“When I was filming last summer and fall, I told them about my goal, so they let me copilot at first, and then when they saw I knew what I was doing, they let me fly the plane. For the flight from London to here, I had control of the plane the whole trip.”
“Do you plan to buy a jet?” she asked.
She saw his look of frustration.
“I’d set aside money to buy one, but I bought a house for my brother, Greg, instead.”
“But you have enough money to do that, don’t you?” Brook asked.
“I do, and I might in the future. For now, I’ve met enough people who own jets that I can borrow one. Chubby Feldman is going to let me use his for my test,” David explained.
“That makes me want to get my jet certification,” she admitted.
The reason David had started to fly was that Brook had talked him into taking classes with her—not that it took a lot of talking. She’d put all that on the back burner when she went off to college. Now that her dad lived in California, it made sense to do what David had done and get her jet certification.
The conversation lulled for a moment as they were both lost in thought. Then David turned and had a direct and unflinching look on his face.
“Do you ever think about us?” he asked.
It’s funny how in moments like this, random thoughts jump into your head. If she were ever asked, Brook now could honestly say that hair really could stand on end. Also, her heart leaped somewhere up to the vicinity of her larynx.
When she had broken it off with David, she was a senior in high school. Her parents had moved to Cincinnati for many reasons. The most important one was that her dad had been caught cheating, and they were trying to fix their marriage. Hindsight being what it was, Brook would have probably taken her best friend, Cassidy, up on her offer to live with her until she graduated.
Not that the ultimate outcome of them breaking up wouldn’t have happened; it would have. But Brook would have been able to be with him for a few more months.
At the time, she hadn’t handled it very well. She did give David credit for not making her feel worse about ending it. He’d been one of the few people who supported her decision to help try to keep her parents together.
But Brook would be lying if she denied occasionally thinking about what it would be like if they were together. Heck, the ‘stupid boy’ had declared to the world that she was one of his great loves.
“I do,” she finally said.
“After we have dinner with Adrienne, how about just you and I spend some time together?” David asked.
“But I’m dating someone. What about all your relationship rules?” Brook asked in shock.
“For you, I would break all my rules.”
Oh, now he hadn’t just uttered those words, had he? She opened her mouth to say something … well, anything … but when nothing came to her, she quickly snapped it closed. He took that as a signal, leaned towards her, and gently kissed her. She heard a gasp from the front seat, which killed the moment.
David was right. He had to get rid of his PA.
The only thought that came to her head was that his full lips that had softly caressed hers looked oh-so-inviting. She could just hear her roommates coaching her. ‘The real question is, why do you keep resisting him?’
At that moment, Brook didn’t have a good answer to that question. That was why she found herself reaching her hand for the back of his neck so she could pull his head down for a real kiss. This one had a lot more heat.
When they finally parted, they were both flushed. Brook looked deep into his eyes and saw all the love that she’d been missing for a year and a half. Tears welled up in her eyes as her emotions got the better of her. David suddenly looked concerned.
“Why are you crying?” he asked softly.
“Because I miss you so much,” she admitted.
Saying those words felt like the elephant that had been standing on her chest ever since she broke up with him was lifted off. She could breathe again, for the first time in many months.
He got that silly little smile that he reserved only for her, which caused her heart to tighten.
“But …” Brook began.
David chuckled.
“I know exactly what you’re about to say. I’m not asking for us to get back together. I thought that we might spend some time together to remind ourselves what we could have if or when we finally get the chance.”
“But it would hurt when you left,” she reasoned.
“I know it would, but without sadness, there can’t be joy. Without pain, there can never be healing. We never got a chance to really say goodbye properly,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at her.
“Quit being a cute, sexy boy for just a minute so I can think,” she scolded him.
“So, you’re thinking about it?” David asked as he batted his eyes at her.
“Stop it, brat.”
“I’ve missed this,” he said, getting serious.
Brook sighed. So had she, but she was afraid to say it out loud. The sad truth was that she compared every guy she met with David.
Bastian had come the closest. She had no doubt that her current boyfriend would be wildly successful once he graduated. His family had all the right connections; he was personable and not too hard on the eyes. But he wasn’t David. And he wasn’t here.
“I can’t,” Brook finally said.
He gave her a sad smile.
“I understand. But I would never forgive myself if I didn’t ask.”
“I’m glad you did. I just wish …”
“Me, too,” David said to let her off the hook.
He took her hand and held it for the rest of the ride into the city.
◊◊◊
Chapter 6
David
As they pulled up to the Manhattan high-rise office building, David rolled his eyes when he saw the paparazzi waiting for him. His security guy was new, and he looked nervous.
David wondered if the man would make it in this line of work because this was nothing. If they’d landed at Kennedy, it would have been a zoo. Then he would’ve earned his keep escorting David to his car.
Brook was on the phone with the building’s security.
“They say we should wait. They’re sending out someone to get us inside.”
Two minutes later, men in blue blazers with the building’s logo walked out and came to the car.
David leaned over to Brook and whispered, “Why didn’t we just pull into the parking garage to avoid all this?”
“My mom was hoping you might mention our new New York office.”
Brook saw the wheels turning and hit his arm. He wondered when she decided that hitting him was okay again.
“You be nice to my mom,” she warned.
“Welp, that takes the fun out of it,” David decided when the back door was opened.
He made a mental note to talk to Fritz because his security guy shouldn’t be sitting in the front seat while others did his job.
David got out first and then helped Brook out. The whole while, he could hear the rapid-fire of cameras and questions being shouted out.
He turned around and surveyed the chaos. He noticed that the paparazzi had begun to draw a crowd.
“If everyone will step back and allow us to stand in front of the building, I’ll give a brief statement and then answer a few questions,” David said.
When that did no good, he barked, “If you don’t settle down, I will simply march inside and avoid all of you during my stay in New York.”
Brook almost blew it when she saw his new look, ‘stern dad.’ His own father wasn’t amused when he learned what his favorite son had been practicing. David gave her a sideways glance when it worked as well on paparazzi as it did two-year-olds—not well at all.
While he dealt with the press, Kristen decided that she should stand on the other side of him to get her picture taken.
“Go upstairs and let Grace Davenport know we’ll be up in ten minutes,” David ordered his PA.
She gave him a dirty look but did as he asked.