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Whitney and I perused earrings while Jonah called Eliza in Japan to see if she was okay with Whitney getting her ears pierced. I think Jonah was hoping she wouldn’t be. I thought she might not agree, with how long the call was taking. I had no idea what was being said as Jonah was across the store in a quiet corner. Meanwhile, Whitney and I struck gold.
“Look,” she held up the pack of not one, but three pairs of dinosaur earrings. There were pink brontosauruses, silver stegosauruses, and dinosaur footprints. “I want these,” she squealed.
“I love them.” Now I only hoped her mom agreed. Not only for Whitney’s sake, but I really, really wanted to see Jonah get his ear pierced. I picked out the perfect onyx earring for him.
Jonah walked back, shoving his phone in his pocket. I wasn’t sure by the disgruntled look on his face if she’d agreed or not.
“Everything all right?” I asked.
He nodded, still not giving me the warm fuzzy feeling he usually invoked. I had a feeling there was a story there I would have to ask about later.
“Dad, look what I found.” Whitney held up her treasure. “Did Mother say I can get my ears pierced?”
“If that’s what you really want?” His tone said, please say no.
“It is.” She held the earrings to her chest.
Jonah let out a heavy breath of resignation.
That’s when I held up the sexy pair of onyx earrings. “I’m thinking this for you.”
He grabbed the earrings. “That’s subtle.” He didn’t hide his sarcasm.
I took them back and held them up to his ear. “I like. I like a lot.”
He pecked my lips. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
I looped my arm through his. “I think it would help if you were a little more enthusiastic,” I gently reminded him under my breath.
“You’re right,” he reluctantly agreed. He bent down and picked up Whitney. “You ready for this?”
She nodded, not one hundred percent sure.
“You’re going to be great. Both of you,” I encouraged.
Jonah shook his head at me as if to say he couldn’t believe he was doing this. Neither could I, but I couldn’t wait. It was like Christmas had come early for me.
I held Whitney’s clammy hand while Jonah filled out the paperwork for them. You would have thought he was getting a kidney transplant with all the forms he had to sign. By the time he got in the chair, poor Whitney was looking pale. She didn’t like the look of the piercing gun.
I knelt next to her while we watched Jonah.
“Does it feel like a shot?” Her little lips trembled.
“No. It’s more like a tiny pinch that’s so fast you hardly feel it.” I was drawn to Jonah, whose ears were turning red since it seemed like the entire patronage of the store was watching this grown man get his ear pierced in a tween girl store. I found it quite attractive. I grinned up at him and mouthed, “You’re so sexy.”
That at least got a smile out of him.
“I do not want to get hurt.” Whitney turned into me at the precise moment her dad’s ear got pierced.
I held her to me. “Honey, it doesn’t hurt, but no one will make you get your ears pierced.”
She snuggled into me. “Do you think the kids at my school will like me more if I get my ears pierced? Lots of girls at my school have their ears pierced.”
Oh. Is that what this was all about?
I leaned away from her and looked into her pretty green eyes. “You listen to me, Whitney Adkinson. You don’t have to change a thing about you. You’re wonderful just the way you are. Now if you want to get your ears pierced because it’s what you really want, you should do it; but if you don’t, that’s okay too.”
She looked at the cute dinosaur earrings in her hand. She thought and thought some more.
“What do you ladies think?” Jonah appeared, sporting his pierced ear.
Whitney’s head popped up. “I don’t want to get my ears pierced.”
Jonah’s deer in the headlights look was priceless. “What?”
“Surprise!” I laughed. Best. Night. Ever.Chapter EighteenI couldn’t help but look around in amazement at Jonah’s home as I sat on his leather couch, waiting for him to finish tucking Whitney into bed. Even in the low light from the fireplace, his house looked grand. There were windows for days and those expensive touches like custom crown molding and a stone fireplace with a rustic mantle that would be right at home in a five-star resort. Don’t even get me going on the gourmet kitchen I got a peek of. Kinsley would be in love. I was kind of in love too. But it was intimidating. I knew Jonah saw us here. He didn’t say it out loud, but when we walked in, he gave me a look that said he hoped I was pleased with the home he’d chosen—for us.
