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“Listen,” I said, swallowing heavily. “You don’t have to pretend. You don’t have to make things up to make me feel better. I’m a big girl,” I said, chin lifting bravely. “And I can handle the truth.”
Their eyes looked over my form speculatively.
“Well, how’s this truth?” growled Andrew. “We got into a massive fight over you, Joanie. Over you, and only you, sweetheart, because my bro and I wanted you so badly. What do you think of that?”
“Or how about this?” added Damien, voice casual although his gaze was intense. “Me, Charlie and Tom flew in the moment we realized there was trouble in the air. The second word hit that you were in distress, all six of us convened to figure out a good path.”
“That’s what you mean to us,” rumbled Charlie, blue eyes fierce. “We dropped everything to come to your rescue. How about that?”
My jaw dropped to the floor once more. Because was it true? Yes, the twins had come storming into Nick’s apartment, demanding their time with me. And yes, I’d heard myself the six voices in the apartment the next morning. So something had called the men to New York, something compelling and immediate.
Was it me?
Could it be?
Did they care so much that I was their first priority?
And slowly, tears began to run down my cheeks.
“Do-do you mean it?” I stammered. “Because if you did, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Why didn’t you come find me?”
Oh god, the pleading tone of my voice was so embarrassing. But I hurt so bad that it didn’t matter anymore. I just needed to know the truth, and nothing but.
The men nodded.
“Sweetheart, it’s absolutely true. We didn’t come sooner because we were waiting for you,” rumbled Damien’s smooth voice, head cocked to one side. “No pressure, sweetheart, but we wanted you to come back on your own.”
That old saying huh? Let a bird fly, and if it comes back, it’s yours for keeps.
But my wound was too deep, the ache too excruciating.
“It’s been three months,” was my painful whisper. “You can’t imagine what it’s been like.”
And suddenly, all six men were on their knees surrounding the desk.
“Sweetheart,” rasped Nick, taking one small hand in his. “We know. We’ve been feeling the same. It’s been pure torture, like walking on coals with bare feet.”
“Every day has been torture,” added Charlie, eyes piercing. “I should have gone back to Chicago. Tom should be back in Tucson. Hell, all of us should be somewhere else. But no. We’re here because we love you and want you to come back. There’s no one for us but you, Joanie.”
“That girl was nothing,” ground out Tom seriously again. “She was nothing but an unfortunate coincidence. The timing was fucking awful, and we kicked her out asap, not realizing that you’d bumped into her in the elevator. For that, sweetheart, we apologize. I can’t even bear the thought of that woman laying eyes on you.”
But that’s the thing.
“She was there for a reason,” was my low whisper. “And that was to interview with Elite Air. So what happens now?” I asked in a pained voice. “What if I don’t want to fly anymore? Do you find someone else?”
The men shared a glance.
“Sweetheart, we sold the company. Without you, it meant nothing. None of us even wanted to step foot on one of those planes again, not if you weren’t there serving us nuts and dr
inks,” said Aaron, just a hint of a smile playing at his lips.
I blushed immediately. The things we’d done on those planes were amoral and unbelievable, but oh so delicious as well. Unbidden, my insides began to grow warm, dew forming on my nether parts.
“You sold the company?” was my quavering voice. “Because of me? Oh my god.”
Their nods were immediate.
“Like we said, sweetheart,” Tom rumbled again. “Elite Air was meaningless without you. It was nothing but piles of scrap metal whizzing through the air. Worse than that. Your ghost was on each and every plane, the memories so fresh and tantalizing. We couldn’t take it,” he intoned, “so we sold it.”
