She opened it, surprised to see that it was from Jake. They didn’t have each other’s phone number, so this would have been his only way of contacting her—unless he’d asked Dean, which she couldn’t see him doing.
JAKE: Hey. You may have already left but wanted to tell you to have a great time and a safe flight.
Biting back a grin, she ignored the flight attendants speaking up front and replied.
ALEX: About to take off. Thank you!! Take care of my brother.
JAKE: Will do. Stupid question, but can you use this app in Italy?
ALEX: Not stupid. And yes. This time I can use my cell most anytime and I splurged for an international plan.
JAKE: Cool. Let me know when you’ve landed safely.
ALEX: Okay. Xoxo
She waited, watching to see if he replied and wondering if he’d be weirded out by her kisses and hugs. Hopefully he knew that was just her style. She was a hugger, and she also appreciated him worrying about her. It was nice to have a trio of guys looking out for her. Finally, she figured the conversation was over, which was fine, and turned off the phone. Glancing out the window she smiled to herself. His message had made her feel a lot better. Everything was going to be okay. This year deployed in Italy would be good, and for the first time, she felt optimistic.
Two
A year later
Jake shoved his phone into his jeans pocket and glanced up at the flight status board one more time. Flight 456 from D.C. was still delayed. Not a surprise, considering it was dark and stormy outside. He let out a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall he’d been holding up for almost three hours. Thankfully he’d taken the day off so no one—specifically Dean—could question why he’d been gone so long.
He wasn’t mad about waiting so long for Alex’s plane to arrive. But the delay was allowing his nerves to get the better of him. When she’d messaged him a week ago asking him to pick her up, he’d happily agreed and been excited to finally see her after a year away. But now he couldn’t help worrying whether their first interaction would be awkward.
It was a ridiculous thought. They were just friends. But since the last time they’d seen one another, things had changed. Over the past year, they’d gotten close. Not romantic close, nowhere near that. Just … friend close. It had been easy to confide in each other because it was all through words and a screen. And she was just so easy to talk to, especially when she opened up to him about so much. So here they were, about to see one another again for the first time since all these personal thoughts and secrets had been revealed between the two of them. Not everything, of course. Some things he just didn’t share.
“Thank God,” the woman sitting on the floor beside him muttered.
Jake glanced up to see that the screen now said LANDING next to Alex’s flight. The poor woman waiting beside him for the past few hours had a tiny baby with her, and she’d been having a rough time of it, the baby crying for nearly the first hour of the delay. Jake had felt bad for her, but there was obviously nothing he could do, so he’d just watched with sympathy as she’d paced back and forth along the corridor, baby in her arms, or diverted his gaze when she was trying to nurse.
He glanced down at her once more. Trying to stand up without waking the now-sleeping baby, she began to wobble, so Jake instinctively stepped closer and reached down to steady her with a hand under her elbow.
“Thanks,” she said quietly, giving him a slight smile.
“No problem,” he said, making sure she had her footing before letting go. “You waiting on your husband?” he asked.
She gave him a surprised look that told him he should have kept his mouth shut. Why hadn’t he checked her finger before assuming?
“No. My mother. She lives in Manassas.”
“Ah, okay. She coming for a visit?” Why was he still talking? None of this was any of his business, and they’d waited together for almost three hours without conversation.
“She’s staying for a while to help me. This will be her first time meeting Arabel.” The woman glanced down at the baby girl who had begun to frantically suck on her pacifier.
“I bet she’s excited,” Jake said. He nodded at the baby. “She’s very cute.”
The woman gave him a wry smile. “That’s very sweet of you to say, considering you listened to her scream for an hour.”
He chuckled. “Ah well, we all wish we could scream in public sometimes. So I can hardly blame her.”
She laughed quietly. “I felt so bad. I know the one guy left because of us.” She angled her head to the end of the waiting area toward the older gentleman who’d gotten up and went to another section near the windows when she’d started to nurse the baby.
Jake had also noticed his dramatic departure and annoyed glances. “Yeah, that guy’s a jerk. Don’t let it bother you.”
Just then the pacifier shot out of Arabel’s mouth and Jake caught it in midair before it hit the dirty linoleum floor.
“Nice catch,” the woman said.
Jake just smiled. Her arms were full, so he reached over and gently pressed the rubber nipple between the small pouty lips. It was more difficult than he expected, this little creature staring up at him with bright blue eyes and pursed mouth.
“I don’t think she wants it,” he said. At his voice, Arabel grinned up at him.
The woman laughed and so did Jake.
“Sorry, I’ll take that.” She shifted the baby in her arms and grabbed the pacifier as the baby continued to grin at Jake. He waved and said hi to her, feeling a little ridiculous, but how did you not say hi to a little face smiling at you?
“Are you waiting for your wife?” the woman asked after a moment of silence.
“Uh, no. Actually … I’m waiting on a friend.”
There was no mistaking the glimmer of relief in her eyes. Oh shit.
“That’s nice,” she said. “Do you live here in KC?”
He hesitated. Was this a leading question? How did he politely shut down wherever this was going? Maybe he should not have said hi to the baby.
He took a step back toward his initial spot. “Sort of. I live just south of the metro. Maple Springs.”
“Oh yeah? I live in Overland Park. Not too far from there.”
He nodded. “Yeah, not at all.” Clearing his throat, he decided to put up a gentle block. “The friend I’m picking up, uh … she is coming back from a yearlong deployment in Italy. I’m really excited to see her.”
He felt like a bit of an ass when her eyes dimmed, and her lips parted. “That’s nice. Wow, a year. But in Italy, I mean … that would be awesome.”
“Right? Not too shabby.”
There was an awkward silence between them until the baby started to get fussy again. Casually he stepped toward the gate window, hoping to see the plane, relieved when he did.
“Looks like they should be off pretty quick,” he said to his waiting partner.
“Thank goodness,” she said. Jake stole another glance at her. She was an attractive woman, if not a little tired-looking. But who could blame her, a single mom with a baby who appeared to be less than a year old? He felt kind of bad when he realized that until this moment, he hadn’t really looked at her. Then again, he had assumed she was waiting on a man.
The exiting of passengers pulled his attention back to the gate, and his heart rate picked up as his eyes began looking for Alex’s sandy blonde hair and big green eyes. He blew out a breath, his nerves firing. Still watching the line of people filing out of the tunnel, his gaze turned to the people who had flooded the waiting area, shocked when he saw her grinning at him about ten feet away.
“Holy shit,” he said, laughing as he moved in her direction. She dropped her carry-on as he approached and instantly flung her arms around his neck. “I obviously missed you with that hat on.”
“Sorry,” she said sweetly. Jake closed his eyes as he squeezed her waist, holding her close. He consciously pulled away after just a second, not want
ing it to be weird. Alex smiled up at him. “You must have been waiting forever. Our take off was delayed, we almost got rerouted to Omaha and then had to circle for like an hour before landing.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t mind.” And it was true, he’d have waited all day. He reached down to pick up her bag, but she beat him to it, swatting his hand out of the way.
“You don’t need to carry my bag, silly,” she said.
He put his hands up. “Okay, just trying to be a gentleman.”
She just laughed and started walking toward baggage claim. “Oh my goodness, it’s so nice to walk around. I was getting so claustrophobic in my seat.”
He glanced over at her, trying not to notice how good she looked in her cutoffs and hoodie. It was wild to actually be with the real, in the flesh, Alex after spending an entire year talking via keyboard. He’d almost forgotten how pretty she was. With her ball cap and tennis shoes, she looked so natural and pure—not a lick of makeup on her face. So unlike the women he usually spent time with. Was that what he found so appealing about her? That she was different? Or was it that she showed no interest in him in that way, allowing him to really get to know her without the messiness of relationship or hook-up drama.
“So Dean’s at work today, right?” she asked, glancing over at him.
“Yep. Till around five. He’s going to be so excited, but then you know he’s going to be annoyed that you pulled a fast one on him,” Jake said.
She grinned. “I know, which makes it even more fun.”
He laughed, shaking his head as they approached the horde of people standing around the luggage carousel. Suddenly he was thrown off-balance by her squeezing his arm.
“I’m just so happy to see you,” she said, her cheek resting on his shoulder.
“Same,” was all he could say.
She looked up at him. “It will be so weird getting to talk to you for real after only talking through messenger.”
“I had the same thought.” His lips quirked. “How are we going to explain being such good friends to your brother?”
Standing up straight, she waved a hand. “What’s there to explain? We chatted a lot while I was gone. So what?” She shrugged, her attention diverted when the first bag appeared on the conveyor belt.
“So you haven’t mentioned it to him, either?” Jake asked.
“No,” she said, looking at him. “It’s not a big deal, Jake. We’re just friends, and even if it was more than that, it’s really none of my brother’s business.”
“You’re right. I agree. But this is Dean we’re talking about.”
“True. But don’t worry. The minute I tell him about my job in Arlington he won’t be thinking about anything else.” The look in her eyes let him know she was still nervous.
“How was the visit?” he asked. Part of the reason she’d left early and changed her arrival was because she’d had a job interview with the CIA in Arlington.
“Good. I guess.” She looked at him. “I know taking this job is the right thing, but … I’ll be honest, I wasn’t as excited as I thought I’d be once I got there. So much is in turmoil in Washington right now.”
“Exactly why they need good people,” he said.
“Thanks, but it’s not like a geospatial engineer is a high-profile position.”
“Every job plays its role in the success of a business … or government office.” Something he kept reminding himself these days.
She nodded. “You’re right. And the people I’d be working with directly are super nice. Nonpartisan positions, so they’ve been there a while and seen a lot. There were good and bad things, which is normal. I’m just letting doubt and fear take over, something I’ve been really working hard at letting go.”
Jake nodded. A lot of their chats had been about her desire to move forward and not let fear control her. She’d come a long way from the woman he’d held in his arms crying a year ago, and while he was insanely proud and impressed by her, he also sometimes wondered if she was pushing herself too hard. Fear and sadness were normal.
He knew part of the reason she felt inclined to take the job with the CIA was because her plan with Nate had been to come back, move to Maple Springs where he could work as an air-traffic controller, and start a family. She seemed to think that his death was an opportunity for her to try another path. Something exciting and adventurous. While that all sounded fine and good, Jake wasn’t convinced Nate’s death meant anything, except that sometimes life threw you tragic curveballs. Alex, however, was determined to make this curveball have meaning for her. She’d nearly become obsessed with it, so who was he to talk her out of it?
“I guess it’s nice you have several months to think about it,” he said, reminding her how the job wasn’t technically available until November, when someone was being promoted.
“Actually,” she said, glancing up at him hesitantly, “I did go ahead and accept the position yesterday before I left.”
Jake’s eyes went wide, his chest tightening. “Oh. Wow. Really? Are you sure about that?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to get home, get comfortable, and talk myself out of it.”
The feeling of tightness in his gut was not sadness, it was just disappointment. That was all, and he’d get over it.
“Good for you, then,” he said, putting an arm around her. “I’m proud of you, Alex.”
“I’m proud of me too,” she said. “And I really want to thank you, Jake.” She placed a hand up on his cheek, forcing him to look down at her. “Having you to talk to this past year … it’s meant so much to me. You have no idea.”
His lips quirked. “I’m glad. I’ve enjoyed talking to you too. It’s not like you didn’t help me out also. Shit, you talked me out of a third date with Devon.”
Alex’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, that girl. She was totally looking for a husband. No doubt about it. You’re right. If you hadn’t listened to me, you might be ring shopping.”
He chuckled. “You think I’m that easily manipulated?”
“Actually, no. But you are sweet.”
He was tempted to argue, tell her he wasn’t normally sweet, that it was just with her and that he’d had no problem giving Devon the slip. He decided not to reveal that about himself, though. Honestly, he’d sometimes mentioned the women he was seeing to her just to get the lay of the land. See how she responded. He really couldn’t explain why. Probably just to make it clear that he didn’t assume their friendship was more than it was. Because he didn’t assume that. Plus, he’d always tried to find something about his own life he was willing to share since she opened up so much about herself.
“There’s my bag,” she said, taking off toward the carousel.
A small hand settled on his arm, startling him. He looked down to find the woman from before. “It was nice talking with you earlier. And thanks for being so understanding.”
“No problem.” He glanced around. “Your mom make it okay?” Just as he said it his eyes landed on a middle-aged woman holding the baby just beyond the crowd.
“Yes, she did. Good luck with your friend,” she said, nodding toward Alex who was leaning over trying to grab her bag. He should be helping her. And what did she mean, “good luck”?
“Thank you,” he said, unsure of how to respond. “And good luck with, uh, Arabel.”
She grinned at that and gave a small wave before walking off into the crowd.
“I leave you alone for one minute and you’re picking up chicks.”
Jake turned to find Alex smirking at him. “I was not picking anyone up, thank you very much.”
“Sure. I bet the handsome and charming Jake Cooper has no trouble scoring digits at a random place like an airport baggage claim.”
He chuckled. “I won’t argue with that,” he teased. “My skills are not to be denied. But this was not one of those times.” And did she really think he was handsome?
* * *
Alex had not been prepared for how handsome Jak
e had looked when she’d gotten off the plane. He hadn’t seen her right away, probably because of her ball cap and lack of makeup, so she’d spent a long second watching him look for her through the glass. The way he’d shifted his weight back and forth between his legs let her know he’d been nervous, his eyes darting around, hands in his pockets.
But then the minute they’d locked gazes, he’d grinned so big all her worries had fled, and the friend that she’d been messaging with all year was standing in front of her. It had felt so natural to give him a big hug. Something she normally did with friends, but something about this time felt different. Had he been okay with it? She just felt so comfortable around him, and although he appeared to feel the same way, she didn’t want this to be weird.
They walked through the airport parking lot and up to his black Jeep Wrangler. “This car is so you,” she said.
He chuckled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She watched as he opened the back and loaded in her luggage. “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s rugged, beefy, sleek.”
He looked up and gave her a roguish smile. “Keep talking.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. It’s a single-man vehicle. Attracts attention, and obviously well taken care of.”
“I’ll pretend you didn’t just insinuate that I have nothing better to do than wash my car. And it’s not always this shiny, but I was picking up a lady at the airport.” He closed the back then kissed his fingers before pressing them to the shiny black paint with a wink. Alex just chuckled, not missing how his eyes went to her chest.
“I just noticed your necklace. That’s the one, right?” he asked.
She reached up and touched the small gold bar charm that hadn’t left her neck for the past six months. “Yes, this is it.”
“It’s pretty,” he said.
“Thank you. I like it.” Her fingers rubbed over it, as they often did. She’d purchased this necklace and put it on the same evening she’d finally gotten the courage to remove her engagement ring. She wasn’t sure she’d have had the strength to go through with it without a replacement. The idea had come from the grief counselor she’d visited on base, and on the back of the gold bar the date she and Nate met and the date of his passing were inscribed along with a tiny heart. When she’d told Jake about the idea, he’d encouraged her but also suggested that not even her counselor had all the answers, and that she should wait until she was certain it was the right time. For some reason that sentiment had meant more than he could ever know.
Maybe for You--A Whiskey and Weddings Novel Page 2