The whole part about having a head of security and a housekeeper who would put me in their best room gave me pause, but it wasn’t in a bad way. It just made me wonder if he’d gotten into some other business and I wasn’t going to be bringing him home with me when I came back. Maybe he’d even moved on from Cali and was settling down.

It was almost a relief to have something to occupy my mind, though. Nova’s birthday was in two days, and it had been a struggle to make it through the nights as the date got closer and closer. In my gut, I didn’t think I would make it past her birthday. I didn’t know if I had the strength to go on when the moment arrived that I’d been planning for since I was eight years old.

Jet looked like death warmed over when I picked him up at the airport. He had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder as he boarded, his clothes wrinkled and his hair completely unkempt. His eyes were bloodshot, and his skin had an unhealthy tint to it. The man appeared not to have slept in days, and I wasn’t confident in guessing the last time he’d showered.

I knew Nova would have been upset if she saw her dad like he currently was.

“Garret didn’t say anything about why we’re going to Colombia?” he asked in a hoarse voice as he took his seat across from me.

“He didn’t give me many details about anything,” I told him honestly. “But he seemed…” I paused. “Happy?”

“Yeah, I heard it in his voice too.” The older man’s shoulders drooped. “I guess I should be thankful that someone I love is doing well.” He scrubbed his hands over his face before combing his fingers through his hair. Muttering a curse, he finally looked at me again. “How are you doing, son? Her birthday is the day after tomorrow and it’s been gnawing at me, so I can only imagine what you’ve been going through.”

I nodded to Oliver, who brought over a bottle of whiskey as I’d instructed. “I thought we could spend the flight drinking away the pain of not getting to celebrate her turning eighteen.”

Jet picked up the bottle. “Bring him another bottle,” he instructed the flight attendant. “This one’s mine.”

“Figured you would say that,” I told the man who was supposed to have been my father-in-law in two days’ time. “I prefer vodka myself anyway.” Oliver handed over the bottle then excused himself.

I uncapped the top and clanked the bottle against Jet’s. “To the most beautiful girl who ever walked this earth. May we be so lucky as to hear her sweet laugh one more time,” I muttered.

He blinked his green eyes rapidly for a moment before nodding and tipping his own bottle back for a deep pull. I did the same, gulping down the contents until the pain in the center of my chest was numb.