Chapter 9
Dani
Dani spent the next four hours in a complete state of emotional chaos, which honestly shouldn’t have surprised her anymore.
Not after accidentally admitting to Jonnas that she liked being taken care of, and not after agreeing to go home with him.
Elias basically looked her dead in the eyes and implied that Jonnas was in love with her, and that part especially kept replaying in her head.
You already love her. She had overheard Elias say that to him after she left his office. The terrifying thing was that Jonnas hadn’t denied it. Every time she remembered that, her stomach flipped so hard she thought she might pass out.
“Earth to Dani.” Dani blinked hard as Brenda waved a hand in front of her face at the nurses’ station. “You’ve entered the void again,” Brenda said suspiciously.
“I’m just tired,” Dani defended.
“You’re glowing,” Brenda said.
“Oh my God,” Dani muttered. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”
Brenda narrowed her eyes. “Because you look like you got kissed stupid during your lunch break.”
Dani nearly inhaled her own tongue. “I did not!”
“Honey, I worked labor and delivery for twelve years before transferring here.” Brenda smirked knowingly.
“I know the difference between nausea and dickmatized.” Dani choked on air as she tried to protest everything Brenda was saying.
The older nurse burst out laughing. “You younger girls are too easy.”
“I hate this hospital,” Dani grumbled.
“No, you hate that the hot administrator finally knocked you up and now keeps staring at you like you hung the moon.” Dani froze, and Brenda’s eyes widened instantly.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “It is Jonnas, isn’t it? I was just guessing, but I’m right, aren’t I?”
“I’m quitting,” Dani whispered back.
“No, you are not.” Brenda leaned across the desk dramatically. “You’re giving me details immediately.”
“There are no details,” Dani drawled.
“You’re pregnant with his baby. That feels like a detail,” Brenda insisted, looking way too delighted. Dani wanted the floor to open up and consume her whole. Before Brenda could interrogate her further, a familiar deep voice sounded from behind her.
“Why does she look traumatized?” Dani’s soul left her body instantly.
Brenda looked entirely too pleased as Jonnas stepped up beside Dani, holding her coat folded over one arm.
His suit jacket was gone, sleeves rolled up again, tie loosened slightly, and she noticed that he looked unfairly good.
Especially when his eyes immediately softened the second they landed on her, making Dani’s pulse stumble.
“Your timing is horrible,” she muttered weakly. Brenda made a tiny squealing noise, and Dani contemplated murder.
Jonnas finally glanced toward Brenda. “Something funny?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Brenda replied.
His eyes narrowed slightly before shifting back to Dani. “You ready to go?” The question shouldn’t have made her nervous, but it did, because going home with him suddenly felt bigger now—more intimate, and real.
Still, Dani nodded slowly. “Yeah.” Jonnas reached for her bag automatically before she could grab it herself. That tiny act of care hit her embarrassingly hard.
“Bye, Dani,” Brenda sang smugly. “Have fun tonight.”
“Oh my God,” Dani hissed. Jonnas looked far too amused as he guided her toward the elevators. The second the doors closed behind them, Dani covered her face with both hands.
“I can never come back here,” she insisted.
“You work here,” Jonnas reminded.
“Not anymore. Brenda knows everything,” she said. Jonnas laughed softly beside her, and warmth spread through her chest instantly. It still surprised her how much she liked hearing him laugh.
“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” he whispered in her ear.
Dani peeked at him through her fingers. “You’re making fun of me.”
“No.” His mouth twitched. “You make it easy.” The elevator doors opened into the parking garage before she could think of a comeback. Jonnas kept one hand lightly against her lower back as they walked toward his SUV. Everything about him felt safe lately, which honestly scared her more every day.
He opened the passenger door for her automatically, and Dani paused. “What?” he asked.
“No one’s ever opened a car door for me before,” she admitted.
Something unreadable crossed his expression before he said quietly, “That’s a shame.” The sincerity in his voice nearly undid her. Dani climbed into the SUV silently while her emotions tangled into a complete mess all over again.
The drive started quietly as Jonnas rested one hand on the wheel while soft music played through the speakers. Dani found herself relaxing despite every instinct telling her not to. “You’re quiet,” he murmured after a few minutes.
“I’m thinking,” she said. She was running through all the pros and cons of going home with him tonight, and she was finding more cons than pros.
“Dangerous hobby,” he teased. She snorted softly.
Silence settled again before she blurted suddenly, “Did you mean it?”
Jonnas glanced over briefly. “Mean what?”
“What Elias said about you being in love with me. I heard him say that through the door, and you didn’t deny it,” she said.
The second the words left her mouth, tension filled the SUV instantly.
Jonnas went quiet—too quiet, and Dani immediately regretted asking.
“You don’t have to answer that,” she said quickly.
“Yes, I do,” Jonnas said. Her pulse jumped as he exhaled slowly before speaking. “I think—” He tightened his grip on the steering wheel slightly. “I think I started caring about you the second you walked into my office, terrified and still somehow trying to protect everyone else’s feelings.”
Emotion tightened painfully in her throat. “That’s not love,” she whispered.
“No,” he agreed quietly. “But I think watching you trust me little by little is getting dangerously close to becoming love.” Dani stared at him helplessly. No one had ever spoken to her like this before—like her feelings mattered.
“I don’t know what to do with that,” she admitted softly.
Jonnas’s expression softened. “You don’t have to do anything tonight.
” That should’ve made her relax, but it didn’t.
Instead, disappointment flickered low in her stomach, because a dangerous part of her wanted more tonight.
She wanted closeness and comfort. She wanted his hands in her hair while he called her baby girl in that deep voice of his.
God. Pregnancy hormones were ruining her life.
Jonnas suddenly reached over and took her hand, and the simple touch nearly shattered her. “You’re spiraling again,” he murmured.
“I do that a lot around you,” she whispered.
His thumb brushed slowly across her knuckles. “Good thing I plan on sticking around then. That way, I can pick up the pieces.”
Dani was in trouble—real trouble. It was the kind that settled low in her chest and made her feel warm and shaky every time Jonnas looked at her too long.
Because somewhere between him bringing her soup and promising not to disappear, she’d started wanting things she had no business wanting from him.
Things that felt terrifyingly close to forever.
“You’re thinking too hard again,” he whispered. Dani blinked and realized Jonnas was watching her from the driver’s seat while stopped at a red light.
“I’m pregnant,” she defended weakly. “My brain is legally allowed to be weird. Plus, brain fog is a real thing.”
His mouth twitched slightly. “I’m pretty sure that’s not true.”
“It should be,” she grumbled. The light changed, and Jonnas pulled forward again while still holding her hand. He hadn’t let go since taking it—not once. The simple contact should’ve felt insignificant; instead, Dani was hyperaware of every brush of his thumb against her skin.
“You’re nervous,” he observed quietly.
“A little,” she admitted.
“About tonight?” he asked.
Dani stared out the passenger window for a second before admitting softly, “I haven’t really done this before.”
Jonnas glanced over. “Done what?”
“This.” She gestured vaguely between them. “Stayed with someone.” Silence filled the SUV immediately, and Dani instantly regretted saying it out loud, because it sounded pathetic. But before she could backtrack, Jonnas tightened his hold on her hand slightly.
“You mean after sex?”
Her cheeks burned. “Among other things.” Understanding flickered across his face, followed by something darker. Something that looked suspiciously like anger—not at her, but at the idea itself.
“People leave afterward,” she admitted quietly. “Usually before breakfast. I mean, I left you after our night together, before you even woke up.” The muscle in his jaw flexed hard, and Dani looked away quickly. She hated talking about this part. She hated sounding needy or inexperienced or damaged.
The truth was, most of her relationships had been short and messy. Men liked her until they realized she needed more emotionally than casual hookups could offer. Then came the awkward conversations—the judgment and discomfort. So eventually, she stopped asking for anything at all.
Jonnas’s voice broke through her thoughts softly. “You really think I’d sleep with you, knock you up, and then disappear before breakfast? I wouldn’t do that to you, baby girl.” Warmth spread through her chest again. The way he noticed everything was becoming dangerous.
“I don’t know what normal is supposed to look like here,” she admitted. Jonnas parked the SUV in the underground garage beneath his building before finally turning fully toward her.
“There is no right or wrong here, Dani. We can make our own normal,” he said. Emotion tightened her throat instantly. No one had ever said things like that to her before—like compromise was easy, and her feelings weren’t inconvenient.
Jonnas brushed his thumb lightly across her knuckles again. “Baby girl.” That name got to her every single time. Dani’s breath caught automatically. “You need to stop looking shocked every time I say that.”
“I can’t help it,” she breathed.
“Why?”
“Because no one’s ever—” She trailed off awkwardly.
“No one’s ever what?” he asked.
“Taken care of me like this before,” she admitted. The honesty slipped out before she could stop it, and Jonnas went very still.
Then he reached up slowly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “That changes tonight.” The quiet certainty in his voice nearly broke her. Dani looked down quickly, overwhelmed all over again, but she could feel him studying her carefully.
His voice gentled. “You’re panicking quietly.” He was unfortunately accurate.
Dani laughed weakly. “You make me feel too much.” Something intense flashed across his face at that, and Jonnas leaned slightly closer.
“Tell me something honestly,” he whispered.
Her pulse jumped immediately. “Okay.”
“When you picture tonight in your mind,” he said quietly, “what are you actually scared of?” The question hit deeper than she expected.
Dani swallowed hard. “Getting too attached.”
Jonnas didn’t even hesitate. “Too late.” He said it so calmly, like it was obvious, and he wasn’t afraid of that at all.
Dani stared at him helplessly while emotion climbed higher and higher in her chest. “Jonnas—”
“You think you’re the only one feeling this?
” he asked quietly. The look in his eyes shattered her completely, because she believed him—every word, and that was somehow more terrifying than anything else.
Jonnas reached for her carefully, giving her plenty of time to pull away before guiding her gently across the center console and into his lap.
Dani let out a startled sound. “Jonnas—” His arms wrapped around her securely immediately, like he already knew she needed grounding.
“You’re spiraling again,” he murmured against her hair.
“I can’t help it,” she breathed.
“I know,” he said. The softness in his voice made her eyes burn unexpectedly.
Dani curled instinctively against his chest, breathing him in.
He felt like home. The realization hit her so suddenly that it almost hurt.
Jonnas’s hand slid slowly up and down her back while she tried not to emotionally unravel in his arms.
“You know what I think?” he murmured after a long moment.
“What?” she asked.
“I think you’re exhausted from carrying everything alone,” he said. A tear slipped down her cheek before she could stop it.
Jonnas caught it instantly. “Easy, baby girl.”
Dani buried her face against his neck in humiliation. “I cry all the time now.”
“You’re pregnant,” he reminded.
“I’m pathetic,” she countered.
His hand tightened against her back immediately.
“No.” The firmness in his voice made her look up at him.
“You do not get to talk about yourself like that.” Her stomach did a flip-flop, because there it was again—that calm authority.
He wasn’t controlling her the way that some guys tried to.
He was protecting her, and the terrifying thing was that some deep, needy part of her loved it.
Jonnas saw the exact moment that realization hit her, and his eyes darkened.
“Come upstairs,” he said quietly. It wasn’t a demand—not exactly, but it was close enough that her body reacted anyway. Dani nodded before she could second-guess herself, and for the first time in a very long time, letting someone in didn’t feel scary; it felt safe.