Page 51 of The Proposal (Brides of Beaufort 1)

My dad’s instructor came over then, showing him some photos of what they’d be doing to strap in for the tandem part to help him get ready for what was coming. Since my dad was busy focusing on his jump, I turned to Will, hoping to get his opinion real quick.

“Hey,” I said, hoping my subject change wouldn’t be too weird. Will and I had jumped together enough times now that we could chitchat on the way up.

“What?”

“Shelby has an appointment with her specialist on Monday. I guess she’s had a rough time lately and wants to have them check out her heart.”

His brow furrowed. “Is that normal?”

“She has rough days, but usually a good day will come often enough that it doesn’t get her too down. Sounds like it’s been worse than normal.”

“Hmm,” he said. “Are you going to go with her to her appointment?”

I tilted my head. “Ah, actually she said the appointment was at lunchtime and asked if I’d take a long lunch so I could meet her, so we’re going for sandwiches before or after she goes.”

“Did she say she wanted to meet up to eat lunch or did she ask if you could take a long lunch so you could go with her?”

Looking down, I blinked rapidly. “Actually, good question. She didn’t ask me to come, but when she asked if I could take a long lunch, I just assumed that’s what she meant.”

“Well, you guys are together now, so I think she probably meant she wanted you to go with her. Maybe offer to go with her, just in case.”

“Yeah, I guess I should.” I leaned back in my seat, eyes fixed on the ceiling of the small plane. I totally should have offered that in the first place. Instead, I’d imagined everything would be fine, and she’d want to meet up for a bite.

In hindsight, that seemed dumb. If she was nervous going into it, she wouldn’t want to eat. She ate such small portions as it was, I highly doubt she’d be able to eat a meal before an appointment like that. And if it was after, what if she wasn’t happy with the results of the appointment and she couldn’t even eat?

“Here we go,” my dad’s instructor said with a wicked grin.

My focus instantly went from Shelby and the appointment to the jump. But when we reached the ground, I’d make sure she knew I wanted to be there for her if she needed me.