Chapter 167
Tilda
I park beside the black truck that I now know is Ethan’s.
And my heart won’t stop racing.
I don’t have to do this.
I know I don’t have to.
I could chance my truck making it.
I could drive to the next town over and rent a car.
I could hire someone else.
Anyone else.
But…
I don’t want it to be anyone else.
The next time I fly, I’m going to be scared.
And I don’t want to do it alone on a giant commercial plane.
And I can’t do it on a little plane with someone else.
So… it has to be him.
The man who broke my heart.
The man I can’t stop thinking about.
The man I want to see again, even if it hurts.
I turn off my engine and exhale.
It has to be him.
The soles of my tennis shoes hit the blacktop.
Just in case something… goes wrong, I wore my most comfortable pair of walking shoes.
And because I want to look cheerful for a man who’s possibly dying, I wore my floor-length rainbow-striped dress.
It has a high neckline, leaving just my arms exposed. But in my bag, my largest purse, I have a light blue sweater. And some protein bars. And a bottle of water. And an extra battery charger for my phone. And a bag of nuts. And a Swiss Army knife that I found in the garage.
Just in case.
I hoist the bag onto my shoulder and slam my door shut.
I’d hoped that the stress of flying and the stress of seeing Ethan would maybe cancel each other out. Dull my senses.
But as my heart continues to gallop, I accept that’s not true.
It honestly feels like the stress might kill me.
Hopefully before a plane crash does.
I fill my lungs.
Stop it, Matilda.
I brace myself, then I step through the side door into the hangar.
It’s the same.
Looks just the same.
Except the plane is different.
It’s similar. Same size. Possibly the same type.
But the paint is different.
It’s… purple.
I press my lips together.
Ethan’s plane is purple.
I bite my lip.
He did buy a new one.
I blink against the heat.
Ethan bought a purple plane.
I force in a breath.
He bought a new purple plane.
And maybe he lied. Maybe he bought it in the past week. With the money he got. But…
The man who haunts my every thought steps out from behind the plane. And he’s as devastatingly handsome as I remember.
His muscled body is wrapped in red flannel. And I have to fight to keep my eyes on his because… I think that’s his wedding shirt.
I think it’s the one he was wearing when he married me.
When he promised me forever in front of a fake Dolly Parton.
He stops before me. “Hi—”
His mouth starts to form a word. But he stops himself.
And my heart aches. Because I think he just stopped himself from calling me Starlight.
What does that mean?
I’ll tell you later.
I swallow. “Hi, Ethan.”
His eyes dip. Just for a second. And I catch his hand moving at his side. His fingers flexing around nothing.
“Are you ready? Or would you like—”
“I’m ready.” I stopped at a gas station two minutes away to use their bathroom. Knowing that if I don’t immediately get on the plane, I’ll turn around and leave.
Ethan nods. “I’ve checked everything three times.” He holds out his hand. “Do you need anything from your bag?”
I shake my head and hand it to him.
He takes it, and I wait while he secures it in the back.
Then, I focus on everything but where his hands touch me as he helps me into the plane.