With me as a tag-along who sometimes oversteps boundaries and kisses him.
Butthis?
Telling me he likes me after I’ve basically assaulted his family jewels?
That’s not obligation.
Obligation would involve the lawyers. A paternity test. Formal arrangements for child support and visitation.
He likes me.
And I can’t deny it anymore.
“Can someone get these damn balloons out of the kitchen?” Lucky mutters behind me. “Scoot, Emma. Let me make sure he’s gonna live.”
“I’m gonna live,” Jonas says. “Have to. Too much to live for not to.”
“All those award shows and women fawning over you, right?” Lucky says.
I scurry out of the way and don’t hear Jonas’s answer over the sound of the balloons squeaking together.
Laney and Sabrina are both watching me.
So is Theo.
“C’mon, Bash.” I have no idea how I’m keeping my voice normal.He likes me. All of me. Exactly as I am. Awkward moments and all. He’s not trying to change me. He’s changing his lifefor me. And Bash. For both of us. Not one over the other. “Let’s go put the party balloons where the party goes.”
And let my heart rate calm down.
I like you.
I don’t know if he’s said it before, but Iheardit this time.
And I’m starting to truly, honestly, fully believe him.
31
Jonas
I don’t knowwhat’s on Emma’s mind—once I’m upright again after what I will forever call the balloon mistake, she was busy running the baby shower, which I was forcefully invited to skip—but when she texts me and asks me to come over later that night, I don’t hesitate.
It’s already dark. I expect Bash is in bed, and when I follow Emma’s instructions and head around back instead of coming through the house, that’s confirmed.
She’s standing next to the hot tub in a one-piece swimsuit, lit by the glow of little fairy lamps around the fence. Steam lifts in wispy tendrils off the top of the hot tub, also glowing in the fairy lamp light.
As soon as she spots me, she puts a finger to her lips.
She’s absolutely, stunningly radiant tonight.
It’s the lighting, but it’s something else too.
Happiness.
That’s what it is.
It’s the smile illuminating her entire face. Her relaxed shoulders. The easy grace in her movements as she drapes two towels over the fence.
I walk quietly, my pulse drumming and my dick noticing just how very little material there is between her skin and the night air.
