Chapter 24
Cash
They’ve been staring at me for over an hour.
Noah shook his head once before looking down in disgust.
Loch has knocked into my shoulder twice. Once while going to the toilet at the back of the plane and then when he returned to his seat on the couch at the front.
It’s Harbor I’m most worried about. His expression hasn’t shifted out of neutral from boarding to now. I can only imagine what’s going through his mind.
Small talk isn’t going to win them over, so I haven’t tried.
As soon as I sat in the seat, I put my headphones on and stared right fucking back at them.
They don’t intimidate me other than the risk of losing my seat on the grid for having sex with their sister.
I fucked around, literally, and I’m willing to find out.
I have bigger concerns than them overstepping their role as Marina’s brother.
Loch and Noah share a silent exchange. Must have drawn the short end of the stick because Noah gets up and comes to sit across the aisle from me.
He pinches the bridge of his nose, then leans forward to rest his forearms on his legs.
“I thought . . .” He looks at the ceiling of the plane and then back at me.
“We had an understanding? As coworkers, boss and employee, even as friends.”
Realizing this isn’t going to be quick, I recline the chair. “And what would that be?”
“That you wouldn’t fuck my sister, who’s also your boss, and ten years younger than you—”
“Nine.”
“Nine what?” he snaps.
“Marina is nine years younger than me. Stating for accuracy because so much that’s put out is inaccurate regarding us.”
If eyes could bulge, his are. “Are you telling me you’re not having sex?”
“I didn’t say that—”
“Motherfucker.” He’s fast, but Harbor is quicker to his feet and drags Noah to the other side of a row of seats.
Noah shoulders him and frees himself from his confines. “Did you hear what he fucking said?”
“I did,” Loch replies. “But we should hear the full story before judging.” I don’t trust anyone who remains that calm after how he was staring at me for so long. Loch sits in a swivel seat facing me with access to block Noah if he needs to. I appreciate the effort to hear my side of things.
Harbor sits where Noah was and looks me dead in the eyes. “We have a problem, Cash.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” It’s best to let them air their grievances so we can all move past this. I recline even more in preparation for getting some shut-eye on this flight before we land.
“Our sister—”
“Your sister,” I say, sitting forward and making sure all three of them hear me loud and clear, “is a grown-ass woman with a mind of her own.” Raising my hands, I add, “No one was taken advantage of, there was no manipulation involved, and trust me, we weren’t thinking about you guys when we fell in love. So—”
“Love?” Noah asks, standing with his guard fully intact. “You can’t love my sister.”
My gaze volleys among them as they each take in the news differently.
“I do. I love Marina very much.” Sitting back again, I add, “None of this was planned. If you would have asked me at dinner in Miami, there was no fucking way I would have seen any path that would have led us here. But here we are.”
Harbor sits back, and Noah sits down again. Loch twists his hands with his gaze attached to the floor. The four of us sit in silence until I remember that Duncan is asleep in the back, oblivious to everything that’s going down. I’ll have to thank him for so nobly having my back during all this.
Maybe I should keep my trap shut while I’m ahead, but it just doesn’t feel right to have the only thing they are imagining is Marina and me having sex.
I mean, it’s what I think about most of the time, but it’s not good for them.
I say, “Her beauty is obvious, but Marina is intelligent and quick, funny, and a little quirky at times. She has a gentle soul she hides behind a temper to protect herself. I didn’t set out to fall in love with her.
I just did the more I’ve gotten to know her. ”
They’re staring at me again, but it doesn’t matter. I want the whole world to know how I feel about her. “I hope that helps settle how I ended up in this position. I really had no choice in the matter. My heart was hers the moment we met. Our fates sealed together.”
“We’re not your girlfriends, and this isn’t a slumber party for your dating life confessions, Ryatt,” Harbor replies, stony-faced. “We get it.” He puts up a hand to stop. “You . . . love her.” He glances at his brothers before turning back. “We do, too. If you hurt her, you’re done.”
I don’t know what “done” means to them, but I don’t want to find out either.
Everyone gets comfortable in their own space, and soon, I’m able to get some sleep.
A text from Marina comes through as soon as we land:
I love you.
I’m grinning, feeling like I got away with the king’s ransom when it comes to her. I text:
I love you.
The feel-good texts end there. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I really needed more sleep to deal with the mess of texts I received from Terpidy. The messages flood my phone as soon as I get in the car after landing. Her four messages populate the screen.
The shoot has been extended a few days.
Won’t be home until the following Monday.
Your mom said she’ll watch Cullen.
Watch him? Like a babysitter. Where is the disconnect? My mom will not just watch Cullen. She’ll raise him. She’ll love him. She’ll take care of him like she did for me.
Terpidy:
I’ll try to call him every day. If I don’t get through, tell him I love him.
Try?
I take a deep breath and hold it in for the count of three before exhaling. I don’t even know how to reply, and anything I type right now won’t be nice. I call my mom to get the details and hopefully cool off. As soon as she answers, I ask, “How are you guys doing?”
“We’re good. You have other things you should be focused on.” I knew she’d downplay any disruption. The thing is, I don’t want her life more disrupted than it is by my schedule.
“I heard from Terpidy.”
“Cullen’s in good hands, Cash. You really don’t need to worry.”
I angle away from the other guys in the SUV and lower my voice. “I’m worried. What do you need? What can I do?”
“There’s nothing you can do from Brazil other than score points. That’s your job and your only focus this week. I have all kinds of crafts and puzzles for us here. We’ll also be watching your race.”
Watch my race. It’s something he’s never done in person, and now it becomes my sole mission. “I can fly you down here.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Going to another country is a lot, from dealing with the airports and a five-year-old to passports and exchanging money.”
“I’ll fly you private. You don’t have to do anything or mess with the busy airports in New York.
You can fly private and come down Thursday or Friday to do some sightseeing or hang out at the track.
” I don’t know how good a sales job I’m doing, but I really hope it’s working.
“You haven’t seen me race this season. Please come. ”
There’s a pause when I can hear a show in the background and giggling. Cullen. I smile, missing him so much already.
Finally, she says, “If I can get his passport from Terpidy’s, we’ll come to Brazil.”
I sit up, too anxious to rest back. “I have access to it. That was part of our agreement. The key to his safe deposit box is in the top drawer of my desk in the back room. I’ll send you the details of where to get it and the paperwork so Cullen can travel with you. In the meantime—”
“He’s in good hands.”
“Yep.” I’m in complete agreement and so lucky to have her. “The best. I know from personal experience.”
When we hang up, I’m left with a huge grin embedded on my face. After years of wanting this more than anything, my son will finally see me race in person. One goal accomplished.
The second?
Marina.