by Maisey Yates
The light buzzed green and he pushed her forward until they were at the door.
“Don’t worry. He hasn’t lost one yet,” Buck quipped as Ethan opened the plane door. A rush of air assaulted them, and she was sure she’d get blown right out of the plane. She tried to find something on the floor to grab on to, but her hands were so sweaty that they just slid over the floor. Ethan stood, lifting her up with him. She was unstable on her legs since he was taller than she was and they were now harnessed together. He held on to a strap on the ceiling with one hand and slowly shuffled them along. The cold air slammed her in the face as they got to the edge of the plane.
Her chest exploded. She was pretty sure she was having a heart attack. Oh my God! Wisps of white clouds froze her face and hands. She could barely see the streaks of blue below. She couldn’t breathe. Her legs were so stiff, she couldn’t move them. Ethan pushed her gently and her toes went over the edge of the plane. She screamed, but no sound came out of her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut. There was no way she could do this. It was time to use the safe word and abort. She’d never been this scared in her life. Her heels were barely on the edge of the plane.
“You ready?” Ethan yelled next to her ear, and yet she could barely hear him over the rush of the wind.
He gently moved them forward, and now her feet weren’t touching anything. All she felt was a tug against her harness where she was connected to Ethan. What if he couldn’t open the parachute in time? She knew what was coming next, and that Ethan was waiting for her to use the safe word. She tried to take a breath, but she’d forgotten how to breathe. Her lungs were burning. Bridesnatcher! Bridesnatcher! Had she said the words out loud?
Ethan wrapped an arm around her waist and squeezed tightly. “Trust me.” She took a shuddering breath, leaned forward slightly, and he pushed off with his feet. They went over the edge.
The air slapped her face and her skin felt like it would tear away. They were falling, rolling around uncontrollably, and she didn’t know for a second if her heart was even beating. She was supposed to do something, but she couldn’t remember what. She was going to die and kill Ethan with her because she couldn’t remember the body position for the free fall.
Then Ethan grabbed her arms and thrust his body forward to force her to arch, turning them so her belly was facing the earth. Now her body was flat against the wind and she was looking straight down through the clouds. The wind rushed into her face. Her heart was beating so wildly, she could feel it in her throat. Her mouth was open, but she wasn’t sure if she was actually screaming. All she could hear was the deafening sound of the wind in her ears, the sting of cold on her face and Ethan’s solid body on her back.
Everywhere she looked, the color blue stretched before her; she could barely make out where the sky ended and the water began. It felt like they were in free fall forever, even though they’d told her that it would be only a minute. All of a sudden, she felt a sharp tug between her legs as the parachute opened and the harness yanked her into position.
They slowed and she gasped at the sight before her. The glimmering waters of the gulf and Atlantic stretched out endlessly. A tiny line marked US Route 1, connecting the Keys with the rest of Florida. There were tiny specks of green land dotted with what she figured were houses and businesses. It was surreal, like she was having an out-of-body experience. In that moment, nothing mattered, not her family, not the decisions that lay before her, not even her life. The world spread out beneath her, full of possibilities.
“How do you feel?” Ethan said.
She tried to turn and look at him but could see only his hands holding on to the straps of the parachute. “I feel free. Like I can do anything in the world.”
She didn’t need to see his face to feel his smile. “The first time I did this was when I was a senior in high school. Buck’s dad owned a dive shop in Wisconsin right across the Minnesota border. He’d been doing it for years. There was this girl who I’d been in love with since ninth grade. She’d finally noticed me, and we were both headed to the same college. I knew now was the time to finally ask her out, but I was so afraid of rejection. Buck told me that after I did this, I could remember that I’d jumped out of an airplane and nothing seems scary after that.”
She laughed and they both shook in the harness. She had to admit that she’d never felt her heart beat as hard as it was now.
“I hope that the next time you’re afraid to do something, this experience gives you the courage to face your worst fear.” His words hit her deep in her solar plexus.
As they came closer to the ground, Ethan navigated the parachute and they could see the cars on the road and the runway they had used. The plane was lifting off. There was a green field with markings, and she knew that was where they were supposed to land.
“Remember how we practiced the landing? Raise your legs now.” Divya did as she was told, and it felt like the earth rushed up suddenly to meet them. But the landing was surprisingly soft. Ethan got his footing then lifted her slightly so she was also standing. The parachute floated behind them. He disconnected them and she turned and hugged him tightly.
Every cell in her body was alive in a way she’d never experienced. “Oh my God. That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
He grinned.
She stood on her toes and kissed him with everything she had. She’d just jumped out of a plane. Ethan was right: after this, there was nothing she couldn’t do. He held her close as he kissed her, and this time it was more than just her body that responded to him. Her soul reached out to touch him, to thank him for giving her this experience, to tell him just how much she cared for him. It felt like they were connected at a cellular level, like he knew her better than she knew herself, and she wanted nothing more than to give herself to him entirely.
Ethan finally broke the kiss. “Divya, there’s something I need to say to you.”
The catch in his voice sent a chill through her. Was this it? Was he going to tell her that they were going to part ways? They hadn’t discussed how long this would last, and he certainly didn’t owe her anything.
He cupped her face. “I know you told me not to go for girls who are unavailable. But I can’t seem to help it. I need you to know that when things end between us, I can’t be friends with you.”
He said when things end between us. Not if. He’d already given up on her.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“I got people coming in,” a man in a yellow jumpsuit yelled out to them.
“Sorry!” Ethan yelled back. What was he thinking? They had to get off the landing field. Now was not the time to kiss Divya or tell her how he felt. They went to the shack and removed their harnesses and jumpsuits.
She was silent as he motored back onto US Route 1. He would’ve liked to have stayed in the Keys for a couple of days, but it was his parents’ anniversary. He wanted to take Divya to meet his family. But not before he told her where he stood.
That connection he’d been searching for with Pooja, the one he thought he was crazy to want, had come to him in the form of yet another woman who was totally unavailable. But he wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.
He pulled onto another dirt road. “Get ready. This is going to be one of the best meals you’ll ever have,” he said lightly. Divya’s silence was heavy in the air, but she cracked a smile as they looked up at the sign that read Joey’s Love Boat.
A bar and kitchen were set up on the sandy shore. The dining room was a houseboat. A young girl wearing a tank top and shorts asked them to wait until a table opened up. There was a small beach area next to the boat, and without discussing it, they both took off their shoes and went to dip their toes in the cool water.
“What did you mean when you said we can’t be friends?” she asked without preamble.
“It’s exactly what you think, Divya.”
He turned an
d put his hands on her arms. Her body softened and she moved closer to him until their noses touched. A lump formed in his throat. “You were right Divya, when it’s the right person, you don’t need a lot of time to know. It took Vivek three weeks to know that you were the one for him. It’s only taken me three days. I love you, Divya.”
She froze, then stepped back from him.
“Your table is ready.” The waitress appeared, holding menus. Ethan let go of Divya and she turned away from him. His heart sank deep into his toes. This was why he’d jumped today, to find the courage to tell her how he felt. She could choose to end things now, but he didn’t want to be with her unless she knew he was in it for real.
Every minute he spent with her, he knew he’d be in free fall. He wanted to know how she felt before it was too late to pull the parachute.
The hostess led them onto the boat. There were only ten tables, each covered with a colorful tablecloth and adorned with fresh flowers arranged in beer bottles.
As they sat, the boat rocked slightly, causing a little of the water the waitress had poured into their glasses to slosh over the rims. The afternoon was hot and muggy, and he noticed Divya fanning herself. “I should’ve warned you we were going someplace hot so you could’ve dressed for it.”
“You should’ve warned me that things were going to get hot between us.”
The waitress reappeared to take their orders, and Divya asked him to order for them. He ordered coconut shrimp, fresh mahi-mahi, and as the waitress was leaving, Divya asked for a rum punch.
“Need a drink, huh?” he quipped.
“We need to talk.”
While a part of him had hoped she’d tell him she loved him too and was ready to be with him, he hadn’t really expected it. That wasn’t how things worked for him. Like everyone else in his life, she was about to reject him.
“I need to tell you the real reason I don’t want to get married.”
He leaned forward. Was she finally going to trust him with what she’d been holding back?
“Remember I told you about Sameer’s car accident?” A lump formed in her throat and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. “He was hurt pretty badly, but he recovered fine, or so we all thought. Then we went into lockdown, and I noticed he started acting strangely. At first, I was worried he had the virus, but when I pushed to call the family doctor, Sameer told me that he hadn’t given up the pain medications from his accident. He’d been buying them illegally and couldn’t get them because of the lockdown. He was in withdrawal. He didn’t want the family to know, he was so ashamed.”
“So you hid it from them and helped him through it.” Ethan wasn’t surprised that Divya had nurtured her brother through his addiction.
She nodded. “It wasn’t just about protecting his health. Arjun’s wife, Rani, was pregnant, and they were in Vegas for the lockdown. Sameer had taken on Arjun’s business responsibilities so Arjun could focus on his family. The last thing Sameer could do was manage a multibillion-dollar empire while going through withdrawal. I was already involved in the business, so I took over his responsibilities. No one knew that I was doing his work. My family still doesn’t know.”
“Is Sameer still struggling?”
She nodded. “He says he’s fine. He hasn’t relapsed for almost six months, but in two months, we’re going to be launching a new hotel in DC, and I know what the stress does to him.”
“Why can’t another family member help him?”
“The only person who could handle that kind of responsibility is Arjun. But he can’t leave Vegas and return to India. His daughter, Simmi, was born with a heart murmur. She’s had surgery, but she needs to be constantly monitored, and she can’t travel. That’s why my wedding was in Vegas. It would kill Arjun to leave Rani and Simmi alone.”
“What about your sisters?”
“Sameer is too manipulative for my younger sisters to handle. The last time he relapsed, it took me weeks to figure it out and I was watching him like a hawk.”
“So you’re going to dedicate your life to helping him cope?” Ethan couldn’t keep the disbelief and disappointment out of his voice, and Divya noticed. She sat up straighter.
“That’s what we do for family. We take care of each other. We give up our selfish needs to help them.”
Their food arrived, which saved him from saying something he’d regret.
“If something happened to Sameer, I’d never be able to live with myself,” Divya said softly.
He pushed the food toward her. They dug in, ravenous after their adrenaline-filled morning.
“Sameer isn’t going to need you forever,” Ethan said carefully. “He will eventually kick it.”
Divya dipped a coconut shrimp in pineapple salsa. “Sameer is the reason I need to return to my family right now. But it still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to spend my life on someone else’s terms. My mother was twenty-three years old when she married my father. For eighteen years, ever since she was five, she’d been studying classical Indian dance. Bharatnatyam. It’s a real art that takes decades to learn. She was so good that she earned several awards. When she married my father, she gave that all up to take care of his household and have his children. He would never let her dance publicly. I still remember when I was a little girl I’d catch her with ghunghuru—those are bells you wear on your feet for classical dance. She tried to hide it from me, but I’d hear the music coming from her room and the sound of the bells as she tapped her feet in perfect rhythm. When I was older, I asked her why she hid it from me, and she said it was because she didn’t want me to fall in love with something I could not have.”
“That’s not how it is in my family,” he said gently. “I would never tell my wife what she can and cannot do.” She fidgeted as he said the word wife, and his stomach clenched. “Come with me tonight and meet my family. You’ll see that we share the same family values but a very different sense of what a marriage partnership looks like. We’re not as far apart as you think.”
She chewed on her lip. “Are you sure?”
“It’s not as big a deal in my house to bring someone home as it is in yours. We don’t even have to tell them we’re involved, if you don’t want.”
She ate in silence for a few minutes.
“I’d like to meet your family. But I don’t want to hurt you.”
What she meant was that she didn’t want to lead him on. “I’m clear on the fact that you don’t want a long-term relationship. I understand the reasons why. I may not agree, but I understand.” And I plan to change your mind.
As they finished their meal, Ethan stole glances at Divya. She seemed to be lost in her own world. He’d put his cards on the table. It was her turn now to decide how she wanted to proceed. She needed to figure out whether she was brave enough to love him back.
“A rupee for your thoughts.”
She gave him a small smile. “Boy, you’re cheap. Not even a whole dollar?”
He took the last piece of the coconut shrimp, dipped it and held it out to her. She leaned forward and took the bite directly from his hand, flicking her tongue to lick the sauce off his fingers. He rubbed his thumb on her lips, then touched her cheek.
“I don’t want to say goodbye to you, Ethan.”
You say that Divya, but are you going to break my heart like the rest of them?
CHAPTER TWELVE
It was dusk by the time they arrived in Minneapolis. A Lexus sedan was waiting for them at the airport, with a big bow on top of it.
“It’s a present for my parents.” Ethan grinned. “My mom’s car is on its last legs.”
Divya pressed her lips together.
“What is it? I know you want to say something.”
She sighed. “You said your parents don’t like accepting help from you. Isn’t this a little extravagant?”
He waved her of
f as he loaded their luggage and the gift bags Roda had given him in New York into the trunk. “It’s an anniversary present.”
There was some traffic as they got onto the highway. “My parents are in Stillwater. When we have time tomorrow, I’ll show you the town. It’s really cute with antiques shops, riverboats and even a park with a giant teddy bear.” He loved taking his niece and nephew to Teddy Bear Park. He’d been sad when they’d outgrown it. Lately he’d had trouble connecting with them, like he used to when they were much younger and all it took to make them happy was a game of peekaboo or a ride on his shoulders. But he was hoping that the gifts he’d bought would help return his cool-uncle status. His chest constricted as he thought about how much he’d loved the baby phase with all of the kids. As they’d grown, he’d looked forward to reliving each part of their childhood with his own children.
He snuck a look at Divya. Why do I keep doing this to myself?
Traffic was light as he got on the highway. Was he doing the right thing, taking Divya to meet his family? He wanted her to see the love he had for them, to know that he understood her commitment to her own family. They weren’t as different as she thought.
His parents lived in an old neighborhood. When he was growing up, it had been small houses like his own, with large backyards full of children. After a few large companies had opened headquarters close to the community, the home prices had gone through the roof. By the time he was in middle school, the older houses had been torn down and replaced with towering mansions with private swimming pools and tennis courts. His parents’ house stuck out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood, but his father refused to sell or renovate. He wanted to keep it exactly as it was, and Ethan was secretly glad.
As he passed a particular redbrick house with a white picket fence, he slowed down like he always did. But this time he also found himself stepping on the brake, reversing back and pulling into the driveway.