50
JONAH
Sasha walked over to me while I waited in the living room for Lexi. I was happy to be back in Lexi’s apartment, because in a city that buzzed with millions of people, there were just two people who mattered to me.
Lexi and Evie.
“So, Lexi told me you took care of her when she fell ill while I was away.” Sasha paused. “I must say, I was surprised.”
I understood where this was going. The careful assessment in her eyes reminded me of another conversation a few days earlier, when my efforts had been weighed and found wanting.
“We restructured the entire European division, brought them from red to black in six months,” I’d said, on a rare video call with my Dad. “Ahead of schedule.”
He’d glanced at me, once, briefly before looking away from the camera. I hoped he was looking at the report I’d sent him. “Adequate,” was his only response.
Adequate? It had been months of eighteen-hour days, of rebuilding a team from the ground up, of proving I could do the impossible. Adequate didn’t even begin to cover it.
I’d paused, waiting for more.
“Was there something else?” he’d asked, already turning back to his phone.
The memory still stung, but sitting here in Lexi’s living room felt different. Sasha’s surprise wasn’t dismissal. It was protective concern for her friend. It was real, and grounded in something that mattered.
I’d spent years jumping through hoops, chasing approval that didn’t exist. I’d been running on a treadmill while pretending I was climbing toward something.
But being here for Lexi and Evie wasn’t a performance. And maybe that’s why it actually meant something.
“Lexi told me that you had qualms about us dating,” I said, my gaze straying across the room as I scanned it for a sign of Lexi. Not yet.
Sasha let her gaze rake over me, looking wary. “Well, she’s a sweetheart, and I don’t want her to get hurt. She doesn’t realize the problems that will arise with an age gap.”
I saw a flash of red in the corner, but, nope, it wasn’t Lexi. Dejected, I turned back to Sasha, trying to recall our conversation. The anticipation of seeing Lexi again fucked with my head. It was like an addiction, the more I got of her, the more I wanted. The way she smelled, the way she tasted, and the feel of her body under mine.
I tuned back in to Sasha’s conversation. “You mean that she may end up being more of a caretaker for me in the future than a partner?”
Sasha’s face flushed, but she didn’t deny it.
“I wouldn’t want that to happen either—” I broke off when I finally spotted Lexi.
She looked breathtaking in a beautiful white dress. Her hair was in beautiful curls around her face, and her lips were a soft pink. With a shock, I felt it in my bones that I would never tire of seeing her. She was the first woman I felt this way about.
“You were saying?” Sasha prodded.
I shook my head. The only thing I wanted to do was go over to Lexi. The only person I wanted around me was her. No one else.
“Sorry, but I lost all train of thought now that Lexi’s in the room looking for me. Nice talking to you, Sasha.” I shook her hand, eager to get to Lexi quickly. I didn’t want to keep her waiting.
I strode over to Lexi. “Every time I see you, I’m surprised,” I said. “Because the question running through my mind is,Is this beautiful woman really with me?”
She chuckled. “Ah, a compliment with a side of a humility,” she said lightly. “Who are you, and what have you done with my Jonah?” she teased while I put my arm around her waist and pulled her close.
“He’s lost. Gone, disappeared because with a woman as brilliant as you in the room, he’s nothing.”
She grinned and stood on her toes to kiss me.
“What were you talking about with Sasha?” she asked, when we broke apart.
“I don’t remember,” I said, still looking at her in awe. “You’re beautiful.”
