I swallowed hard. This was more than I’d expected from him, even if it wasn’t the kind of romantic expression of love I’d imagined.
“The event sounds wonderful,” I said, trying to talk over the unease in my chest.
“Let’s go meet Evie,” Jonah said, taking my hand in his and leading the way up the stairs.
We had barely taken a few steps out when Jonah stopped me.
“Something’s missing,” he said, his eyes roving over me.
I reached out to touch my handbag, worried that I’d left it behind, but Jonah shook his head.
“No, not that,” he said, studying me. Then he exhaled and looked back in the direction the car had gone. “It’s your scarf. You had it on while you left work, so you must have left it behind in the car. I’ll get it for you,” he said.
I reached for my neck, surprised I hadn’t even noticed it was missing while Jonah ran down the road, trying to spot the car which had moved on in search of a parking spot.
The evening was chilly as the sun dipped below the skyline. I wrapped my jacket tighter around me while I waited for Jonah.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a person walking down the sidewalk. Perhaps it was my tired mind playing tricks on me, but I felt strangely uncomfortable. Like I was being watched.
Without warning, a figure stepped out from the shadows. My eyes widened in fear, but before I could react, a streetlight flickered on, illuminating Dylan’s familiar face.
I exhaled loudly. “Shit!” I shouted. I put my hand on my chest, then doubled over and placed my hands on my knees. “Don’t ever do that again. You scared the heck out of me, Dylan.”
“Where were you?” he asked, looking down the sidewalk, as though trying to figure out who I was waiting for.
“Why are you here?” I asked pointedly.
“Came here to see you,” he said, and after a beat, added, “And Evie.”
“Good God,” I muttered as my breathing slowed. I leaned against the railing and closed my eyes. It had scared me half to death to have someone walk up to me like that, and I hated that Dylan didn’t think twice about it. “Dylan, it’s late.”
“Late?” he scoffed. “It’s barely eight p.m.” His gaze flicked over my shoulder to someone in the distance.
“You …” he muttered.
I turned, surprised to see Jonah back so quickly. His eyes fell on Dylan for one brief moment before he closed the gap between us in a few quick strides, holding out a scarf.
“I found it,” he said, coming closer, his hands lingering over my neck as he draped it.
Dylan walked up to get a closer look at him.
“I’ve seen you befo—” He drew in a sharp breath as things clicked into place in his mind. “You’re the guy who had me fired! The man who leads the company she works for. Joe-Joe Walkers.”
Jonah had just finished draping the scarf over, me, and his arms gripped my shoulders tight while he closed his eyes for a second before he let go and turned to Dylan.
“Don’t think for a second that I’ve forgotten the way you manhandled Lexi in my building. And embarrassed her in front of a crowd. I would have you evicted from your home and made sure you wouldn’t even get a job within Manhattan, if it weren’t for the fact that you were Evie’s father.”
I could see Jonah’s temper flaring and spoke up before it could get worse. “Just leave, Dylan. It’s Evie’s bedtime. This is not a good time for you to see her.”
Dylan looked like my words just zoomed past him. His gaze was fixed on Jonah, his eyes traveling over the fitted Italian shoes and the clothes he had on before he turned back to me.
“So,thisis the kind of company you keep these days, eh, Lexi? Rich men?”
He reeked of condescension, and I stared at him, frustrated that he could talk to me like this in front of Jonah.
“And, Lexi, seems like you’ve picked up some new tricks,” he continued, his drawl thickening. “How much is he paying you?”
“Stop it, Dylan,” I cut him off sharply.
