Chapter Sixteen
I have reservations.
Well, dang it. Jonas sat next to her as they claimed seats in the open room in the activity center set aside for the introductory class.
The activity center was near the main arena where the riding events would be held.
Chairs were set up down the middle of the room and a table had been placed in front.
Her dad, and his new friend, Iris Booker, a retired school principal, Carla, Sloane, and now Jonas, took up half of the third row.
Her dad and Iris laughed as he told her about his last Hawaii trip. Sloane hadn’t seen him this happy in a long time.
Clara looked around Sloane to say hi to Jonas.
Was this a game he was playing? Sending flowers and food from Luke’s Diner to the garage?
Sloane refused to look at him. If he thought trying to get her attention at the eleventh hour was a good idea, she didn’t want to play. She’d never—well, hardly ever—been one to agree that better late than never was acceptable.
“Why are you here?” she hissed in a desperate whisper, leaning toward him but keeping her gaze on the front of the room.
She’d known he was coming, of course, but had hoped he would change his mind at the last minute.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to have him there.
It was that she just didn’t know what to do with all the feelings being close to him aroused.
Being in love had turned into too much work. She was better off giving up now instead of continuing to ache over Jonas’s choices. At least until she and Clara were more accustomed to each other. Maybe in three, or four, or ten years down the road.
He leaned toward her until their shoulders touched and whispered back, “I’m taking this class with you.”
Right. He couldn’t wait to go backpacking with her. Sloane shook her head.
He laced his fingers with hers, starting an avalanche of prickles that skidded straight to her toes. “Come to dinner with me tonight, and I’ll tell you everything.”
“About what?”
He smiled into her eyes. So, this is what it felt like to have Jonas’s full attention. “About you and me and our future.”
“We don’t have a future. We’re breaking up, remember?” she asserted.
“Not tonight. I’m hoping we’ll be celebrating.”
She sucked in a breath. “I don’t get you.”
“I know. That’s okay. We’ll straighten everything out.” He squeezed her hand, and dang it, she liked the feel of his hand engulfing hers.
Edging away from Jonas, Sloane turned to Clara. “Jonas wants to take us to dinner.” If her sister went with them, whatever he planned to say would be one conversation she could avoid.
“I can’t. I’m going with Dad and Iris to the library to check out books on horses and rodeos.” Clara gave her that thirteen-going-on-thirty look she was so good at. “But you should go.”
Closing her eyes for a moment, she swiveled back to Jonas. “I’m tired, Jonas.” In more ways than one. Her heart was exhausted.
“Let me take you to dinner. I won’t keep you out late.” He kissed the back of her hand and her mind forgot all the objections she was about to make.
She finally gave in. “Okay.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to this introductory class. Today we’re going to give you an overview of being a backpacking enthusiast and the club’s activities.
And we’ll review what it takes to become a good backpacker and hiker.
Tips for beginners. At the end, we’ll hand out a flyer with an equipment list and our contact information.
My name is Tony.” He indicated the woman beside him. “And this is my sister, Rachel.”
Sloane leaned forward, elbows on her knees, so she could concentrate on the speakers and not on the man sitting next to her, his thigh brushing hers. An hour later, when Tony and Rachel stopped talking, Clara was practically bouncing in her seat and Sloane was ready to leave the meeting.
“I’m going to sign up,” she said to Clara, hoping to put off dinner with Jonas as long as possible.
“Me too.” Clara got in line behind her. Her dad and Iris followed suit.
She lost sight of Jonas, hating that she’d had a jab of disappointment that he didn’t want to take the class with her. Just as she got to the head of the line, he joined her.
She let out the breath she was holding, which was ridiculous. She either wanted nothing to do with the man or had to see if there was a future for the two of them.
“Our reservation at Stephanie’s Inn is waiting.” The man could move mountains when he wanted to. Stephanie’s was always packed.
Outside the room, Clara, her dad, and Iris waited. Clara hugged Sloane. “Thanks for letting me take the lessons. I can’t wait.”
“It’ll be fun,” she admitted. And something different that she could do with her sister, even though Jonas had signed up right behind her.
Surely, he would find an excuse to drop the class after the first hike or two.
Going with his best friend and her family wouldn’t be that exciting for the lawyer who’d spent so many years in Denver’s hot spots.
“Dad said he would show Iris and me the arena, then we’re going to Luke’s Diner on the way home.” Clara leaned close and whispered, “Have fun with Jonas.” Then louder, “I’ll see you later?”
Sloane snorted. First off, after all the years of wanting to go on even one real date with her friend, whatever was going on with Jonas right now made her nervous.
Second, her sister was too young to be urging her to go to dinner with the one person who had never given her any hope that he thought the two of them were a good idea.
Sensing her hesitation, Jonas asked, “Do you want a tour, too, before we go?”
“No. That’s okay.” The sooner she got this dinner with Jonas over with, the sooner she could put all her focus on her sister. “What time is our reservation?”
“When we get there. I know the manager. They’re setting up a table on the balcony for us.” His Mustang was parked next to her truck. “We’ll come back for your truck later, if that’s okay.”
“You don’t have to go to all this trouble, Jonas.” Was this what it would be like to be Jonas Lohmen’s girl? No wonder Julieann had followed him to Strawberry Ridge.
He started the engine. She loved how the sound was more of a roar than a gentle purr.
“It’s no trouble. I just wanted a quiet place where I could set things straight between us without a bunch of interruptions. I don’t want you to think I intentionally took advantage of your sweet nature.”
So, that’s what this was all about. Not a real date. A clarification. She should have known. A tiger didn’t change its stripes overnight. Still, he knew exactly what to say. “You think I’m sweet?”
“You’re the sweetest-tempered person I know.”
Huh. She wouldn’t call their friendship sweet, especially since he’d returned to Strawberry Ridge. What he meant was that she was a pushover.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the inn. Stephanie’s sat on high ground near Garfield Park and overlooked the promenade along a bend in Wolfe River. “I’m not dressed for going to a restaurant that fancy.”
“You look beautiful.” His gaze swept from her ruffled tank to the jeans she’d paired with her newest boots. Heat rose to her cheeks. “Every guy in the place will be jealous that I’m the lucky guy having dinner with such a pretty lady.”
She pulled away from Jonas. “What’s going on with you?”
This flirty man was not the standoffish guy she’d spent so many years crushing over.
He studied her face intently. “I had a recent epiphany.”
Jonas was right. Getting everything out in the open wasn’t a bad idea. There was no way they could live in the same town and manage to avoid each other.
Their table on the outdoor balcony, with the sun sparkling off the water, and where they could take in the view of the river and promenade, was ready—a white tablecloth, a short vase of flowers in the middle of the table, a candle already lit, and flowery ceramic plates and cups.
Pulling out her chair, Jonas waited until she settled into the seat.
Once they had placed their order, she broke the silence. “You didn’t need to bring me to a fancy restaurant or send me flowers or DoorDash to make it easier to break up.”
“I think I’m insulted, Sloane Michaels.” He didn’t sound insulted.
He sounded amused. Further confusing her, he reached across the table.
Jonas took her hand and played gently with her fingers.
“I brought you flowers and lunch that I knew you would eat and brought you to this fancy restaurant because I’m trying to show you how much I love you.
I don’t want to break up with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. ”
Sloane’s pulse skittered. It wasn’t possible, was it? “I don’t understand.”
“I love you!”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m very sure.”
“How? Why?” She was afraid to hope they were finally on the same page.
“My dad made a mistake that cost him half his ranch and most of his stock. My mistake was not telling you before now how much you mean to me. I won’t lose you because it took me almost too long to be honest with myself.
The last thing I want is to let the arrogance I inherited from Dad to keep me from being the man you need. ”
Turning her hand over, holding on, palm to palm, her heart soared. “The man I need?”
He nodded, his charming smile crooked.
“You’re not your dad, Jonas.”
“I’m starting to understand that. I love you, Sloane Michaels. To the ends of the earth and back.”
Her breath caught. “For how long?”
He knew exactly what she was asking. “It seems like it’s been forever. But I really knew when I told the family we were engaged. A light went on in my heart.”
The setting sun cast a golden glow over the balcony. Before she could blurt out that she loved him too, their meal came.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” their waiter asked.
Jonas kept hold of her hand, keeping his gaze on her face. “We’re fine, thanks.”