I have to look away. There’s something about the casualness of it—like driving to a salvage yard to dig through the mangledremains of a truck was just something you do. I’ve spent years making sure nobody had to do anything for me. And here he is, making it look easy.
“But when?” I ask, trying to piece together the timeline. “You were at the hospital with me.”
“I went while you were sleeping,” he admits. “Emily let me borrow her car.”
Before I can second-guess myself, I reach for Jonah with my good arm, pulling him closer. My lips find his in a kiss that says everything I can’t put into words. When I pull back, he looks caught off guard.
“Thank you,” I murmur against his lips. “For giving me back a piece of him.”
“I couldn’t leave it there,” he replies quietly. “I know what it means to you.”
“I don’t know how to repay you for this.” A hint of mischief tugs at my mouth as a thought crosses my mind. “Though I promise you, the second this sling comes off, I’ll show you exactly how grateful I am. And it’ll involve a lot more than just a kiss, Professor.”
His cheeks flush immediately, that adorable pink spreading across his face and down his neck.
“I—that’s not why I—” he stammers.
“I know,” I cut him off, pressing another quick kiss to his lips. “That’s what makes better.”
A low whistle cuts through the air behind us. “Well, well, well! Looks like my theory was right all along!” Lucas calls out. “The professor is officially smitten! I told you so, Jonah!”
I pull away from Jonah, but keep my hand firmly on his arm. The flush on his cheeks deepens to crimson as we both turn toward Lucas.
“Shut up, Lucas,” Jonah and I say in unison, which only makes Weather Boy grin wider.
“The couple that tells me to shut up together, stays together,” Lucas quips, still filming. “This is gold for my segment. ‘Storm Chasers Find Love in the Eye of the Hurricane.’ Or tornado, whatever.”
“There’s no eye in a tornado,” Jonah mutters, his professor instincts clearly unable to let scientific inaccuracy slide.
I roll my eyes. “If you don’t turn that camera off right now, Weather Boy, I’m going to show your viewers exactly how I secured my reputation as ‘legendary.’” I make air quotes with my good hand. “Hint, it involves shoving cameras where the sun doesn’t shine.”
Lucas laughs but finally lowers his phone. “Fine, fine. But seriously, I called this from day one.”
“Lucas…drop it,” Jonah growls at him.
I’m not prepared for what Jonah’s voice does to me. Low. Quiet. Final. The kind of tone that doesn’t ask. Something shifts low in my stomach and stays there, warm and insistent. Emily had made me sit through an entire romance audiobook on a long drive through Nebraska, and I’d spent most of it rolling my eyes at the male lead’s signature growl. Ridiculous, I’d said. Performative. I take it back. I take all of it back. I am so Team Growl.
Emily once made me listen to one of her romance audiobooks, where the main guy kept growling through half the story. It sounded ridiculous at the time. Not anymore. I am absolutely Team Growl.
“Do that again,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
Jonah blinks, brow pulling together. “Do what again?”
“That thing you did. When you told Lucas to drop it.” I step closer, lowering my tone so Weather Boy can’t hear.
He looks honestly confused. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You got all…” I wave a hand, searching for the word. “Commanding.”
Color rises in his cheeks again, though it feels different this time. “I was just trying to get him to stop bothering you.”
“Well, it worked. And it was really hot.” I lean in, my good hand sliding up his arm. “I’d like to hear more of that. Preferably, when we don’t have an audience.”
Understanding flickers across his face, followed quickly by that irresistible mix of embarrassment and interest I’m starting to recognize. “I didn’t realize…”
“That’s because you’re completely unaware of your own appeal, Professor.” I give his arm a light squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep pointing it out for you.”
Lucas starts to cut in again, but Jonah shoots him a look sharp enough to stop him cold—and wow, that does things to me.
