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They change all the time. But this, the way he looks at me when I touch him, is real. He doesn't know me. Not really. And yes, he might end up disillusioned. But Jonas would never do anything to hurt me. And I don't think he would ever lie to me. Already that makes him a better man than I've ever known. He talks about making me fall in love with him, but I don't know that I have all that far to fall.
I'm at a crossroads. We don't match. That's a fact. The man has more brains in his pinkie than I do in all of my head. I know he's sure that I have a different kind of smarts. He's said so. But still, on an IQ test, he would blow me out of the water. So yes, he might regret marrying me. He might be the one wanting a divorce.
But the minuscule sliver of hope in the center of my chest is hard to ignore.
"I don't want to forget it," I murmur, distracted by the rough texture under my fingers, and the way his breathing changes with my touch. Letting the madness take over, I run my thumb gently over his lower lip. He makes a choked sound, and his arms flex around me. "I want to get married."
10
JONAS
She's in my home, sleeping. And I can't relax. Laying down was impossible, the energy coursing through my body needed an outlet. But standing on my head didn't help. Jogging in place didn't either. Another ping brings my attention back to the family chat on my phone.
Ransom: Bring her upstairs as soon as she wakes up. The rest of you get up here too.
Colton: Evie and Mia r still sleeping. Evie was on the phone calling shelters till Dec tracked her down. Meet at 11
Declan: Cara just crashed, but she'll be good to go soon. We'll get food.
Micah: More ice cream. Mint chip. Holly will be grumpy
Nick: Did she explain what happened?
Me: Yeah. I do not have all the details yet, but she was conned. Dec, I will need to speak to you privately about it.
Kade: Wait, we all want to know what happened. We were out looking last night too.
Zach: He'll share when Janey says it's okay. Not before. Back the fuck off.
Zach can always be counted on to jump in and defend me. Always, from as far back as I can remember, that's what he's done. Sometimes, it's annoying. Today, I appreciate it.
Everyone wants something from me right now. An explanation. A plan. But it's not my story to share. Janey has to say it's ok. My phone pings again, but before I can look at it, the back of my neck tingles. I turn quickly, knowing exactly what I'll see.
Janey, sleep rumpled, eyes half open, hair a wild tumble around her shoulders.
Beautiful.
Wearing the same clothes as yesterday, she stands in the doorway of my guest room. No one's ever slept there before. I almost considered getting rid of it and using that room for something else. Now I'm glad I didn't because it's her room now. At least until I can convince her to move into mine.
An intense wave of rightness washes over me. She belongs here, with me.
"Sounds like someone needs to talk to you," she says, nodding at the phone still clutched in my hand. The constant pinging of the family text thread between us. Somehow I didn't notice, even though the constant noise usually bothers me.
I flick it to silent and tuck it in the pocket of my sweats. "The family. They were out helping look for you last night. They're checking in, wanting to make sure you are ok."
"Oh," she says quietly, her shoulders rounding. "I didn't realize." She crosses her arms over her chest. "How did you find me?"
"Declan. Everyone was out driving a grid searching." Knowing that everyone was looking for her was the only thing that kept me from falling apart. Every mile I drove, my anxiety ratcheted up higher. "Evie was calling shelters and hospitals. It took a while, but Declan managed to track your phone. Once we knew you were on the bus, the rest of them headed home and I followed you until you got off."
She makes a low sound in the back of her throat. "I was on there for hours."
"I know."
"I didn't know where to go," she says. I take her carefully by the elbow and move her into my living room, settling her on my massive couch. It's a big space, it needs a big couch. Some of my brothers went for sleek, or designer. I went for wide and cushy. Janey's sigh as she sinks into the white cotton cushions makes me feel like I did something right.
"How have you been hiding it so long? I know you only had a few of your things. Are they all in your purse?" Her bag is really big, but I can’t see how it would hold enough to get by.
She leans her cheek on the cushion and draws her knees into her chest. "I paid for a membership at a cheap gym near work. They have free lockers for members, so I just keep my things there. It felt safer to shower there anyway." What she doesn't say, how terrifying the shelter must have felt, how unsafe, rockets through me.
