Nonstop (Open Skies #3) - Becca Jameson Page 0,65

old’ shit. Talk to her, man,” Tank said. “And take your time about coming back to work. I’ll understand if you bail on me. Just know the job is still yours no matter how many hours you’d like to take on.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I’ll call you soon.”

Bracken ended the call and leaned back in his chair. There was a gray cloud over his head. He didn’t know why. It wasn’t necessary. Bex had just gone to her condo for the rest of the day. No need to panic.

But he was. Totally.

Chapter 25

“Okay. Okay.” Destiny held up both hands to shush the group of women. “Enough about hijackings, kidnappers, and hostage situations.” She turned her gaze toward Bex. “Let’s talk about something more pleasant for a while. What’s going on with Sweets?”

Bex flushed, not wanting all the attention on her. But that’s exactly the position she was in, and there was no getting out of it. Could she blame them? They were curious, and she’d been very hush-hush about Bracken from the beginning.

Five sets of eyes stared at her from around the living room in the condo she shared with Shayla. Destiny, Libby, Christa, Shayla, and their newest addition, Raeann. The women had gotten closer to Raeann in the last few weeks.

Not surprising. Raeann needed their support as much as anyone, and it appeared she fit in perfectly with the rest of the women. Bex had never known her well because she’d rarely worked the same flight as her, but Shayla had many times.

Christa, the only one in the group who could be considered even close to being as introverted as Bex spoke. “Don’t pressure her. She’s private.”

Bex cleared her throat. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” She didn’t. Not really. “It’s complicated.”

Christa smiled. “Isn’t it always?”

Bex chuckled. “Probably. It’s just… It all happened so fast and I feel like I’m under a lot of pressure.”

“From Bracken?” Libby asked.

Bex shook her head. “No. Not really. From life. He’s been amazing. But he also laid out all his cards, and that makes me nervous. I’m not sure I’m ready to go all-in yet with the china and diapers.”

Shayla choked on her drink. “Pardon. China? Diapers?”

Bex giggled. It was kind of nice to talk about it. Maybe she should do this more often. “It’s kind of a joke. He said his mother would be so over the moon that she’d have set up a wedding registry and purchased a crib. Bracken’s an only child. He’s thirty-nine. Neither he nor his parents expected him to settle down at this stage, and then he met me.”

“Did his mother actually mention you two getting married?”

“Nope. Thank God. I think I would have lost my mind under the circumstances. Mostly his parents walked on eggshells after the hijacking.”

Destiny sucked in a breath. “That’s good. But how do you feel?”

Bex shrugged, her gaze lowering. “I don’t know. On the one hand, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Hands down. He’s perfect. But…it’s just so fast. How can I be sure?”

Christa reached out a hand and grabbed Bex’s. “None of us are ever certain beyond a shadow of a doubt, but you have to follow your gut. Your heart. If the man makes you happy and checks off most of the boxes on your mental list of life-partner qualities, you have a winner.”

Bracken had a checkmark next to every single item on the list, including things she hadn’t known were on the list. There was no doubt about that. She just didn’t trust it to last. That was the crux of the situation.

Tuesday she would see Dr. Rawlins. Technically, the doctor would expect her to use the time dealing with the fallout of Bex’s latest work drama. In any other universe, ongoing PTSD after a hijacking would take center stage, but for Bex, her relationship with Bracken seemed more important.

The hijacking sucked. It did. So did the damn hostage situation with Christa. But the truth was that Bex’s real issues had stemmed from what happened to her when she was in high school. Unresolved trauma that was triggered by recent events.

Now that she was working through her feelings, opening up more about what happened to her, processing, and learning coping skills, she felt much stronger. She was proud of how she’d handled the hijacking situation. She’d gone from a near panic attack from the act of flying to someone who stepped up under pressure and did everything she could to save lives. And she had