What reasons were there not to be pleased?
Her embroidery business might actually have a chance at something great. Jonathan O’Faolain was her boyfriend, andmost importantly, her mother was cancer-free and coming home.
“She better stay that way,” she threatened the empty room. Her mom’s cancer had been a weight dragging her soul down for months, and now that it was over, hopefully for good, she felt as light as the clouds skittering in the breeze outside her window.
Nasir should be picking her up any minute to head back to Eze’s, where her bags were already packed for Scotland. Jonathan was picking her up. However, they weren’t going straight to the airport.
“God,” Mags moaned and rubbed her eyes. Before they headed to the airport, Jonathan had told her only that morning that his family hoped they could stop by the O’Faolain building and have a drink.
The thing was, she shouldn’t be nervous. She’d known his family her whole life. One of her best friends was an O’Faolain for heaven’s sake. She’d set aside her worries about whether they would accept her dating Jonathan so that she could work, but now that her hands were at ease, her nerves were back.
Her phone pinged.
Jonathan: Stop worrying.
She grinned and shook her head. He made her ridiculously happy, and she’d come to realize that they never would have made it had they gotten together when they were younger. They both needed the time to grow up, and even though she would never admit it to him, he needed to date all those women, and she’d needed Rory. Otherwise, how would they have ever discovered that nothing was better than what they had together?
Mags: Easy for you to say. They’re your family.
Jonathan: They loved you before you were mine.
Her body warmed with his words.They loved you before you were mine.God, but she loved being his.
Her phone pinged again. Nasir was outside waiting to get her safely home. She messaged Jonathan back while she threw all of her hundreds of bits and bobs into her giant tote.
Mags: You’re mine now too. Are you nervous about seeing my family?
Jonathan: Point taken. I’m picking you up early. I miss you. Get your ass home so I can make out with you in the back of the car.
Mags: Yes, sir – except for the making out part. I WILL NOT show up at your parents’ house with swollen lips.
Jonathan: We’ll see.
She carried that warmth with her all the way back to Eze’s flat—through the quiet ride, through her shower, through the simple act of changing clothes. It lingered, steady and grounding, even now as she wrapped her arms around her roomie in the foyer.
“I’ll be back in a few days. I’ll miss you,” she said, squeezing him tight. Somewhere along the way, Eze had stopped being just a friend and become something essential—someone she relied on without even thinking about it.
He only grunted in response, not one who was comfortable with an overshare of emotion and instead gave her a solid thump on the back.
Mags pulled away with a grin. “Do something for me?” she asked, tilting her head.
“Of course,” he growled, and she had to bite back a smile. He had a soft spot for her, no matter how much he pretended otherwise.
“Forgive Nasir.” She lifted a hand before he could interrupt. “No—listen. He messed up, yeah. But so did you. You never said how you felt.”
His expression darkened, but he didn’t argue.
“Say it now,” she pressed gently. “While I’m gone. Tonight.”
She leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before he could deflect again. Then she grabbed her weekend bag, flashing him one last look.
“Think about it,” she tossed over her shoulder as she headed out, leaving him standing there—brooding, stubborn, and, hopefully, considering every word.
Jonathan was already waiting in the lobby when she arrived. The second he saw her, he stepped forward, taking her bag without hesitation and sliding the tote from her shoulder onto his with a quiet grunt that earned him a sheepish smile.
He followed her into the Uber, giving the driver the address before the door had even fully shut.
“I missed you today,” he admitted, his voice softer now as he pulled her into his side.
