She’d come to Haven with Livie when her father passed, and Jade had ended up staying. She now lived in Livie’s childhood home, but he honestly had no clue what her future plans were. He knew she’d started teaching hot yoga classes in the next county, and try as he might, he couldn’t get her to come to his gym to teach. He couldn’t even get her to discuss it. Anytime he broached the subject, she instantly came back with the argument that they should never work together.
Once the plane leveled out, Cash risked a glance at her. “All right?”
She blew out a slow breath and nodded. “I’m not a fan of takeoffs.”
“Duly noted.”
“Or landings,” she quickly added.
Cash surveyed the gears and controls. “I’ll be sure to give you a smooth landing.”
“Why don’t we discuss something else?” she suggested. “Or better yet, not talk.”
“For four hours?” he asked, glancing to his controls and then to the bright-blue horizon. “You think you can ignore me that long in this tight space?”
“I could if you’d be quiet.”
Cash shook his head. “Not likely. You can pick the topic if that makes you more comfortable.”
She toyed with the hem of her little black dress, which stopped right at her knees. He really shouldn’t be admiring her tanned knees, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Fine. Let’s talk about that shiner. Did you spar with the wrong guy?”
“Oh, he was the wrong guy all right,” Cash muttered. “Let’s just say I had my reasons for letting him take a swing.”
Jade grunted or laughed, he couldn’t really tell.
“I never would’ve taken you for a guy who let anyone get the best of him.”
Cash ground his molars to keep from defending himself. . . because at the time, it had been more important to defend her. A black eye was nothing in comparison to the way that bastard had treated Jade. Even thinking about it now set Cash off, made him angry all over again. No man should ever treat a woman like she’s not worth everything in the world. Breaking up is one thing, but being a complete bastard is unacceptable.
“So where’s the wedding?”
Jade shifted in her seat and smoothed down her dress. “You really don’t want to talk about that fight, do you?”
“No.”
“Male ego, I get it,” she said with an extra bit of confidence, though she had no idea his reason for the fight. “Fine. We can move on. The wedding is at some country club that no doubt Ruthie’s parents were founding members and are on the board of, or some such nonsense. I’m sure it’s the most prestigious in the state and there will be a flurry of wedding planners and photographers racing around to make sure her day is nothing short of perfection.”
Cash watched the horizon and listened to her sultry voice come through the headset. He’d known Jade since junior high, but it wasn’t until she moved back a year ago that he’d gotten to know her better. Not that they were chummy by any means, but they’d tolerated each other for the sake of their friends.
In school, Jade had been three years older than him and definitely not hanging in the same circles. Cash’s circle had been so minuscule, with only Jax and Tanner. Cash had been too embarrassed to get closer to anyone else. With his mother gone and his dad hitting the bottle every waking minute, it wasn’t as if Cash felt like inviting friends over.
Girls were easy, though. They never expected to come to his house. He dated quite a bit, then ended up in the Air Force and came home and married the first woman he thought he might love. Turned out, there was no love from either of them and he’d been desperately seeking someone to fill a void.
His father’s bottle habit had turned to pills; then he just decided to combine them both and currently was slowly killing himself. Cash had urged his dad to seek help and this time really stick to the program. Each day that passed without a call that his father had checked himself out was a success.
“Don’t even get me started on the dress,” Jade went on, cutting through his thoughts. “I’ll shut up. You don’t need me grouchy for the rest of the trip.”
Cash shrugged. “At least your anger is pointed at someone else, not me.”
Silence settled between them, only the hum of the engines filling the space. Cash enjoyed the view; it wasn’t often he took longer flights. He typically did short jaunts, so this was even more enjoyable, even if Jade would’ve rather had any other pilot.
“You haven’t brought up Taps yet,” she said after several minutes.
Taps, the local bar in Haven where Jade had been with her boyfriend the other night. W
ell, Jade had walked in and caught her boyfriend of a few months on a date . . . with another woman.