“He’s taken,” I called out over my shoulder to the crowd before crushing Jonah’s lips with mine.
The crowd erupted into cheers as Jonah kissed me back, to more whoops and cheers from people and one snide comment. “Damn, I was hoping he’d be available after.”
Then I melted into the kiss, fighting a grin back.
When we finally broke apart, I laughed, overwhelmed by the sheer joy and love that I felt for Jonah.
“Jonah!” came a delighted squeal, and suddenly Evie was running toward us, her hands still dusty with pollen from the flower booth. Anne followed behind her with a knowing smile.
Jonah broke away from me just long enough to scoop Evie up in his arms, spinning her around as she giggled. “There’s my favorite girl,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“I missed you so much!” Evie declared, wrapping her small arms around his neck. “Mom said you went to see your daddy, but I knew you’d come back to us.”
“Always,” Jonah said firmly, his voice thick with emotion. He looked at me over Evie’s head, his eyes bright. “I’ll always come back to my girls.”
Jonah shifted Evie so he could wrap his free arm around me, pulling us all into a tight embrace. “My family,” he murmured against my hair, and for the first time in years, I felt completely whole.
65
JONAH
One Month Later
The grasslands of Kenya’s Maasai Mara stretched before us, as our Land Cruiser bumped along the dusty trail. I reached for Lexi’s hand across the seat, my fingers intertwining with hers as we watched a pride of lions lounging beneath an acacia tree in the distance. Earlier that afternoon, Evie had pressed her face against the window in wonder during our family safari, her small hands clutching the binoculars I’d bought her at the lodge. Five months ago, I never could have imagined sitting here with them, thousands of miles from New York, watching animals migrate across the savanna.
After we’d returned to drop Evie off with Anne for her afternoon nap, Lexi had surprised me by suggesting we take another quick ride out, just the two of us. “I want to see the sunset without worrying about little ears,” she’d said with that mischievous smile that always got me in trouble. Anne had waved us off with her usual efficiency, already settling Evie down with a book and promising her we’d be back before dinner.
Now here we were again, just Lexi and me in the back of the Land Cruiser, watching the golden light paint the savanna in shades I’d never seen in Manhattan.
The weight of CEO responsibilities, board meetings, and my father’s expectations felt like another lifetime. Now, I had a different set of problems at the moment. At the moment, my only concern was the trail being far too rough and dusty for my liking here. I didn’t want Lexi coughing or having to experience a bumpy ride when she deserved peace, silence and stillness.
But judging by the smile on her face, she was more than happy while she held my hand in hers, watching a mother wildebeest and her calf bend their heads to take a sip from the lake.
The sun was low in the sky, and the temperatures were cooler now than they had been during the day.
I was just admiring the silence we had here, when two big buses with tourists came to a rumbling halt meters away from us.
I frowned at the dust that picked up, scowling at the bus drivers who drove like this was Germany’s freaking autobahn and not a mud road.
“That right there is the reason why I don’t come out to these places,” I grumbled when I saw a horde of people walking toward us.
“I think it looks beautiful.” Lexi laughed while I shook my head.
“I hate it.”
She laughed again. “That look on your face is precisely why I came out here.” She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of me scowling. “Perfect. Now we’re going to use this for your new job announcement photo.”
I’d taken a month off and used that time to spend quality time with Lexi and regroup with my partners Desmond, Sean,and Alex to brainstorm ideas for my future. There was a young tech start-up company that I was looking to buy, one that specialized in reducing plastic waste, and I loved their mission. Leaving our world worse off than I’d found it was a thought that haunted me, and both Lexi and Evie had been all for it. I would do anything to make them happy, to make up for all those years of struggle that Lexi’s mom and Dylan had put them through.
“You’re scowling again,” Lexi informed me while trailing kisses down my neck.
“You’re scandalizing the nearest twenty-year-old,” I warned her when someone looked over their shoulder at us.
“She can watch,” Lexi informed me, biting my lower lip.
“You should’ve warned me,” I said, shifting her so she could get better access. “I never knew you were up for exploring new kinks.”
Her eyes twinkled dangerously. “If it was up to you, which one would you have me explore?”
