CHAPTER 22
Jannie
“Well, if it isn’t the Prodigal Freak!”
Jannie tightened her grip on Nick’s hand as she approached her brothers at the open doors of the beautifully decorated LarsAir hangar.
Royal blue and gold balloons adorned the ceiling and every corner. An open bar had guests already lining up, while others served themselves from a long buffet filled with every delicacy imaginable.
Adam never spared any expense when hosting these celebratory bashes. This one was no different. If anything, it was more extravagant. A giant supersonic airplane-shaped cake sat on a dessert table that featured every treat imaginable, from assorted cupcakes to fruit to cheese.
Stepping forward, her brother Ian opened his arms with a grin and pulled her in a bear hug, even lifting her off her feet a little. “Good to see you, Freak.”
“Already with the nicknames.” She hugged him back. “Put me down. You’ll give yourself a hernia.”
“No chance.” He set her down and flexed his biceps, which, to his credit, were bigger than the last time she saw him. “I got jacked. I can handle your tonnage.”
Before she could think of a snide retort, he turned to Nick, who stood beside her. “Hey, man! Glad you could make it!”
Her older brother, Adam, stepped forward, his eyes intense and serious as he scrutinized her from head to toe.
“We weren’t sure you would come.” He hugged her, and Jannie’s throat tightened a little.
Behind his stoic exterior, Adam hid a heart of gold and always looked after the entire Larssen clan. “Glad you did. You look good.”
His gaze snapped to Nick. “Kent.” Adam held out his hand. “Good seeing you again. Thank you for coming.”
“I wouldn’t miss this,” Nick cordially replied. “Congratulations on an impressive accomplishment.”
“Thank you.” Adam’s eyes shone with pride.
For years, the LarsAir 2024 had been his dream, pet project, and biggest headache. Today, the supersonic passenger jet would finally grace the skies.
As they shook hands, Jannie saw a glance exchanged between them and wondered if they had stayed in touch.
Knowing Adam, she wouldn’t put it past him to check up on her through Nick.
Which would explain why all the Larssens had uncharacteristically given her space and hadn’t bothered her while she was getting her shit together.
Part of her was irritated, but another part felt her heart warm. Her family, though they tended to butt into each other’s business, always cared and had one another’s backs.
“Hey there, gorgeous.”
Jannie felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Adam’s friend, chief pilot, and co-owner of LarsAir, Devon Thomason, standing there with open arms. “Where’s my hug?”
“Hi, Dev.” Jannie moved to embrace him, noting that his mischievous green eyes were brighter than usual.
“Thor told me you might show up,” he said, using his college nickname for Adam. “It’s good to see you. Great day, isn’t it?”
“Sure is.”
Devon had been instrumental in financing the 2024 project, unwaveringly supporting it even when it looked like it might never happen.
“Will you be on this flight?” Jannie asked.
He smiled, deploying those killer dimples so many women swooned over. “What do you think?”
“He’s going,” the woman at his side said, pouting and poking him in the chest with a talon-like hot pink nail. “Without me.”
Devon placed his hand on her lower back, way too close to her ass, Jannie thought. “Next time, I promise.”
Jannie looked at the woman. Her pink lace dress barely covered her; one sneeze and she’d flash the entire hangar her butt cheeks.
She brazenly checked out Nick, and Jannie swallowed her irritation as she watched her catch his gaze, narrow her eyes, and suggestively bite her super-long acrylic thumbnail.
Devon extended his hand to Nick. “You must be Kent. Word has it that you’re teaching Jannie all sorts of things.”
He turned to pluck two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray, handed one to the woman and one to Jannie, then grabbed two more for Ian and himself.
Jannie, too, picked up a flute and handed it to Nick as Adam took the last one.
“Best student I’ve ever had,” Nick coolly replied. “She’s a natural.”
“Not surprised,” Adam said. “She’s a Larssen.”
Ian grinned big. “That she is. Speaking of a Larssen …”
Jannie followed his gaze. Ian’s stunning red-haired wife, Claire, waved from the line at the bar, and Jannie waved back as her brother’s smile instantly transformed into something so intimate that Jannie had to look away.
“She’s stunning. The pics don’t do her justice. You did good.” Jannie smirked. “Although I don’t get why she even spared you a second glance.”
Ian grinned. “She fell for my gentlemanly charms.”
Jannie snorted. “The only charms I ever saw you have were obnoxiously sugar-laden and came in a red box with a leprechaun on it.”
Adam smiled, Devon guffawed, and Nick chuckled.
Ian wriggled his brows. “I’m magically delicious.”
She glared at him. “Gag.”
Ian laughed. “We missed you, Freak.”
Adam nodded and sipped his champagne. “We did.”
Pink Talons craned her neck, looking longingly at the buffet. “Is that a seafood tower?”
Devon grinned. “It is. Let’s go get you some oysters. Excuse us.”
With a smile and a wink, he turned and guided his companion toward the lavish spread of food, slipping his hand even lower, his pinkie dipping into the back of her plunging dress.
“He never introduced her,” Jannie muttered.
“Doesn’t need to,” Ian said, sipping his champagne. “She’ll be switched out when he gets back.”
“Ah, another one of his escorts?”
“Yes,” Adam said tersely.
Oops. Adam had met his former escort wife when he hired her for the night.
Jannie immediately dropped the subject and turned to Ian. “I missed you, too, sort of.” She placed a hand on his arm. “I really am sorry I couldn’t be at your wedding.”
“That’s OK.” He shrugged and looked away. “You were there in spirit.” He sounded nonchalant, but Jannie clearly saw lingering hurt in his eyes. The morning of the wedding, he had called, still hoping she could make it. She’d let it go to voicemail.
Jannie’s chest tightened, and suddenly, she felt selfish, despite vividly remembering spending that entire day curled up in a ball, crying.
She had been in no shape to go anywhere so soon, let alone to a wedding with over two hundred people, where she would have to fake smiles.
She felt Nick’s warm hand on her lower back and was grateful for his steady, quiet support.
“Who are you flying for these days, Kent?” Adam asked.
“Same company.”
“They treating you well over there?”
Nick smiled. “They’re doing right by me.”
“Any interest in jumping to a better ship?”
Jannie inwardly groaned. “Leave him alone, Adam. Jeez! If he wanted to move, he would have done it already. He’s happy where he is.”
“Is he?” Adam’s narrowed eyes flicked from Nick to her, and she clearly read the message in them: Let the man speak for himself, Jannie.
Nick nodded. “It’s where I need to be right now. The job gives me flexibility when I need to do—” he smiled warmly at Jannie “—other things.”
She smirked at Adam. “See?”
Adam drained his glass. “Let me know the minute that changes. We already lost Jonathan. Starting today, he’ll be flying that bird full-time.”
He pointed to the gleaming LarsAir 2024 jet parked right in front, then across the crowded hangar to a tall, dark-haired man in a zippered flight suit, much like that worn by some Navy aviators.
“The Blue Angels are gonna sue you for ripping off their gear,” Jannie said.
Adam’s answering smile was confident. “Not a chance. Jonathan helped design that. It’s close, but no cigar, not even a cheap one.”
“What’s wrong with the standard Lars uniform?”
“People expect a flight in a luxe version of a fighter jet. Our pilots need to look the part.”
The man thought of everything, which is why he was so successful. Jannie smiled, studying the handsome aviator over the rim of her glass. On closer look, the fabric of the suit was of such high quality that it molded to Jonathan’s body with a perfect fit that was just short of sexy.
Jannie watched another guy approach Jon, carrying a food-laden plate in each hand. This man was far more muscular, and his neck was as thick as an MMA fighter’s. On him, the uniform looked close to obscene.
“Who is that?”
Ian rolled his eyes. “Why does every woman who sees the guy ask that question in the exact same way?”
Jannie smirked. “Do I need to spell it out for you, Mr. Jacked? Next time you hit the gym, maybe you should ask him for some pointers.”
“Ouch,” Ian muttered. “That’s Gunn McLaren, aka Mac, former Air Force pilot, newest hire at LarsAir, and Jon’s second-in-command.”
Jannie observed the man’s supremely cocky stride. “He wouldn’t like being second,” she murmured.
“He doesn’t.” Adam shrugged. “Too damn bad.”
“I can just see it now. Front page of the Las Vegas Review-Journal: ‘LarsAir 2024 cockpit Breeched, Overtaken by Lusty Female Passengers.’”
Beside her, Nick chuckled. “Lusty females. A force to be reckoned with.”
She shot him a glance and found him watching her with curious amusement.
And heat. Oh, such heat.
For a long moment, her gaze remained fixed on his, and Jannie knew precisely what he was recalling. Flash image of him beneath her as she rode his face with wild abandon.
The blood rose up her neck to warm her cheeks.
“Well, now,” Ian drawled. “Do you two need some time in the maintenance office?”
Adam’s eyes narrowed. “Dad’s in there. With Tim.”
Ian shrugged. “Then, kick them out.”
Jannie gave him a withering look. Had Nick not been right beside her, she would have smacked Ian upside the head.
“Oh! Jannie!”
Mom.
Even before she turned, Jannie heard the emotion in her mother’s voice.
Mom quickened her step, her blue eyes full of love as she sprinted to gather Jannie in her arms. Jannie hugged her back, inhaling her comforting, familiar scent of powder with a hint of the green and bergamot in her signature Chanel N°19 perfume.