Chapter 37

Mira’s POV

One might say I’m a fool or that I’m very gullible for forgetting how Alejandro had denied me, but when it comes to love, does anyone really think with their brain anymore?

It’s a matter of the heart. It’s about how that special person makes you feel.

Alejandro may not be perfect, but what’s to say I am? I had forgiven him, given him the benefit of the doubt, and decided to live in the moment while it lasted.

He had proposed that I come with him on his trip and that I bring Zara along. At first I wanted to say no because it felt like I wouldn’t belong, but since getting on this plane and watching the clouds drift beneath us, I realized this was exactly where I belonged. With Alejandro.

The private jet itself looked like something out of a billionaire’s dream. The seats were wide cream leather armchairs instead of the stiff rows you find on normal planes. Soft lights glowed from the ceiling panels, and polished wooden tables were fixed beside each seat.

The quiet hum of the engines was smooth and distant, almost soothing. It felt less like flying and more like sitting in a luxurious living room that just happened to be thousands of feet above the earth.

“Care for some wine, miss?” a voice asked politely.

I turned from the window to find a young smiling air hostess standing beside me, dressed in an impeccable navy suit with a tiny bow at her collar.

“Sure, thank you.” I smiled and took a glass from the tray she carried.

Everyone else had fallen asleep, including Zara, who was seated across from me. Dro, on the other hand, had decided to sit with his friends, leaving Zara and me on one side of the jet.

He had insisted we use his private jet to make the trip more comfortable, and I had to admit he was right.

This felt more like a house than a plane.

Honestly, it might even be bigger than the cramped little space I’d shared with my father growing up.

A flash of memories about him crossed my mind and a frown settled on my face. I quickly pushed the thought away and took a sip from the wine glass in my hand.

Zara shifted in her sleep and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She gave me a sheepish smile and I smiled right back.

“This is the life, Mira,” Zara murmured in her sleepy voice.

I let out a soft chuckle. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“How long have I been out?” Zara asked quietly, sitting upright while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“I don’t know. Maybe two hours?” I replied, glancing at my watch.

“Well, I needed that sleep. Being a nanny to a teenager who thinks life revolves around sex and drugs isn’t exactly the easiest job.” Zara laughed, and I joined her.

Zara had always taken the strangest jobs just to keep going, especially after she couldn’t finish high school. From caregiver to waitress to dog walker and now a nanny, you name it, she had probably done it.

She had dropped out after getting pregnant for a loser and decided to keep the baby. But she lost her child only two days after giving birth.

One thing about Zara was that no matter what life threw at her, she had never been like me. She had never thrown herself into anything illegal and had never searched for the easiest way out of our difficult lives.

But me? Once things became hard, I found myself dancing naked before men for cash they probably couldn’t even pay their own children’s school fees with.

If it hadn’t been for Zara, I’d probably still be dancing or sleeping my way through life for loose change.

“How’s she, by the way? I mean Layla, the girl you’re looking after,” I asked curiously.

Zara rolled her eyes and sighed.

“She’s a pain in the neck, Mira, I’m telling you. She’s just sixteen and I know she’s having sex, but I can tell you for a fact that she’s not being careful enough.”

I laughed. “And how do you know all of this?”

“Her little gossip sessions with her friends during their slumber parties, duh.”

“So you eavesdrop on teenagers now?” I chuckled.

“Spare me, Mira. I just wish there was a way I could talk to her, you know, before she ends up the way I did. Pregnant with a dead baby.” Zara sighed softly, her eyes beginning to water.

I placed a hand on her thigh, rubbing gently to comfort her.

“What you went through was terrible. But look at you now. You’re stronger than ever and on a trip to the Bahamas.”

“Ouuu, I need that drink.” She laughed, grabbing my wine glass and finishing it in one go. “This is good stuff.” She grinned.

“Alright, let’s change the topic. How about you introduce me to one of Alejandro’s hot friends?”

“You’re such a flirt,” I laughed.

“So you get to have a hot, rich American boyfriend and I don’t? That’s being selfish, Mira Martinez.” Zara teased while slowly looking me up and down.

I was just about to clap back when the speaker above us crackled softly.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be landing shortly in Nassau, The Bahamas. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened as we begin our descent.”

The announcement stirred the guys awake, and Dro immediately made his way toward my seat.

“Are you ladies okay?” he asked with a smile, leaning down to place a kiss on my cheek.

I turned and kissed him on the lips, and he smiled softly between our kisses.

“Y’all get a room,” Zara hissed teasingly.

“You should get back to your seat, Dro. We’re about to land,” I said.

“Aye aye, captain,” he replied playfully before walking back to his seat and fastening his seatbelt.

But his eyes stayed locked on mine.

I turned slightly and caught Ace staring at me as well.

He hadn’t spoken a single word to me since we boarded. He hadn’t even properly looked at me earlier, yet I could feel the strange tension between us hanging in the air.

“Tattoo guy definitely has a thing for you,” Zara suddenly said, interrupting my thoughts.

I blinked and looked at her. “I don’t know, Zara. Ace has always just been a nice person, but now he’s acting distant.”

“Because he’s jealous, dumbass. Haven’t you learned anything from me about men?” Zara laughed.

I rolled my eyes. “You watch too many movies.”

“Well,” she said with a sly smile, “you’re about to star in one this weekend.”