“You gonna tell her that?” Elias asked.
“I’m gonna tell her whatever I need to if it gets her to come home,” Jonnas said.
Elias was quiet for a second before muttering, “Good luck, and let me know what happens.” The line disconnected, and Jonnas drove harder after that—faster, like every mile between him and Dani physically hurt.
The cabin sat hidden deep in the woods beside a lake and towering trees. It was small, quiet, and exactly the kind of place Dani would run to when overwhelmed. Jonnas parked hard beside the gravel driveway before staring at the warm light glowing through the cabin windows. His chest tightened painfully because he knew that she was in there. Hell, she was probably crying and blaming herself for all of this. That thought alone made him feel violent.
Rain soaked through his shirt almost instantly as he crossed the yard toward the porch, then he stopped, because suddenly, panic hit him hard. What if she didn’t want him there? What if pushing too hard only scared her further away? Jonnas stood in the rain for a long moment, wrestling with something unfamiliar and ugly. Fear—not fear of rejection, but fear of losing her.
The cabin door opened before he could decide what to do, and Dani froze instantly when she saw him standing there. “Oh, my God.” Relief hit him so hard his knees nearly buckled. She stood there in her oversized sweatshirt, bare feet, and her eyes already red from crying. And she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“Baby girl,” he breathed. Her entire face crumpled immediately. Fuck. Jonnas crossed the porch in two long strides before she could retreat inside.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” she whispered shakily.
“And you shouldn’t have left me,” he said. Fresh tears spilled instantly down her cheeks. God, he hated seeing her cry. Even when he understood why she was doing it. Dani stepped backward into the cabin slowly while he followed her inside. Warmth wrapped around him immediately, but it did nothing to calm the storm raging in his chest.
“You’re soaked,” she whispered.
“I don’t care,” he insisted.
“Jonnas—”
“No.” His voice cracked rougher than intended. “You don’t get to disappear on me because you’re scared.”
Her breathing turned shaky immediately. “I was trying to protect you.”
“I know,” he breathed. The sincerity in his voice made her look wrecked all over again. Jonnas stepped closer carefully, not crowding her, and never wanted her to feel trapped. He stood close enough to touch if she let him.
“You left me a note,” he said quietly. “Like I’m some man you can walk away from to make my life easier.”
Emotion flooded her face instantly. “You deserve better than this mess I’ve created.” That did it—Jonnas closed the remaining distance immediately, cupping her face in both hands.
“Listen to me very carefully.” His voice turned firm enough that her eyes snapped to his automatically. “You are not ruining my life, and you didn’t create a mess.”
Tears spilled harder down her cheeks. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do,” he breathed.
“How?” she challenged.
“Because before you, I had a career.” His thumbs brushed her tears away gently. “But that never really mattered. I know that now, because I have something worth coming home to.” That shattered her completely. Dani broke into sobs so suddenly that it physically hurt to hear.
Jonnas pulled her against his chest instantly. “It’s okay, baby girl,” he murmured into her hair while she cried against him. “I’ve got you.” And standing there holding the woman he loved while rain battered the cabin windows outside, Jonnas realized something with absolute certainty. He would lose every damn thing in his life before he lost her again.
Dani
Dani had never seen Jonnas look undone before—not really. Even when he was emotional, he still carried himself with that same steady confidence that made everyone around him feel calmer. But standing in her grandmother’s cabin while rain pounded against the windows, he looked wrecked—completely wrecked. And somehow, that scared her almost as much as how much she loved him.
“I’ve got you,” he promised. The words wrapped around her while she cried against his chest, and Dani realized with painful clarity that this man would absolutely break himself while trying to hold her together, and that terrified her, because no one had ever chosen her like this before. Not without eventually regretting it.
Jonnas kept one arm tight around her waist while the other stroked slowly up and down her back, grounding her, steadying her. It was like he already knew she was seconds away from completely spiraling.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered shakily.
His entire body tensed instantly. “No. None of this is your fault.” The firmness in his voice made her pull back enough to look up at him. Rainwater still dripped from his dark hair ontohis shoulders. His shirt clung to him from the storm outside, but he didn’t seem to notice or care. The only thing he cared about right now was her, and God, that hurt.
“You had to drive three hours in the rain because I freaked out,” she whispered.
