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“Hi, Jonah.”
“What are you doing?”
“Lying in bed. I’m watching a movie.” Just saying the word “bed” to him makes my cheeks flame.
“What did you do today?” I hear rustling on the other side of the line.
“Are you in bed too?”
“I am. It’s eight p.m. here, and my last meeting finished an hour ago. My flight’s in a few hours.” He makes a contented sound as he settles into the bed. “I wanted to talk to you.”
A smile plays on my lips. “You called to chat with me?”
“Tell me about your day. Did you get photos of any pizza rats?”
I laugh at Jonah’s reference to a famous video that circulated a few years ago. “We interviewed Paul at the diner. We’re doing a piece on the disappearing diners of the Upper West Side. And I talked to my dad. I’ll be publishing this one and all my future articles as editor-in-chief.”
Just saying the words makes my heart beat faster.
Jonah is silent for a minute. He hates this. My stomach knots with regret.
“I’m proud of you,” he finally says.
“What?” I nearly drop the phone in surprise.
“Fishing for compliments, Thompson?” he teases. “I said I’m proud of you. You stood up to your dad. That’s not easy.” His voice is warm and soothing, and I want to wrap it around me like a blanket.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought actually.”
He hums. “Tell me.”
“He told me that the paper had lacked direction for a while. And you were right. It’s the only thing he’s had in his life for years, other than me. Am I doing the wrong thing by taking it away from him?” It’s the question I’ve been too afraid to ask, and it drops like a stone in the silence between us.
Jonah pauses. “I don’t know, Callie.” He sighs. “He loves it, and you can still do it together. But you have to ask yourself whether it makes you happy, or whether you’d be happier striking out on your own, I guess. Or maybe doing something completely different.”
“Jonah Crown talking about happiness. Didn’t you tell me you were a black coffee and revenge kind of guy?”
“Don’t start,” he says tartly, and I laugh.
“Thank you, Jonah. You’re a pretty good advice giver.”
“Of course I am.”
“And so modest too.” I’m grinning ear to ear at the way he plays with me. I miss him.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
Does he miss me too?
“Nothing big. Just some work and maybe seeing Adriana’s puppy. Why?”
“Cancel your plans. Come with me.”
“To where?” I can’t stop smiling. Jonah’s insistence is so him.
“Baby shower. New Jersey.”
“Wait. Really?” New Jersey means family. He wants me to go to a baby shower with his family? What is this?
