Page 38 of Owen

“That empire is all that matters to my father.” Disheartened, I sigh. Although I know Camilla has no interest in it either.

“You mean something to me, Owen,” Gregor murmurs, the emotion clear in his voice. “You always have. I know I treated you like my little brother when we were growing up; the fights about sharing my toys and moaning when you wanted to tag along with me and my friends, but that means I also love you like a brother.” His Adam’s apple bobs slowly in his throat. “Jacob and Lincoln do too.”

I wiggle nervously in my seat. “Thanks.”

He clears his throat and changes the subject. “I’m meeting some of the team for dinner later. Wanna join?”

“Nah.” Not wanting to go out tonight, I say, “I’ll make myself something. There’s lots of food in the refrigerator.”

“I like how much you’ve grown in the last year, Owen. Buying your own groceries, learning to cook, firing your cleaner.Doing your own laundry. It’s admirable.”

“And about damn time.” I sweep my chaotic chlorine-filled hair from my face.

“You’ve changed. I liked you before. I like you better now.” His honesty throws me off kilter.

I have changed for the better, grateful to have broken free from the charmed, almost unreal life I was living before my friends woke me up from my selfish coma.

“I like me better now, too.” I push aside the stuck-between-worlds feeling, still at a loss about what direction to lead myself in. “But I’ll feel even better after a shower,” I say, rising to my feet and moving out of the living room.

“We are flying early tomorrow,” Gregor informs me, so I know he’ll be gone at the crack of dawn.

“I’d love to come watch.”

“I’d love that too. It’s been a long time since any family has watched me perform.” He looks excited when he leaps to his feet and bounces on his toes. “I’ll organize a pass for you to get on base and you can use my hire car.”

“Can’t wait. Enjoy your meal tonight.” My foot hits the first step on the staircase. “I didn’t sleep with Jade last night.” I clear up my earlier statement, just in case he gets the wrong idea about Jade and me.

“Really?” he replies, his voice thick with sarcasm again.

“Yes. Really.” I draw out my words. “We did, you know, other stuff.”

He casually leans against the doorframe and stares at me as if expecting me to divulge, then a big toothy grin curves his lips.

“I shouldn’t have said anything. You’re an asshole.”

“She dumped you for Blake?” Gregor teases.

“Yes. Now fuck off.”

Gregor’s taunting echoes in the hallway. “Now you come tomention it, she has grown closer to Blake over the last couple of months. I see that now. Blake filled a civilian post, not a military one, so that would work out perfectly for Jade if she doesn’t plan on dating anyone from the military, I guess.”

The asshole keeps on making jokes as a low growl bubbles in my throat. With every stomp up the last of the steps, I imagine it’s Blake’s face I’m pummeling the sole of my foot into, and Gregor’s.

Well, isn’t this year just the gift that keeps on giving?

Showered and changed, I’m sitting on my bed, legs sprawled out in front me, ankles crossed, laptop teetering on my knees. I’ve trawled the internet, reading everything my eyes can soak up about Jade.

I’ve watched interviews, scrolling pages and pages of photographs of her shaking hands with celebrities and royalty, her arms around musicians and sports personalities, and she appears to have met everyone, becoming a celebrity in her own right.

On camera, she’s a natural. In photographs, she’s scroll-stopping and captivating. Her big blue crystal eyes and firecracker-colored hair make her unique in so many ways. I can’t fathom why I never paid attention to Gregor’s career sooner. How did I not see her before?

Because you’ve had your head up your egotistical ass, that’s why.

I stalked her social media platforms for way too long, scrolling, enlarging, and learning everything there is to know about her schedules, the display, how the stunts are performed, and watching press videos of her with the team.

I then watched a half-hour special with her that followed aday in the life of an aerobatic pilot on the Air Force’s video channel, too, making my stomach do its own three-sixty spiral while she reached speeds of five hundred miles an hour. Soaring, looping, and flipping through the air, sometimes only feet apart from another aircraft, making me realize she’s an unsuspecting daredevil in a jumpsuit; and fucking sexy as hell in it.

Hypnotized by her online presence, I scrolled back through her cleverly curated newsfeed and grids. It’s work focused, and aside from Poppy’s birth announcement, there isn’t a selfie in sight.

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