He nudged her shoulder. “And since you’re probably feeling vulnerable because of what I know about you... you should know that I told you private things too.”
She gave a wry laugh. “Yeah, but I don’t remember any of them.”
“So let’s level the playing field.”
She smirked, imagining his biggest life trauma might be placing second for homecoming king.
“My mother died in a car accident when I was four.”
She whipped her head around to him, her smirk falling away. “But...”
“Tammy’s technically my aunt. My biological mother was Tom’s sister.”
She reared back. She sure hadn’t seen that coming. So much for those dusty archives in her brain.
“We lived in an apartment in Portsmouth, but I barely remember it. I remember a little about my mother, though sometimes I’m not sure if I only think I remember. Mom and Dad have told me so many stories, trying to keep her memory alive for me.”
“What about your father?”
“Apparently he took off when my mom announced her pregnancy.”
“I had no idea. You Landrys seem like such a close-knit family.”
“We are. They’re my parents. I’m their son. Meg’s my sister. They were well into their thirties by the time I came along and certain they couldn’t have kids of their own. When Mom got pregnant with Meg, it was quite the surprise.”
Lauren could hardly take it in. She’d thought Jonah had it so easy being raised here in this quaint little town at a family-owned resort. She’d thought him privileged. And maybe that had come to be the case later. But he’d had a rough beginning.
“Was I this shocked the first time you told me?”
He chuckled. “Yes.” His smile slipped as his expression warmed. “But it’s only fair you know all my stuff too. And I can relate—just a little—to not quite feeling like you belong. Mom and Dad are really the only parents I remember. But Meg is theirs biologically. Sometimes I wonder if they view me different than her.”
Lauren shook her head. “I don’t believe that.”
“I think Mom might’ve been happier if Meg had decided to take over the resort—it passed down from her side of the family. It isn’tmyfamily’s history.”
“But Meg loves what she does. And family is a lot more than blood—trust me, I would know.”
“Fair point.”
“You should tell them how you feel. Get it out in the open.”
He glanced down at his hands. “I wouldn’t want to put them on the spot. Or seem ungrateful for all they’ve done.”
Lauren got the feeling he was really afraid of finding out his fears were true. But she suspected they weren’t. “The Landrys are your family in every way that matters. They obviously love you very much.”
“Oh, I know that. I guess the mind plays games sometimes.”
It was true. Right now hers was telling her that Jonah knew her much better than she knew him. She must’ve trusted him implicitly to have divulged her painful past. Sydney was the only other person in which she’d confided—and that had taken three years of friendship and two glasses of merlot.
What kind of magic did Jonah possess to have worked his way into her heart so quickly?
Chapter 20
Jonah would’ve walked across hot coals to put Lauren at ease. Relaying his own history didn’t cost him a thing. He’d mostly come to grips with his unconventional family long ago. But doing so had seemingly given her the security she sought.
He tried not to stare at her, but it was hard not to when she was so beautiful. And seeing her in his shirt gave him some kind of primitive thrill. The firelight licked her delicate features, giving her face a golden glow. He knew every curve, every slope of that face. He’d traced it with his eyes, with his fingertips, with his lips. He knew the softness of her fine hair, the taste of her perfect mouth, and the sound of her breathy sigh.
And all of that was off-limits to him now.
