like a fist tightening around his heart. He wanted to tell her that his leaving was for the best. The longer he stayed, the more he’d hurt her. But they both knew the real truth: his CO’s call had given Jared back the one thing he wanted more than anything. “I’m sorry.”
“Just go,” she said again. “I know there’s nothing I can say to keep you here.”
“I’m sorry,” he said again, knowing it wasn’t enough but knowing it was all he had to give. As he walked out of her house, it felt like someone was ripping his heart right out of his chest.
He jumped on his bike. The engine roared to life beneath him. He looked down the road, wanting to get the hell out of this town as fast as he could. But there was one stop he had to make before he left.
Ten minutes later, he cut the engine and parked in front of Paul’s law office. Jared walked past the secretary without a word.
“This is a surprise,” Paul said, rising from behind his desk.
Jared’s helmet hung from his hand like a leaden weight. “I need your help.”
“Does this have to do with Jenny?”
It had everything to do with her. “Draft whatever papers are needed to relinquish any interest I have in Blue Sky Air. That company belongs to her. Only her.” He thought of all the successes she’d accomplished in such short time. She’d succeeded where everyone had predicted failure. He was so damn proud of her.
Paul sat back down in his chair. “Care to tell me what’s going on?”
“No.”
Paul picked up a pen from his desk. “You’re leaving. Empty-handed?”
Yes, but not in the way Paul thought. Jared didn’t give a damn about the money. “I was never staying.”
“Going back to your squadron. Back to flying.”
Jared’s silence was his answer.
“I thought you were happy here.”
Happiness was a fucking illusion. No one knew that better than Jared. “Just write up whatever you have to so I can sign the damn thing and get out of here.”
“It’s not that easy. Give me a couple of days and—”
“I don’t have a couple of days. I need it done now.” Paul stared at him for several long moments. “What you’re asking will take some time.”
Time was the last thing Jared had. There was no way he could stay around for another couple of days. He’d somehow managed to walk away from Jenny. He didn’t know if he’d be able to do it again. He moved toward the door. He needed to get out of here. Now. “Fine. I’ll contact you in a few days and give you an address where you can mail them.”
Paul’s gaze drilled into Jared. “Life’s short.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Each time he climbed into the cockpit he was confronted with just how fragile life could be. Too damn fragile for a woman who had already lost someone.
“No, I don’t. There’s more to life than flying.”
For men like Paul and Steven. But not for Jared.
“You’re about to lose the best thing you ever had.”
Jared had already lost her. No, that wasn’t true. She’d never truly been his.
He turned and walked out.
TWENTY-THREE
For over an hour, Jenny didn’t move. She sat on her bed letting the tears flow. Used Kleenexes littered the bed. She reached for a fresh tissue, then realized she’d used up the whole box. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her pajamas. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have given her heart to a man who didn’t want her? Who didn’t love her enough? Who didn’t love her at all.
She didn’t want to move. She wanted to stay right where she was, wallow in her heartache until the pain just disintegrated her into a pile of ashes. She couldn’t go through this again. She wouldn’t survive another broken heart.
But she would. Time had taught her that.
She stood and slipped into jeans and her favorite sweatshirt. As much as she wanted to let her grief overtake her, she had a business to run. She wasn’t the same person she’d been when she’d lost Steven. She was stronger now. More sure of herself. More sure of herself as a businesswoman. And Jared had played a big part in helping her see and realize her full potential. While her heart was breaking, she wasn’t going to close herself off from everything again. This time, work would be her salvation.
In the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and pulled her hair into a