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He stripped down and stood outside in plaid boxer shorts—his skin whiter than the newly fallen snow—showing off how truly tall and skinny he was. He flashed me a smile before he lay down in the snow and made not one, but three snow angels as a few of the grocery store employees looked on.
When he jumped back in the car, he threw his clothes in the backseat and wrapped me in his cold, wet arms. While he shivered from the cold, I shivered from his embrace, which warmed me in a way I had never felt. When his lips brushed mine, I knew then I was in trouble. From that moment on, we found any excuse to see each other. We snuck around like he was a Montague and I a Capulet. Two star-crossed lovers destined for a tragic ending, even though he believed in happily ever afters.
Now here he was, staring at me like he had that night. Though his shoulders were broader and his facial features more defined, he had the same look in his eye. The look that said, I would do anything for you, even strip down to my underwear.
He swallowed hard and blinked a few times. “What did you say?”
Grandma laughed. “Do you two need a minute alone?”
“No,” I was quick to say. I had a feeling if given a minute alone, I would find myself right back in his arms, wishing I could always remain there.
My abrupt answer made him flash me a look that said not to expect him to go away before he turned back to Grandma. Crap. I was afraid of that.
While Jonah played doctor, I shifted uncomfortably on my keys. I had to stop myself from wincing. While I had a sharp object poking my butt, something else was stabbing my heart. It felt a lot like fear. Dani was right, living in fear was the worst kind of terror. That, and worrying about my keys poking a hole in my jeans in front of my ex, who was never technically my boyfriend because I’d refused to let him give us a title. He used to call us cuddle buddies. I’d found it charming.
Jonah did all the doctor things, from listening to Grandma’s heart to checking all her orifices above the neck. Then I heard something disturbing.
“Have you decided if you will be joining us for Thanksgiving or not?” Grandma asked.
I gripped the chair, hoping I’d heard her wrong.
“Are you sure you don’t mind if my wife—I mean ex-wife—joins us?” Jonah replied.
What? Did he say his ex-wife was invited too? And when was he invited? I shifted too far in my chair and the keys had their revenge. “Ouch!” I involuntarily popped up.
Jonah and Grandma both whipped their heads my way.
Jonah gave me a pained look. “It’s not what you think.”
No. It wasn’t what he thought. I wasn’t jumping up in pain because he was obviously still very much connected with his ex-wife. Maybe even in love with her. Wife he’d called her. And did exes typically spend holidays together? Yes, the thought of him still being in love with his wife hurt, but it was also good. It meant no one could put any pressure on us to throw kindling on the fire we’d doused. Okay, the one I’d taken the fire extinguisher to.
But if Grandma knew about him and his ex-wife—enough to invite them all for Thanksgiving, which I was now no longer attending—why did she go to all the trouble to get me here?
I pointed at the chair and my ratty old bag. “I was sitting on my keys and . . .” And I was an idiot. “I’m going to go wait . . . uh . . .” My mind went blank. “You know, in the waiting place, I mean, the waiting room.” I headed toward the door, forgetting my bag.
Jonah stepped in front of me, giving me an up-close view of him. Even wearing clothes, I could tell he was more muscular than he used to be.
“Please don’t go,” he begged. He put his hands out like he wanted to touch me, but he didn’t. “There are rules about the kind of contact I can have with anyone in our exam rooms.”
I was grateful for that at the moment.
He stepped back. “Let me explain.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation, other than why you conspired with my grandma to get me to come here in the first place.” I gave her the stink eye.
“I thought that would be obvious,” he replied.
“It’s not.”
The corners of his mouth ticked up. “You haven’t changed at all. Still beautiful and stubborn.”
“There has to be a rule against saying that.”
“Probably,” he smirked, “but I don’t really care. The truth is, I wanted to see you, Ariana.”
Yeah, I was afraid of that. “You know where I work.”
