Page 24

“How’s Millie?” Jack asked as they settled in. Their menus sat on the table untouched. They both knew the options by heart.

“Doing fine. I can’t wait to see her tonight. Mr. Dickson has her covering the Boston route temporarily until we hire another pilot. I miss her like crazy.”

Jack smirked and shook his head. “Newlyweds.”

“Wipe that smirk off your face. Just wait ’til it’s your turn. Then you’ll see.”

“You’re going to wait a long time. I have no intention of marrying any time soon, not after Myrtle.” Jack shook his head. “By the way, what’s it like being married to a woman who flies better than you?”

Jack meant to tease, but Ernie got this dreamy look on his face, the love-sick fool.

“Wonderful. Terrifying. Delightful. It’s heaven whenever I’m with her, and I’m so proud of her accomplishments as a pilot. But my heart is in my throat every time I watch her fly away. I always wonder if it’s the last time I’ll see her.”

Jack couldn’t imagine what it would be like to watch the woman he loved risk her life like that. “I don’t know how you do it. It’s bad enough with one pilot in a marriage. But two?”

“It isn’t easy, but we make it work.”

A waitress named Sheila came by and took their orders—a turkey club sandwich for Ernie and a pastrami sandwich for Jack. Iced tea for both.

Ernie started fiddling with his watch again as Sheila left.

“Something on your mind, Ernie?”

“It’s nothing,” Ernie said, dropping his watch back in his pocket and looking up with a somewhat pained smile. “Say, have you heard about the experiments they’re doing in Europe with airplanes with enclosed cockpits?”

Jack wished Ernie would come out and say whatever it was he had to say. The waiting was killing him. Best to get this over with. But obviously Ernie was in no hurry.

“Yeah, I’ve heard,” Jack said, giving in to Ernie’s obvious attempt to redirect the conversation. “It sure would be nice to have a roof over your head while flying.”

“Wouldn’t it, though?”

Their food arrived, and they continued to make small talk about the latest innovations in aviation until their plates were clear. Even then, Ernie prevaricated. It wasn’t until they both had slices of rhubarb pie sitting in front of them that Ernie finally said, “Listen, there’s something important I need to talk to you about.”

Oh no. Here it comes.

“It’s about Constance.”

Jack’s heart sank. He’d held out some slight hope that Ernie might have some other weighty matter in mind, but no. It was as he feared.

He forced himself to look his closest friend in the eye and say lightly, “What about her?”

Ernie’s brown eyes, so like those of his sister, bored into him. “I know we’ve talked about this before, and you’ve sworn you don’t have designs on her.”

Jack swallowed. How guilty did he look right this moment? He hoped he could brazen his way through this, but it was difficult to get anything past Ernie. They knew each other too well. “And nothing has changed,” he said in a steady voice, maintaining eye contact.

And nothing had, except in Jack’s mind and heart. Outwardly, he was still her honorary big brother and nothing more.

Ernie’s eyes narrowed. “Doug Brown says otherwise. He seems to think you’re trying to win Constance away from him. I told him that was ridiculous but that I’d talk to you. Is it ridiculous, Jack?”

Closing his eyes, Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. He absolutely could not admit the truth about his feelings, but maybe it was time to tell Ernie the truth about the scheme. Constance wouldn’t like it, but this had gone too far.

“Constance wanted to hurry things along with Doug and thought he might respond to the threat of competition. She asked me to pretend interest. From what she’s told me, it seems to have worked.”

Now he was going to be in hot water with Constance for giving away the game, but he was never going to be successful keeping this secret from Ernie. And it was far better that his friend think this was a ruse than take it as truth. Because the truth would be the end of their friendship, and Jack knew it.

Ernie raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure this is just for show?”

“Absolutely sure. I have no designs on Constance.”