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“I have all the ideas,” he wagged his brows. “But those will have to wait until we are alone again.”
A thrill went down my spine. Deal with your past, Ariana, I had to remind myself before I did something we would both regret. I gently moved Whitney and laid her on a pillow next to me. I covered her with an old quilt my great-grandmother had made. “She’s lovely,” I commented.
“She is,” Jonah agreed.
I turned with the intent to exit the fort, but Jonah caught my hand. He held it up and traced the henna tattoo with his finger, sending tingles down my arm. “Do you still have the tattoo on your shoulder?” He trailed soft kisses down my arm.
I couldn’t speak or breathe, so I nodded.
His eyes locked with mine. “Can I see it?”
Before I thought about it, I pulled down the sleeve on my peasant blouse—I had decided against the sweatshirt since I was going to see Jonah. I wanted to look pretty for him. For me. When my bare shoulder was exposed, Jonah let go of my hand and moved closer. His finger began outlining my tattoo that said, Sometimes you have to fall before you can fly. A tiny bluebird was inked close to the quote.
“I remember the night you got this,” Jonah whispered in my ear. “I wished I was adventurous like you. I contemplated getting a tattoo to complement yours that said, I’ll catch you if you fall.”
“I wish you would have,” I said in hushed tones.
“I overthought it and I was too busy wanting to punch the artist for making you wince, but more because he was admiring you. I wanted to be the only man who looked at you that way. I still do.”
I felt not only his warm breath against my skin, but his desire. My own, as well, burned inside of me. “Jonah,” I breathed out.
“Please don’t push me away.”
“I don’t want you to go away, but I don’t want to hurt you again.”
His lips skimmed my shoulder, making goosebumps erupt. “You didn’t hurt me—”
“I didn’t?” I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved or offended.
“You didn’t let me finish. I hurt me . . . us.”
“No. You did the right thing. You got Whitney, and I got what I’d asked for—all fond memories of you and us.”
Jonah closed his eyes and sighed. “We could have had Whitney. We could have had lots of babies. We could have had more than memories if I’d just stayed and taken the residency position here,” he trailed off.
“What?” I was in shock. “You could have stayed?”
His eyes crept open. “Yes,” he said, ashamed. “I didn’t tell you because I thought if you were willing to go with me to Michigan, I would then give you the option of staying. I was offered an obstetrics and gynecology residency here, but it wasn’t my first choice. I didn’t want the kind of on-call hours an OB/GYN has. But you were my first choice, and I would have stayed if you had wanted me to.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I was flabbergasted by the news. I wasn’t sure if I should feel angry or sad. I wasn’t even sure I deserved to feel either way. I made him go.
“Would it have made a difference?”
I thought for a moment “No.” Maybe. We’ll never know.
“You’re wrong. I should have stayed and fought for you. Instead, I proved you right. I left you because you’d wounded my pride.”
“I told you not to ask me. I should have ended it before it went so far.”
He took my face in his hands. “Don’t say that. I loved every second. I would do it all over, even if I knew we would never see each other again.”
Tears filled my eyes and flowed over, dripping onto his strong, capable hands.
He leaned in, allowing me to breathe in his breath.
“I think you had more than protein bars,” I whispered.
He chuckled low. “You and Skittles are my weakness.”
“I don’t want to be someone’s weakness, I want to be their strength, but I don’t know if I can.”
“You are so much stronger than you think you are. You gave me courage to come back here. To change my life.”
“How?”
“First, because I missed this.” His lips swept mine, leaving me aching for more. So, for once in a very long time, I threw caution to the wind and pressed my lips against his until they melded into one. He groaned with pleasure before pulling me onto his lap. Once securely in his arms, his lips urged mine to part. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing us closer together. His hands trickled down my back like a waterfall of pleasure. His tongue danced between being entangled with my own and prodding as deeply and urgently as it could. Oh, how I’d missed the taste of Skittles on his tongue.
