Until We Fly (Beautifully Broken 4)

I grin. Nora glances up at me.

“Is it okay that I’m here, or?”

“Of course,” I assure her. There’s a whole lot of self-doubt in her eyes right now, and I want to squash it. “It’s fine.”

We get dressed quickly, then join Jacey in the kitchen. She’s sitting at the kitchen table waiting for us, running her hand over the wood of the tabletop.

“I miss this cottage,” she muses. “There were happy memories here.”

And I had been in the process of making another one, but I don’t point that out.

“Jacey, this is Nora Greene. Nora, this is Jacey Vincent. Kinkaide, I mean.”

Nora holds out her hand, but Jacey by-passes it, hugging her instead.

“It’s nice to meet you. So nice to meet you,” Jacey gushes. “I feel like I know you, but that’s not possible, right?”

“Her parents own the Greene estate,” I interject helpfully and Jacey’s eyes widen.

“Ohhhh. You’re little Nora Greene! I knew I knew you. I used to wait tables at The Hill. I remember you coming in sometimes with your parents. You’ve…uh… grown up.”

That’s a tactful way to skirt around the topic that Nora was naked on Jacey’s beach.

Nora smiles gracefully, only the barest hint of a blush along her pale cheeks.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jacey. I’ve heard so much about you.”

There’s the barest hint of acid in her voice, and I wonder at it. Is she jealous?

Jacey looks at me, her brown eyes soft. “I couldn’t help but notice, as I drove down this road, that your parents’ house seems to have burned down.”

There’s a knowing expression on her face, because she knows me well.

I nod. “Yeah. There was a bit of a matches and gasoline problem. Apparently, when you douse something with gasoline and toss a match onto it, it burns.”

She raises her eyebrow. “Is the problem resolved now?”

I nod. “It’s all good.”

“Good.” Jacey yawns widely, then slaps a hand over her mouth. “God, I’m sorry. I’m jetlagged. Dom’s still on-set in the UK and he couldn’t come, but I wanted to be here for a couple of days to check on you. The jetlag is killing me, though. I’m gonna nap for a couple of hours, then we’ll catch up, okay?”

“Of course,” I tell her. “Take all the time you want. You can sleep in your old room. Nora’s been sleeping in with me, anyway.”

Jacey smiles knowingly. “I bet. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” She heads down the hall, but calls over her shoulder.

“Don’t think I’m not pissed that you didn’t call me yourself. I’ll be kicking your ass after I wake up.”

“I’m scared!” I yell at her back.

The click of her bedroom door is my only answer. I look down at Nora, only to find her staring up at me. I can’t read her expression.

“I’m sorry we were interrupted,” I murmur into her hair, pulling her close. “But I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

She nods, but stays quiet. Her uncharacteristic silence is getting to me.

Jacey sleeps for hours, and in fact, I don’t hear her stirring until long after Nora and I have gone to bed.

I lay in the dark, listening to Jacey’s movements in the living room, and ponder my situation.