Chapter 25
twenty-five
KIT
Rubber Band Man (with hozier) - Mumford it was a promise. The three of us, a family. Jonah, Scottie, and me.
The way it couldn’t be thirteen years ago.
Jonah’s thumb brushed the damp skin above the necklace, careful and reverent. The rough pads of his fingers lingered there, as though he was grounding himself in the fact that I was real, that we were here, now.
“I kept thinking about this,” he murmured. “How I want to be around you all the time. It hurts when I’m away. Sometimes, I feel like I’ve already lost so much time with you.”
My chest tightened. He was leaving tomorrow, flying halfway across the world to begin the run of tournaments in Australia. I’d fly out later in January to watch Scottie’s run in Melbourne, but it was weeks without them.
It had been hard, the long distance, but this time it could work. We knew what we wanted, and that was each other. Life could get in the way, but we had the freedom to make it work this time.
“I hate it too, but Scottie needs you as much as I do,” I admitted. “And after her father…” I trailed off.
I couldn’t imagine her trusting anyone as easily as she did Jonah. Not after what her father had done, the history there. The more I’d learned about growing up with Matteo, training with him, the more I hated myself for letting him walk all over me.
I thought I’d done the best thing for her, but I was wrong.
Almost as if he could read my mind, Jonah’s hand caressed my face, pulling me from my thoughts. The water sloshed as I reached out, pressing my hand on top of his, losing myself in the feel of him.
I pushed the thoughts away.
“We’re not losing anything now,” I said firmly, his eyes catching mine. “This time we choose our path, and it always leads us back together.”
He let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh, almost like relief. Then, in that way he had, Jonah broke the heaviness by selecting another grape and holding it out of my reach, his smirk firmly in place.
I rolled my eyes but leaned forward anyway, biting it straight from his fingers, letting my lips brush deliberately against his skin. “Careful,” I teased. “Keep feeding me like this and you’ll never get me out of this bath.”
“Good,” he said, voice coarse again. “I’m not done looking at you.”
“All you’re missing is a tiny butler costume.”
“I’d rather be naked.”
“I wouldn’t complain.” I smirked, sinking back down into the water, almost tempted to pull him in with me.
For a long moment, the playful edge faded into something heavier, his eyes dark and steady on me. Then, in true Jonah fashion, he broke it with a goofy grin and a cracker held before me.
“You’re insufferable,” I muttered, stretching for it. When he didn’t bring it to my mouth like he had the others, my brows pushed together, looking up at him for answers.
“You want it?” His voice was low, teasing. “Then come get it.”
I held firm for a moment, almost tempted to stay in the hot water, remain bratty, but the alternative was much better. I pushed up, holding his heated gaze, and caught the food between my teeth, deliberately brushing his fingers.
His laugh echoed through the bathroom. It faded as I leaned forward and kissed the palm of his hand, tasting the salt from the cracker.
“I love you,” I whispered against his hand, my lips trailing up his arm.
This time, he didn’t offer food. His mouth found mine instead, slow and sure, tasting of wine and Christmas and the kind of promise that made me forget the years we’d lost.
“I love you too,” he murmured, his breath hot against my skin. It had always been him. It would always be him. And now, with our lives entwined, there was no going back.
We were forever.