sparkling water, coffee, tea, or even a mixed drink?”
“W-water’s fine.” Hailey peeked around the plane again, wondering what kind of world she’d stepped into.
Annabelle grinned. “Water. You got it.” Then she walked toward the cockpit again and snagged a bottle of water from a fridge Hailey wouldn’t have even guessed was there based on the design. When Annabelle brought it to Hailey, she said, “Is there anything else you’d like? If you’re hungry, we have some food on the plane.”
After the emotional turmoil of the day, Hailey couldn’t imagine choking any food down. When the emotions settled, she’d probably feel hungry. Until then, she had a five-and-a-half-hour flight to do nothing but think.
“If you want something later,” Annabelle said when Hailey hadn’t answered, “just let me know.” Then she spun to walk away.
Hailey called out to her before she was too far. “Are you able to tell me whose plane this is? I don’t know if that’s rude or too personal, but this is just…” She shook her head and huffed out a breath. “It’s different, I guess. Not what I was expecting for my flight home.”
Annabelle’s smile was friendly and knowing. “This is Easy Chef’s plane,” she said.
“Hmm,” Hailey said, peering around again. That didn’t make sense. She’d mentioned Easy Chef to Jared, but he hadn’t said that it was his company. Or that they had a plane he could borrow for personal use. “So it belongs to the company?”
“Well,” Annabelle said, “it’s actually Mr. Brantley’s personal plane. You must be special if he’s flying you all the way across the country without him.” She winked at Hailey just before the captain came out of the cockpit and told her they were ready to take off. “Oh, it looks like we’ll be leaving soon. I’ll be right over there”—she pointed to her seat by the cockpit—“if you need anything.” Then she left Hailey alone to chew over that new information.
Jared rented Jaguars.
And had a chef.
And owned a plane.
There was no way he was simply a millionaire. Somehow, Jared had beat the odds and hit it way bigger than that. A multimillionaire? Or, she dared to think, even a billionaire?
No way. But perhaps. It made sense.
No wonder he hadn’t worried about them living so far away. He had plenty of money to make a long-distance relationship work. And his own plane to fly to her or pick her up.
Hailey had to be dreaming.
She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, but nothing had changed. The same couches were still up against the sides of the plane. Annabelle was smiling at her from her seat near the cockpit. The bottle of water was still in her lap. She opened it and took a sip, willing her stomach to settle. All of the day’s events had it churning.
The plane took off a few moments later, sending Hailey thirty thousand feet up into the sky and a few thousand miles away from the man who’d called to have his private plane take her home. She couldn’t get over that, and she wasn’t sure she ever would.
She spent most of the flight in a daze. Her emotions couldn’t pick one to settle on. The amount of money Jared had didn’t change how she felt about him. Clearly, she still loved him on some level. She wanted to get to know the new him,
but she felt betrayed by his actions. He’d gone behind her back and talked about her as if all she was good for was what she could do for his business. For that reason alone, she was afraid they’d never work. If all he could think about was making more money, especially from her, then they were done.
After the plane landed in Maine, she Ubered home. Even though she usually loved living with Aunt Shirley, she just wanted to be alone. As she opened the front door, she prayed that her aunt was out. But alas, her wish didn’t come true. Her aunt apparently didn’t need to be anywhere important on a Saturday night.
“Hailey? Is that you?” Aunt Shirley asked from her perch on the couch. She placed her book on the couch cushion next to her and stood, removing her reading glasses. “What are you going back already? I didn’t think you’d be home until tomorrow.”
“Me either,” she mumbled, rolling her suitcase to the staircase.
“Are you okay?” her aunt pressed, her face full of concern. She set her glasses down by her book.
Hailey sighed, her shoulders lifting and falling. A slight pain erupted in the one she’d dislocated nearly a week earlier, but it wasn’t even close to the pain squeezing her heart. “I don’t know, Aunt Shirley.”
Her aunt’s face fell. “Does this have something to do with Jared?”
The mention of his name had Hailey crumbling all over again. Tears built in her eyes, and as soon as her aunt noticed them, she rushed to Hailey and embraced her.
“Oh, dear. What happened?”
Hailey sniffled. “I wanted to believe he was different this time, but…” After a deep breath mixed with a hiccup, she said, “But I don’t think he is.”
Between sniffs and sobs, Hailey gave her aunt the full story about her and Jared, all the bits and pieces she hadn’t told her about on the phone over the past week. How helpful he had been, how romantic he’d been when he’d dropped everything and taken her to the beach, how he’d declared his intention to get to know her again and build a new relationship. How he’d bought her the Vitamix, followed her to the airport, and arranged for his own plane to take her home right when she wanted to leave.
Even the kiss. That spectacular kiss that made butterflies go wild in her belly the moment she thought about it. Her fingers went to her lips as she told that part and it was as if she could still feel his pressed against them—how right that felt.
“But in the end, he was just using me for my business,” she lamented at the end of her story. “That’s not okay, Aunt Shirley. I’m not some prop to be used to get ahead with his company. Not at the expense of my heart.” Her voice caught on the last word as her stomach pitched. What a day it’d been.
She expected her aunt to understand, sympathize, or even agree. But that’s not at all what happened. Aunt Shirley guided Hailey over to the couch in the living room and sat her down. The look on her face made Hailey think she was in for a lecture, not an understanding hug.
“Hailey, I know you think you heard enough, but ever since I’ve known that boy, I’ve never thought of him as someone who’d do something like that to anyone—especially you. Are you absolutely sure that’s what he was doing?”
“Well, yeah,” Hailey answered, thinking back to the scene in the airport. “He didn’t even bother to deny it. When I asked him if he actually wanted me to accept the vendor contract from Fontell Foods, he said no.”
“Did he say why he didn’t want you to take it?” Aunt Shirley asked patiently.
Hailey narrowed her eyes and responded slowly. “Well, no. But why else would he have said that if he didn’t want to buy my business himself?”
Aunt Shirley released a deep breath as she sat next to Hailey on the couch. She took one of Hailey’s hands in one of hers and covered it with the other. “You didn’t ask what he wanted to do with your business?”
The crease in Hailey’s brow deepened. “N-no, I guess not,” she stuttered out.
“Then maybe you should have asked before jumping to conclusions, dear.” Aunt Shirley patted Hailey’s hand. “The boy still loves you. He wouldn’t have done all of those things this week if he didn’t. And I’m not saying you have to give him a chance, but you should hear him out. I bet there’s a good explanation for why he said what he did about your cupcakes.”
Inwardly, Hailey rolled her eyes. She wanted to believe her aunt, but she also didn’t want to get hurt again. This pain was just as bad as the last time she’d lost Jared, and she didn’t want to go through it yet again.
Her aunt squeezed her hand, bringing her attention back to the present. “I’m proud of you for getting that contract with the vendor. Are you going to take it?”
Hailey closed her eyes and pictured accepting the contract. It’d mean more baking. Shipping her cupcakes to Oregon. More dishes to wash. Sighing, she shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Aunt Shirley squinted at her niece. “But I thought this was what you wanted.”
“It was,” Hailey answered breathily, taking her hand back. She looked away from her aunt, straight ahead. “But I got a call from Dr. Campbell too.” From the corner of her eye, she saw her aunt straightening her spine in preparation for the news.
“And?” Aunt Shirley asked softly.
Sadly, Hailey shook her head. “It didn’t work again.”
Her aunt momentarily deflated before perfecting her posture once more. “Did you tell Jared you were trying to have a baby?”
She shook her head again.
“Did you even talk about children while you were together this week?”
For a third time, Hailey said no with her head.
“Hmm,” her aunt said.
Hailey snapped her head in her aunt’s direction. “What?”
Aunt Shirley pursed her lips for several seconds before sucking a breath in. “You remember how adamant you were about not having kids while you two were together?”
This time, Hailey nodded. She did remember that. She’d been very clear. Absolutely no children—much to Jared’s dismay. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well,” her aunt started slowly, “maybe you were right about him only wanting to gain your business.”
That shocked Hailey. Was her aunt really changing her tune because of the kids thing? That made no sense. She wasn’t sure what one had to do with the other.
“Either that’s what he wanted, or…” Aunt Shirley raised both eyebrows at Hailey.
“Or what?” Hailey asked, mimicking her aunt’s expression.
Her aunt filled her lungs, her chest puffing up. “Or…” she said as she exhaled deeply. “One of the things I remember so clearly was how much Jared wanted you two to start a family, and if he didn’t even ask you about having kids but pursued you so intently anyway, well… Maybe he has all the money in the world and he still doesn’t have everything he wants.” With a finger, she poked Hailey’s leg in a gentle manner. “You.”
Her aunt had a point, even if she didn’t want to admit it. She’d been so stuck on thinking Jared had been double-crossing her, so blinded by their past, that she hadn’t truly considered these details.
“You think he’s all about business,” her aunt continued, rising from the couch. “But for the last six days, he was all about you.” She gave Hailey a tight, sad smile. “That’s something to consider.”
Hailey took in a shuddering breath. Could she consider that? After what he’d done? And did it even matter? She’d left him high and dry. There was no way he’d want to work it out with her now, no matter how much her heart hurt at the thought.
Wiping her tears, she stood and gave her aunt a hug. “Thanks, Aunt Shirley. I’m going to go to bed.”
“Goodnight, dear.” Her aunt let her go from the embrace and kissed her on her cheek. “It’ll be okay.”
As Hailey climbed the stairs to go to the bedroom she used to share with Jared, she wasn’t so sure. She was confused and upset, and not even the idea of a national cupcake contract made her feel hope
ful.
Instead, she dragged her broken heart to bed, wondering what she could do to make this right.
20
When Rachel and Brad returned home the day after Hailey had left, Jared packed his bags and got ready to leave. But his sister suggested he stay until his birthday so they could celebrate together for the first time in years. He agreed, but the morning of, all he could think about was red velvet cake and the lighthouse at Fort Williams Park. And Rachel was quick to catch on.
“I bet she’d still make that cake for you if you apologized and asked nicely,” his sister said at the kitchen table. She brought him a mug of coffee and sat across from him.
He took a sip and shrugged. “With all due respect, I wholeheartedly disagree.” When he set his mug on the table, he said, “You didn’t see her face when I told her I didn’t want her to take that vendor contract. It’s over.”
“Well,” Rachel said, adjusting her position on her chair and settling her arms on the table, “maybe you should have told her the whole truth. She might have been receptive if you hadn’t straight-up trashed her progress on her business.”
“I wasn’t trying to do that,” he moaned, rolling his head around and gazing at the ceiling. “I didn’t want to beg her to do business with us when she didn’t want to talk shop. That’s exactly what got me into that trouble, so it wasn’t on the table.”
“And if you’d explained that to her, she might have listened,” his sister answered, her eyebrows high on her forehead as she gave him a knowing look. “She’s been my best friend since we were kids. I think I’d know.”
Jared leaned forward, pressing his forearms on the table and clasping his hands. “Do you know why she wasn’t taking her medications, then? The emergency doctor here prescribed some pain pills for her, but she left them behind when she took off, and when I brought them to her at the airport, she didn’t want to talk about it.”
Rachel opened her mouth but thought better of whatever she’d been about to say and closed it. Then she leaned back in her chair and stared into her own coffee, her fingers wrapping around the mug. “I do, but it’s not my place to say.”