“This is …” I debated, wondering if I ought to tell her the truth.
Jonah beat me to it. “I’m Jonah,” he said, stretching his hand out to her.
Sasha turned to me, eyebrows raised, and I exhaled. Giving up, I nodded, answering her silent question.
“Jonah?” she asked coolly, shaking his hand like she was evaluating him and his age all over again. “I might have heard that name before.”
“Has Lexi been talking about me?” he asked, letting go of her hand and looking at me.
I shook my head just as Sasha snorted. “When has she not?”
“Sasha,” I warned her while Jonah’s eyes twinkled.
“I’d love for you to say more, Sasha,” he pushed while Sasha took a wary look at me and shook her head.
“I’d tell you, but going by Lexi’s dark looks at me, I’m sure you’d have to unearth my dead body later.”
“What a pity. I’d pay to know more about what Lexi says about me when I’m not around,” Jonah said with a smile.
“It’s nothing interesting,” I said, trying to steer Sasha away into the kitchen. “Just boring work stuff.”
Washing my hands, I peered into the fridge while Sasha gave me a thumbs-up after sneaking glances at Jonah.
Jonah turned as Evie pointed to a toy castle in the living room and asked him to play with her.
“He’s hot. I’d never believe he was a forty-year-old!” she whispered to me while I frowned.
“That he is, and he’s only …” I didn’t bother finishing that sentence. Thirty-nine was as good as forty, and one year wouldn’t make Sasha change her opinion of Jonah.
Sasha gave me a hopeless look once they were out of sight, reading my softened expression perfectly. “Is there any point in reminding you, my best friend, that there areplentyof men your own age who don’t come with HR complications?”
I shook my head. “It’s not what you think,” I reminded her. “It’s just … casual. Don’t worry.”
Partly comforted by that thought, Sasha disappeared to her room while I carried Evie up the stairs. She’d been rubbing her eyes for the past few minutes. I read her favorite book,How to Catch a Unicorn, and she fell asleep before I was done. Turning out the lights, I walked back down to the stairs to the living room, finding Jonah waiting for me on the couch.
He had the most unreadable look on his face I’d ever seen. A look that was a cross between smugness and pride.
“Don’t give me that look,” I warned as he stood up.
I stopped just a few inches from him, the tips of my shoes meeting his. His hands went around my back, and I felt all tension leave my body.
“So, I’m all you ever talk about?” he murmured, bending down just as my hands went up and wrapped around his neck.
“Well, I’m cursing you half the time,” I lied when his lips came closer to mine.
“It’s the other half that I’m interested in,” he whispered back.
Jonah pulled me to him. My breasts touched his hard chest as his lips crushed over mine. His breath mingled with mine as he kissed me deeply.
When we broke off, I looked into his soft eyes. “The other half is filled with longing,” I said.
Without a word, he swept me up into his arms, carrying me toward the stairs. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my heart racing as we made our way up to my bedroom. His familiar footsteps sounded different now, charged with anticipation.
When he set me down on the bed, he leaned down, picking off my shoes with a tenderness that went straight to my heart. He set them aside before straightening up, and I reached for him, pulling him close.
It had been a long time since I’d felt both safe and wanted by the same man, and while my pulse pounded in my ears, I kissed him like I’d never get enough. My fingers reached for the buttons on his shirt as I got onto my knees to kiss him.
“Off,” I muttered between kisses, rolling my hips against him again, wanting to feel him down there.
