“So explain them to me.” I can hear the desperation creeping into my voice. “I’m a big girl. I can handle the truth.”
The server returns with our main courses, the sizzling plates a stark contrast to the chill that’s settled over our conversation. We both ignore the food, locked in a silent standoff.
As the quiet lingers on, anger and fear form a toxic cocktail in my veins. “You drag me here, drop these ominous hints about Brooks, and then refuse to explain? That’s not fair, Jonah!” I’m no longer whispering, my frustration boiling over.
“Fair?” he yells back, his face turning the shade of his auburn hair, and several diners turn to look at us. He leans forward, lowering his voice when he says, “You want to talk about fair? Is it fair that you started sleeping with my best friend when this was supposed to be a temporary arrangement to help his grandmother? Is it fair that you’re walking around with Maisie Kingston’s family ring on your finger, letting her believe in a future that isn’t real?”
His words hit like body blows, each one finding its mark. “That’s not—we didn’t plan—”
“What happens when you figure out your entire relationship is built on lies?” He cuts me off.
“We’ve moved past the fake relationship,” I insist. “What’s happening now is real.”
Jonah’s expression is pitying. “Is it? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you’re playing house with a man who proposed to you by accident.”
The truth of his words stings, and I blink back unexpected tears. “It’s more than that,” I say, but doubt creeps in. “Whatever you think you know about Brooks—”
“I know everything about Brooks.” His voice drops low again. “Every triumph, every failure, every mistake. I was there for all of it. And I’m telling you, Syd, there are things you don’t know that would change everything.”
“Then tell me,” I plead, reaching across the table to grab his hand. “If you’re so worried about me getting hurt, then help me understand what I’m dealing with.”
For a moment, Jonah seems to waver, conflict playing across his features. Then he shakes his head. “I can’t. I promised him.”
“So your promise to him matters more than protecting me?” The hurt in my voice is real, raw.
“It’s not that simple.” Jonah pulls his hand away. “This isn’t my secret to tell.”
“If there’s something I need to know, Brooks will tell me himself,” I say, indignant.
“And has he? In all these heart-to-heart conversations, all these nights of dinners and sharing secrets, has he told you?”
The question lands like a stone in still water, ripples of doubt spreading outward. No, Brooks hasn’t told me anything that would change everything.
“I thought so.” Jonah reads my silence. “He hasn’t told you because he knows what it would mean. He knows you’d walk away.”
“You don’t know that,” I say, but it’s weaker now, more uncertainty creeping in. “Whatever it is—”
“It’s bad enough that I’m asking you—begging you—to end this now, before you get in any deeper.”
I touch the band unconsciously. It feels wrong now, tainted by Jonah’s warnings and my own growing doubts. “I need to hear whatever this is from him.”
Jonah sighs, defeated. “Right, exactly. Which meanshehas to man up and tell you.”
“He will, then I’ll deal with it,” I say with more confidence than I feel. “But I’m not walking away based on vague warnings and cryptic hints. I deserve more than that.”
“You deserve to be happy, and I don’t think you can get that with Brooks.” Jonah sighs. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
Our dinner sits cold and forgotten between us, the expensive meal a casualty.
“Look, I haven’t always looked after you like I should have. Jake was a mess. I don’t want that to happen again.”
What? “Jonah, you aren’t responsible for Jake.” I can’t believe he feels that way.
“I didn’t do enough. Now, I’m doing everything I can.” He places his napkin on the table. “Please promise me you’ll end it. Before it’s too late.”
I look at my brother, at the genuine concernetched into his features, and feel tears threatening again. “I can’t promise that. But I promise I’ll be careful.”
It’s not what he wants to hear, and he stands. “Look—I said what I came to say. I should go.”
