Then she drew back, her sorrowful blue eyes meeting his gaze. He could see past the make-up and the wig. He saw a beautiful, smart, and caring woman.
“I wouldn’t forget about you,” he added. “I love—”
A knock sounded on his window. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted Finn through the dark glass.
“Your chariot is waiting for you.” She gave his hand another squeeze. “You belong on that plane, out their conquering the world. And I—” She let out a soft laugh. “I need to play the princess for a little girl’s birthday right now.”
“Lucy,” he growled.
“Go.” She withdrew her hand and waved to the door. “Go back to your world.”
“You are my world.” His tone was deep, low, and solid. And for a second, he saw a question in her eyes. But then it slipped away, replaced by sorrow.
“My world is fairy tales and magic, remember? Impossible things that don’t exist.”
Yes, they do!
He wanted to shout at her. He’d felt the magic when he was with her. He’d watched her transform a hospital lobby—a place linked to sadness, death, and hell, overdoses—into a room filled with possibility. Her world was magical, and he wanted to be a part of it. He needed a little more time to figure out how.
“I hate to interrupt,” Finn called through the tinted glass. “But your pilot is threatening to take off without us.”
“I’ll call you tonight.” Jared reached for the car door.
“You can’t fix this,” she said firmly. “Go. I should have known better than to trust my heart to fairy tales. I recreate them every day, but they aren’t real.”
He climbed out of the limo. She was wrong. He could find a solution to damn near any problem. That’s how he’d come this far. He’d scraped by, discovering the loopholes that no one else spotted.
But that’s business, he thought. This is love.
Rules, logic—none of it applied. Not when it came to winning his princess. What if this time, she was right?
He glanced at the limo speeding away from the runway. He turned and headed for his plane. Finn walked by his side but didn’t say a word.
“Something you want to talk about?” Finn asked once they were on board the plane and buckled into their seats.
“Yeah.” Jared glowered at him. “Your sister just broke my heart.”
Finn glanced out the window. “Did you break hers?” he asked quietly. “Because if she’s crying in your limo right now, you need to fix—”
“I can’t,” Jared snapped. “I listened to her, and I think she’s right. It will never work.”
“You’re giving up on her because she told you to?” Finn glared at him.
“Right now, I need to focus on Tico.” Jared pulled his laptop out of his bag. “I know how to save this launch. But Lucy? I don’t have a clue.”
“Figure it out.” Finn leaned back in his seat. “Before we reach New York.”
“That’s your advice?” Jared glanced out the plane window. The limo sped away from the runway. Out the rear window, he saw a single gloved hand waving to him.
There goes my last hope of kissing Lucy again.
In a few hours, he would land in a world where he couldn’t hold Lucy close, or save her from every other man who wanted a piece of the princess.
“I’m not giving you advice. You’re on your own,” Finn said calmly. “I think you know what Lucy wants a helluva lot better than I do. I wish to see her happy, not crying in a limo.” He raised his hand and signaled to the flight attendant. “Could I have a beer?”
“It’s not even noon yet,” Jared said. “We have work to do.”
“You’re the one who needs to make plans. I want to see Lucy happy,” he repeated. “But I can’t make that happen. Only you can do that.”