Something popped into her mind.August, Olivia had said. Lauren had given up the position in August. That meant at least a week—and possibly a whole month—had passed from the time she’d called Olivia until her accident had happened. Surely, if she and Jonah were as serious as she’d been told, she would’ve informed him. He had to know she’d given up that job.
And he hadn’t said a word.
She gritted her teeth. All this time, all these weeks, and he hadn’t told her that everything she’d been working toward was gone. Heat flushed through her body until her muscles quivered. She had a few things to say to Jonah Landry. Her boss. Her supposed friend and ex-whatever!
By the time Meg returned with a drink, Lauren was already halfway to her car.
***
Jonah’s big Friday night plans amounted to a supreme Paddy’s Pizza and reading two chapters from his business ethics textbook. Since it was raining again he called in his order. It was a supremely lazy thing to do as the restaurant was right downstairs, accounting for the pervasive aroma of baked yeast bread that filled his apartment. Was it any wonder he subsisted mostly on pizza and subs these days?
While waiting for the delivery he sat at the granite island in his kitchen and read the chapters. Then he signed on to his account on the college website to review the worksheet assignment. He’d planned to finish this earlier today and maybe do something wild and crazy tonight like go out with friends, but there’d been that storm.
His lips curved of their own volition. He didn’t regret the storm. He would read a bazillion pages of this deadly dull textbook before he wished away that time with Lauren at the trapper’s cabin.
He pictured her drenched and gorgeous in the firelight and wasn’t sure he’d ever seen such a beautiful sight. He’d missed the unguarded Lauren. Missed the melodious sound of her laughter, the way her eyes turned to crescents, the way her smile bloomed across her face. Today had been like having her back for just a little while. It made him long for that deeper relationship they’d had. Made him ache for want of it.
God, I miss her so much.Please bring her back to me.
The knock on the door startled him. He glanced heavenward. “That was fast even for You.”
When he opened the door his smile broadened at the sight of her, dripping wet on his uncovered stoop. He was about to make a joke about her luck with rain today. Then he noticed the spark of anger in her eyes. The flare of her nose. Her tight jaw and rigid shoulders.
“How could you?” The words were fiery darts, aimed directly at him.
They might have contained poison because a slow, noxious dread trickled through his veins.She knows about the job.
Nothing else could make her this furious. A sinking sensation filled him. If he hadn’t lost her before, he’d definitely lost her now. Because judging by the fury on her face, there would be no coming back from this.
“I was gonna tell you.”
“Sure you were.”
Water trickled down her face. Or was it tears?
He opened the door wider and stepped aside. “Come in. Let’s talk.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her feet rooted to the landing.
“Come on, Lauren. You’re getting soaked. Come inside. Let’s talk about this.”
She stood immobile for several long seconds. Then finally she stepped into his foyer but not one inch farther.
He shut the door behind her. “Will you have a seat? Can I get you something to drink?”
“This isn’t a social call, Jonah. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Now that she was under the light, he could see her features more clearly. Her eyes were bloodshot. Thoseweretears. She cried when she was angry, and boy was she angry. Steam practically rolled off her body.
He’d had six weeks to tell her. She deserved an explanation. “I’m sorry. Maybe I should’ve told you sooner, but I knew it would be upsetting and—”
“Upsetting?”
“Try and see it from my perspective, Lauren. You’d just had a traumatic brain injury. You had a panic attack in the hospital.”
“And I just had another when I called Olivia and found out I turned down the job of my dreams in favor of living in Podunk Pinehaven for the rest of my life!”
He winced. “I was genuinely concerned about you. And I thought you’d get your memory back. I kept thinkingany day now it’ll come back, and then...”
