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Jade reached out and pulled Olivia into her arms. “You realize you’re not near as excited now that you’re leaving as you were when we first got here?” She eased back and looked Olivia in the eye. “When we first got here you were counting down to when we could leave and you could get back to work. You’ve been dragging your feet the past several days like maybe you’re having second thoughts.”
Second thoughts? More like third, fourth, fifth . . .
Olivia gave her friend a gentle squeeze. “I know what I’
m doing. I’ll text you when I get home and I’ll be sure to send you a selfie from my new office in the morning.”
“Do you need help to your car?”
Shaking her head, Olivia adjusted her handbag and reached for the handle on her luggage. “Nope. This is all I have.”
Because she hadn’t planned on staying so she hadn’t packed much. With a deep breath, she headed out the back door and eased her suitcase down the steps.
Once she was packed up and backing out of her drive, she took a moment to stare at the house that she’d grown up in. Memories flooded her mind, stirring her heart and procuring tears she hadn’t expected. This was all she’d wanted, and she was finally getting everything she’d asked for.
Blinking the moisture away, Olivia pulled out of the drive and headed toward the airport. She knew she’d better calm her emotions for the next little bit. Once she left Jax, she could have all the pity parties and emotional meltdowns she wanted. For now, though, she needed to be strong.
Her heart clenched when she spotted his truck. With fake confidence, she pulled right up beside his truck and grabbed her handbag. She adjusted her sunglasses and stepped from the car, tugging her skirt down in place.
She glanced inside her bag, making sure everything she wanted to hand over was inside and to take another minute to get herself together.
“Livie.”
That familiar voice washed over her. She lifted her head to see Jax standing in the doorway to the hangar. Déjà vu of her first day back into town rushed over her. So much had happened since then. She’d made memories, and dare she say, fed some of her roots she’d established as a teen.
“Thought you’d be gone by now.”
Squaring her shoulders, she crossed the grassy area. “I’m on my way out, but I needed to drop some things off to you.”
She had no idea what he was thinking because he hid his eyes behind that sexy pair of aviators he always wore. After a moment, he turned toward the main building.
“Come into my office. I have something for you, too.”
Fantastic. The last time she’d gone into his office he’d given her something . . . and she was still tingling from the memories.
Olivia followed him inside, instantly feeling relief from the heat when the cool air hit her. As soon as she stepped in the tiny office, the coffee mug on his desk caught her attention. MY COCKPIT IS BIGGER was in bold white letters on the black mug and Olivia truly didn’t even want to think about what happened on that desk or about Jax’s cockpit.
Okay, she seriously needed to drop this stuff off and get out. “I have the plans from Jade regarding the timeline, the funding, and the breakdown as to where the money will be spent in various areas. She said some of the areas are negotiable and can fluctuate, but that will be up to you and me to decide.”
Jax took off his glasses and tossed them onto the desk before leaning back against it. Crossing his arms over his broad chest, he continued to stare at her. This tension was too much and threatened to take over if she didn’t hurry up.
She reached into her bag and pulled out the file. “This is what she wanted you to have. I have a copy too.”
He took the file and sat it beside him, that gaze still unwavering. “Jade could’ve brought this. Is there something else you wanted?”
Swallowing the lump of remorse, she reached back into her bag. Why did he sound so cold? So distant? This wasn’t the Jax she’d gotten to know on every level. He seemed . . . hard, like he’d put up a steel barrier between them or like she was some stranger.
Pulling out the journal, she handed it over. “I want you to have this.”
He stared a moment before taking it. He didn’t open it, but he didn’t toss it onto the desk with the files, either. Apparently, her father’s journal meant more to him than the renovation plans.
“Okay, well, that’s all I wanted to give you.” She attempted a smile, which probably looked ridiculous because he was still frowning and wasn’t making this the least bit easy. “Actually, there is one more thing.”
She wasn’t going to tell him this, but she figured she should leave with him having some nice thought about her . . . she hoped.
“I, um, I sold some stock with my company.” She gripped the strap on her purse and wished he’d stop starring at her so intently. “There was an ’87 Skyhawk that went up for auction. Similar to the one you’d been looking at but a couple years newer. It holds the same number of passengers and, um . . .”
He shifted, his brows raising. Apparently, airplane talk got his attention.
