Page 33 of Flyboy
Before Penny's arrival, her life had been so simple. Although it didn't matter how much chaos and drama her sister had brought with her, Alyssa didn't want to go back to how things were. Finding out Gina had lied about having an abortion and getting her tubes tied all those years ago was the one time Alyssa was glad her mother had broken her word.
She wouldn't give up her sister. Ever.
Gina could come at them with everything she could think of and none of it would make a difference. With Jack's help, she'd make sure the court knew returning Penny to their mother would put her in danger. She still didn't know what her sister had told Jack yesterday morning in Vegas and, in spite of knowing to the depth of her soul she wasn't going to like whatever it was, Alyssa knew she needed to know.
Because if her worst fears were true, and with Gina it was likely, they would need that knowledge to help the court decide in their favor.
"Hey."
She turned to Jack and realized while she'd been caught up in her thoughts they'd arrived at work. He'd switched off the engine, undone his seatbelt, and turned toward her.
"It's going to be okay," he assured.
Alyssa gave him a smile. It might be wobbly and tinged with sadness, but it was a smile. "I know."
"We'll do what we have to to make sure Penny never goes back to Gina or ends up in the system."
His words, the strength and determination lacing them, made her smile widen. "Yeah. We will." She spotted the ring on his finger. "Actually, we kind of did." She pointed at his hand.
Jack looked down and the smile that curled his lips sent her belly fluttering again, warmth pooling between her legs. "We did." His gaze came back to hers. "I'll take it off. For now. But, Lys, I have to be honest, I want to wear it. I want everyone to know I'm married to you."
Air rushed out of her lungs. "Jack."
He held up his hands and slowly slid the ring up his finger. "I get it, why you need to ask; it's the only reason I'm agreeing to take it off."
Goddammit. She didn't want to have this conversation now. She wasn't ready to look at why she'd suggested they get married beyond making things easier to get Penny permanently. As much as she'd tried to convince herself that was the only reason she'd said ‘I do’ and signed her name to their marriage license, she knew there was more to it. She just wasn't ready to admit it or accept it.
"C'mon." He popped open his door. "We don't want to be late."
Before she could say another word, and she was pretty sure he'd jumped out fast so she couldn't say anything, he'd closed the door and headed across the parking lot. Reaching the building, Jack stopped and looked back.
Alyssa couldn't decipher the expression on his face. He wasn't impatient or angry or happy or anything really. It was as though all emotion had been wiped away. She had no idea what to think of their conversation and she hadn't seen what he'd done with his ring. From here she couldn't tell if he'd slipped it back on or tucked it away somewhere.
Did she have the right to ask what he'd done with it?
She didn't think so, and in spite of her curiosity she wouldn't. Just like she wouldn't tell him she'd looped hers onto a gold chain she wore around her neck. The chain was long enough that her rings slipped beneath the cup of her bra, the lace and padding keeping them in place, hiding them from view.
Alyssa may have taken the symbols of their marriage off her finger, but she hadn't been able to leave the house without them with her. So many conflicting reactions she couldn't get a handle on. She hadn't been this confused since the last time Gina had been in her life, except she couldn't lay all these emotions at her mother's feet.
A lot of the chaotic thoughts racing around her head were about Jack and the roller coaster ride their friendship had become. She'd never been a fan of rides. Maybe it was because her early years had been so unsteady or maybe it was just she liked things to be calm, in control.Hercontrol.
Was that why she'd held Jack at arm's length? Because she couldn't control the way she felt around him or the wayhebehaved?
He'd never given her reason not to trust him and yet she couldn't let her guard down completely. She couldn't even be sure she wanted to. The thought of leaving herself open to someone else's actions made her heart race and sweat break out all over.
She'd learned not to trust at an early age, and even after spending years away from the person who'd given her that life lesson, she kept pieces of herself back. Even with Maz, she'd never allowed their friendship to develop deeply. Alyssa might refer to Maz as her best friend, but it wasn't as though they'd been all that close.
Until Maz moved to Sunnyville, Alyssa could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times they'd seen each other in person, and it would only take two hands to count the number of times they'd spoken over the phone in the ten years since they'd met.
Before Maz's—or even Penny's—arrival, if someone had asked who she considered her closest friend, she would have said Jack.
Would she still say that?
Couldshe still say that?
In the last three months, she'd cut him from her life as much as she could. She thought she'd done it to protect him from her past, from the turmoil her sister's arrival would bring, but had it been to protect herself from the moment he realized she—and her family's dysfunction—was too much trouble?
Had she spared him any of it though?
