Page 108 of The Last Goodbye

Bass

We’d boarded the Winchesters’ private plane to head to New York, and to say I was out of my element would be a massive understatement.

Yet there was nowhere else I’d rather be.

It was a big weekend in Blue Sky Bay, and Bennett’s was packed with reservations, but no one was more surprised than me that I’d decided to go out of town.

Sometimes you just need to trust your gut.

I’d had many of those times in my life, starting at a very young age.

My gut had never steered me wrong.

And even if Briar had a hard time admitting that she needed me, I knew that she did.

We weren’t all that different, really, which was probably why we’d butted heads so much when we first met.

Briar Sinclair and I were both guarded—for different reasons, of course—but at the end of the day, we both had this armor around us.

Hers was due to grief, and mine was due to disappointment.

“Hello, Ms. Winchester, I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Brandy,” the flight attendant said.

She appeared awfully formal, considering we were the only people on the plane, aside from the pilot and the copilot, whom we’d already met. She kept glancing over at me and batting her lashes, which was awkward as hell. Briar definitely noticed.

“Hi, Brandy. My last name is actually Sinclair,” Briar said, her voice unwavering.

“Ah, that’s right. You told me that last time. Sorry about that. Your father sent a note about you flying home today, and he wrote ‘Briar Winchester’ on the note.” She smiled, as if that was something Briar had been hoping for.

I knew better.

“No worries,” she said, but I sensed some tension about the name. I’d definitely be asking her about it later.

Brandy then turned her attention to me, a wide grin on her face. “And you’re a client? I think that’s what Mr. Winchester said. But I didn’t catch your name.”

“Brandy, this is my date, Bass Bennett.”

She grabbed my hand, and Brandy’s cheeks flushed crimson.

I fucking loved it.

Obviously, William Winchester hadn’t filled Brandy in, which told me he probably wasn’t thrilled that I was coming home with his daughter.

The pilot stepped back into the plane to tell us that we were ready to take off, and Brandy said she’d bring out breakfast and drinks once we were up in the air.

“I think someone else would like to make the mile-high club with you, McGrumpy,” she hissed against my ear.

“Are you jealous?”

“I’ve never been a jealous person. It’s not my style.” She narrowed her gaze as she studied me. “But I have to admit, I did have the slightest desire to gouge her eyes out when she kept checking you out.”

I puffed my chest up. “That’s definitely a sign of jealousy, Magpie.”

“Don’t get cocky. It’ll pass.” She settled in beside me as we started moving down the runway.

Before we knew it, we were up in the air, eating eggs and bacon and sipping mimosas.

“It’s actually more challenging to make the mile-high club on this plane, because we’re the only ones on it,” I said as I popped a grape in my mouth. “If we both go missing, it’ll be real obvious.”