“And that’s what you’ve done, Jonah. I hope your family can see that, too. I trust you, and it has nothing to do with your money or your home. You’ve shown me you’re a man of your word.” Then she lightly tugs at my shorter hair. “You should feel proud of yourself.”
I gaze into her eyes—speckled with every shade of green imaginable and fanned with long lashes. “I wanted to step up for a lot of reasons, but stepping up for you was my biggest motivator. When I first moved in, yeah, I just wanted to get in your pants again. I had a one-track mind.”
“You don’t say.”
God, she’s funny.
“Buuut, when everyone got sick and you couldn’t go tothe wedding with me, it made me see the bigger picture. You had people who relied on you. You had responsibilities that outweighed our night. It made me realize I had to shape up if I was ever going to have a chance with you. I had to prove I could take care of myself, my home, my animals... all because I wanted you to know I was not another personyouneeded to take care of.”
Renée tilts her head lightly and studies me. “You have a point, and your evaluation of me is... accurate. However, this is not a one-way street. If we really do this, I will be taking care of you.”
“But that’s what I’m afraid of. If I let someone take care of me again, I might fall into my old ways, and I don’t want to put that responsibility on you.”
“You’re not going to fall back.”
“But how can you know that?”
“Because I was young once. You’re twenty-five, Jonah. That’s about the time people start getting their shit together. It doesn’t happen all at once, and some people may never get there. But you own and maintain a home, regularly spend time with your family, and are part of a team you’re so confident in that you spent millions of dollars on a state-of-the-art training facility! You’ve invested in your life, Jonah.”
She leans away from the railing and turns me until we’re pressed together and she locks her arms behind my back. “I will be taking care of you,” she repeats, her tone that of a professor who holds all the answers, “because I want to and it’s natural. And you’re going to take care of me for the same reason.”
For some reason her words bring me back to her classroom—not a memory, more like a vision. Everyone’s heads are down, concentrating on the test before them. I’m stuck on the last few questions when Professor Wilde pulls up next to me and hands me a note card with all the answers.
I bring myself back to that same woman standing before me, holding me tight to her. My hands rest on her petite shoulders and I can’t help fluffing her long hair and smile. “I like that you’re on my side.”
“And I like that you’re on mine.”
“Are we doing this?”
Her eyes twinkle as she pauses, and by the sincere smile she gives me, I already know the answer. I already know it, yet my chest tightens.
“I don’t see any other choice.”
Chapter 35
Birthday Dinner
Renée
Jonah wouldn’t tell me where he was taking us for my birthday dinner tonight, just that we needed to dress nice. Yes, we. He made it very clear Amber and my girls were to come. My heart softened at that.
But now I’m face-to-face with a valet who’s opening my car door on the curb of a swanky restaurant, and I tense. Jonah’s wearing a fitted sweater polo and slacks, and his hair has been professionally trimmed—thank God. He swings open the back door to assist the valet, then takes my hand.
My heel clicks on the pavement when I step out. “Thisis where we’re having dinner?”
“Wow.” Lo marvels at the building’s facade, all glittering lights and crawling ivy. “So pretty.”
It’s been more than a week since she started talking again, but I’m no less amazed and proud of my little girl. Every word, no matter how small, is a gift.
Jonah places my hand in the crook of his elbow and leads us to the front door.
“Don’t you think,” I whisper, “this is a little too fancy for a seven and ten-year-old?”
“Don’t worry. The girls and I have been practicing this week.”
“Is that what all those tea parties were about?” I ask. I thought it was a little strange that the girls were suddenly interested in tea parties again, seeing as they haven’thauled out the plastic set in years.
He hums his confirmation as we walk through the massive door. Crystal chandeliers hang from a tray ceiling, and sleek wood panel accents and mossy green decor give the space a modern glow. There’s a muffled cacophony of conversation, low instrumental music, and the clang of a busy kitchen. A bus boy changes a white table linen as another quickly sets it with dinnerware and a new candle.
