you’ve been in a serious relationship more than once. You and Gemma are doing great, and you were engaged before.” I held up two fingers. “That’s way more experience than me.”
He leaned his head against the plane and groaned. “I was too young to understand love when I was engaged before, and Gemma and I are pretty fresh. That said, I’m not afraid of commitment, not the way you are. My parents had a rock-solid marriage, so I had something to learn from. I think maybe take it a little slower with Nora. I do think it’s good you told her how you felt.”
I must’ve looked as flummoxed as I felt because he pressed on. “She needs to know how you feel, but after what you told her before, you can’t assume she’ll believe it’s that easy. She was pretty hurt. It’s been months since she actually spoke to you. I guess you can take it as a win that she replied with words.” He cast me a wry smile at that.
I took a few strides, sitting down on an overturned crate and resting my elbows on my knees. I stared at the floor, my eyes landing on an oil stain. Repairing my relationship with Nora, if I could even pull it off, was way harder than getting that oil stain out of the floor, and that was basically impossible with concrete.
“I’m glad you figured out how you felt,” Diego offered, his tone encouraging.
Lifting my head, I shrugged. “It’s not really gonna matter if she won’t give us a chance.”
Diego arched a brow. “Let’s go grab some pizza. Elias texted me and was wondering if we could meet him. Maybe he can give you some advice.”
“Jesus, just what I need. Advice about my love life.”
“Not about your love life, your lack of a love life,” Diego teased, clapping my shoulder lightly as I stood from the crate.
We locked up the plane hangar and headed over to Glacier Pizza.
A short while later, I leaned back in the booth, letting out a satisfied sigh. “Man, they have the best pizza.”
Elias grinned from across the table as he finished off the last slice from the large pizza we’d gotten for the three of us. “Damn straight.”
Diego returned from the restroom, slipping into the booth beside me. “What did I miss?”
“Absolutely nothing,” I offered with a chuckle.
“I have some news, actually,” Elias commented.
“Lay it on us.” Diego leaned his elbows on the table.
“Cammi’s pregnant.” Elias’s brown eyes lit up when he smiled, shaking his head in wonderment.
Diego thumped his fist over his heart as he leaned back. “Congratulations. I know y’all wanted this.”
I dipped my head, leaning over across the table to clasp my friend’s shoulder and squeeze it lightly. “Congratulations. How are you feeling about it?”
“I can’t fucking believe it. I’m equal parts terrified and excited.”
“How far along is she?” Diego asked.
“Three months. Apparently, that’s the magic number when you’re allowed to start telling people,” Elias offered with a grin. “Also, we’re getting married soon.”
“Wow,” I said, shaking my head slightly. “You’ve gone from committed to being single to about to be a father. I can’t believe it.”
Diego grinned. “I can believe it. He found the right woman.”
“Does that mean you and Gemma are thinking kids already?” I teased.
Diego shrugged. “When the time is right, I’m ready. I love kids.”
Our waiter stopped by the table, effectively interrupting the conversation. I was relieved to have a moment to gather myself. I was kind of stunned by how easily Elias had accepted the shift in his life.
Elias and I had been tight for years, just as all of us working at Walker Adventures were. Yet Elias and I shared a common grievance. Both of us had been betrayed by another friend, Greg. Greg had died, but he’d been a core part of our group in the Air Force. That group had parlayed me into this job when Flynn called me about it. I loved being here and crisscrossing the skies in Alaska. Greg had screwed around with Elias’s girlfriend and even gotten her pregnant before he died. Before that, he’d also screwed around with a girl I’d been seeing. Maybe I hadn’t been serious, but it still wasn’t cool. Not even a little.
She had even approached me a few times after the fact with apologies, wishing we could try again. Fat fucking chance of that. I had enough issues with commitment. I didn’t need to try it with someone I couldn’t trust.
After we left the