Brittany turned her head to glance in his direction, then lifted a hand and waved to him before sliding back into the car.
Skylar walked towards him, dark glasses covering her eyes.
He noticed that her stride lacked its usual bounce and she was quiet as she slid into her seat on the plane.
Reminding himself that there was no obligation on his passengers to make conversation, Zach secured the door, then took a look at Skylar and froze.
She’d removed her glasses and her fingers were pressed to the bridge of her nose.
He’d made enough women cry in his life to know when one of them was near tears.
“Skylar?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice was clogged and she turned her head to look out the window.
Zach was prepared to take her at her word. He was paid to fly passengers safely to the mainland. Their emotional well-being wasn’t his business and anyway, she had friends. Good friends who were no doubt supporting her through whatever trouble she was in. She didn’t need him.
He was about to leave her and walk through to the cockpit when she turned to face him. One single tear escaped from the pool gathering in her eyes and slid down her pale cheek.
“Do you ever find people hard to understand?”
Zach stilled. “All the time.”
“He’s supposed to care about me, but if he cares, then why does he always want me to be different? ‘I don’t like you in that dress, I prefer your hair when it’s elegant, not loose, try not to laugh so loudly—’” More tears fell and Zach groped in the pocket of the adjoining seat to find some tissues.
He pulled one out of the packet and handed it to her. “Do you want me to call Brittany or Emily?”
“No. I know they’re there for me. They’re always there for me, but just for once I’d like my man to be there for me and not my girlfriends.” She blew her nose. “He keeps hinting at marriage, but he never says he loves me. And we never do the things I want to do, which is weird because when we first met we seemed to have so much in common. I have my exhibition coming up in December. I’ve asked him to come with me to London. I thought it would be romantic. But he says he can’t make it, as if I picked the time on purpose to be awkward. I know the elec
tion is November, but just once I’d like to know he was putting me first. He doesn’t have to come for long. Just two days would be enough to show me he loves and supports me. Showing it is more important than saying it, don’t you think? The words are pretty easy to say.”
Zach, who found those words impossible to say, stayed silent. It was obvious to him that she didn’t expect a response, so he handed her more tissues and listened as she talked and sobbed.
“I’m being stupid. I’m lucky. He’s perfect for me.”
Zach handed her another tissue, making a mental note to replenish his stock. “How do you know he’s perfect for you?”
“Everyone says so. My parents. My brothers. He ticks every box on their list. According to my father, dating Richard is the one thing I’ve done right in my life.” She scrunched the tissue into her palm. “My parents introduced us. They were hoping he’d be a stabilizing influence on me. Until I started dating Richard I hadn’t done a single thing in my life that pleased them or made them proud.”
There had been times during his childhood when Zach had wondered what it would be like to have a normal family, but the more time he spent observing others, the more convinced he was that such a thing didn’t exist.
“If you’ve never made them proud, then your parents are clearly insane.”
She gave a watery laugh. “Is that a compliment, Zachary Flynn?”
“It’s an observation.”
She sniffed. “My dad is a judge. Very serious.”
“Then I’d expect him to have a better appreciation for human differences and individuality.”
Skylar blew her nose. “Differences are for other people. In our family, conformity is compulsory. Was it Richard himself who called to book this flight for me?”
“His office.”
“Right.” Another tear escaped. “I really am sorry about this. You have places to be and I’m going to make you late. You’ve been very kind. Thank you, Zach. I’m very grateful, although just for the record if you hurt my friend, I will kill you.
Ignoring that last part, Zach handed her the rest of the tissues and dropped to his haunches in front of her. He’d never seen anyone more miserable and confused in his life. “What do you really want, Sky?”