“Were you two speeds when you were his age?”
“No idea. I know I crawled under a table of food in the middle of a shoot and fell asleep there once when I was two or three, but I don’t know if I was stop and go about it.”
“That must’ve scared everyone.”
“One of the crew saw me duck under the table and made sure my mom knew I was there. Still have the pictures somewhere. Apparently I took a donut with me and cuddled it.”
“Have you ever been alone?”
His expression goes thoughtful. “I don’t know that I everwantedto be.”
“Never?”
“It’s also possible I have an unusual expectation of whatalonemeans.”
“How so?”
“Alone to me always meantgive me an hour. OrI’m going home to sleep and I’ll be back first thing. But for the past twenty years, anytime Hayes says he wants to be alone, he meansI’mdisappearing for at least a month and I don’t want to see any of your faces or I’ll claw my own eyeballs out.”
I start to smile, but he doesn’t. “Seriously?”
“We are complete and total opposites. Makes me feel like my version ofaloneisn’t alone at all.”
“Does his wife know?”
That earns me a laugh. “She’s the exception to hisleave me alonerule.”
Bash snores softly.
He isout.
Not really a surprise. He insisted on walking the entire trail out here himself, and then devoured two fried chicken drumsticks and an entire container of chickpea salad.
He’ll probably grow two inches next week.
“Are you comfortable being alone?” I ask Jonas.
“Mostly.” He flashes me a grin. “Until I don’t want to be anymore.”
“Has it been hard hiding from the world the past few weeks?”
He glances out at the lake. We’re sitting nearly shoulder to shoulder. I could lean into him or hold his hand or rest my head against his without disturbing Bash.
“No,” he finally says. “Not since you opened a door and let me in.”
I’m blushing.
I can feel it, and I can’t stop it.
Which is ridiculous.
I practically begged him to give me an orgasm in the hot tub last night. We have a child together. I know he likes me. I know he knows I know. I like him, and I know he knows that too.
But it’s been a long,longtime since I had full faith in anyone’s insistence that my presence in their life made it better.
In aman’sinsistence that my being in their life made it better.
It’s not something I thought I’d trust again after Chandler.
