Chapter 14
Jonnas
Jonnas had spent most of his life believing love was supposed to arrive slowly and carefully.
He imagined it to be a calculated progression of trust, time, and commitment.
Then Dani Hart showed up pregnant, emotional, stubborn as hell, and curled herself into his life like she’d always belonged there.
Now he was lying in bed staring at the woman sleeping against his chest while wondering how the hell he’d gotten attached this fast. Not attached, but gone—completely gone.
Dani stirred softly beside him before blinking awake again, sleepy eyes immediately finding his. “Hey there, sleepy head,” he murmured. A tiny smile tugged at her lips automatically. He was sure that her smile alone could ruin him.
“You’re staring again,” she whispered.
“I like looking at you,” he admitted. The simple honesty of it made her cheeks pink instantly. She was wrapped in his shirt with messy hair and sleepy eyes while trying not to look too affected by him. Unfortunately for her, Jonnas noticed everything about her.
“You still overwhelmed?” he asked quietly. Checking in on her was his new favorite thing to do now.
“A little.” She admitted.
“Good, overwhelmed or bad overwhelmed?”
Dani thought about it seriously before answering.
“Good.” Her eyes softened slightly. “Mostly scared because it’s good.
” That answer settled heavily in his chest because he understood exactly what she meant now.
When you spent your whole life surviving disappointment, happiness started to feel suspicious.
Jonnas brushed his fingers slowly through her hair.
“You know what I think?” She shook her head.
“I think you’ve spent so long waiting for people to leave that you don’t know what to do when someone stays.
” From the look in her eyes, he was sure that he had hit a bullseye.
Dani looked away quickly, and Jonnas immediately tipped her chin back toward him gently.
“No hiding,” he reminded.
“You keep seeing through me,” she muttered weakly.
“Occupational hazard.” That earned him a sleepy laugh. He looked her over, and all he could think about was that she was his girl now. That thought didn’t feel foreign to him anymore. He wanted a future with her—the kind built on trust instead of control.
Jonnas traced his thumb slowly along her jaw while studying her carefully. “You hungry?”
“Maybe,” she said.
“You nauseous?” he asked.
“A little,” she admitted. His expression tightened immediately, and Dani seemed to notice.
“See?” she said softly. “You do that.”
“What do I do?”
“You worry about me constantly,” she pointed out.
“Yeah.” He didn’t even pretend otherwise. “I do.”
Her breath caught. “You don’t have to,” she whispered.
That pulled a frown from him instantly. “Baby girl, you really still don’t get this.”
“Get what?”
“You matter to me,” he growled. The words came out rougher than he intended, because she did matter to him, more than she probably understood yet.
Dani stared at him silently while emotion climbed slowly into her eyes again.
The woman cried every time he said something sincere, and instead of scaring him away, it made him want to hold her tighter.
“You know what’s dangerous?” he murmured softly.
“What?” she asked.
“The fact that you look at me like nobody’s ever loved you gently before.” He saw the truth in her eyes before she hid against his chest. Jonnas wrapped both arms around her instantly, holding her close while she breathed shakily against him.
“I’m okay,” she whispered.
“I know,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
“No, I mean it,” she insisted.
His hand moved slowly up and down her back. “I know, baby girl.” But okay and cared for weren’t the same thing, and Dani was only just starting to learn the difference.
Jonnas kissed the top of her head again before glancing toward the clock. “You need breakfast before your stomach mutinies again.”
A muffled groan came from against his chest. “I hate that you’re right all the time.”
“I’m older and wiser,” he pointed out.
“No, you’re just a smug ass,” she teased.
“I think you like me this way,” he said.
Dani lifted her head just enough to glare at him weakly. “Unfortunately.” He laughed softly. God, he loved that answer. He loved that she was slowly stopping herself from hiding the truth from him.
Jonnas slid carefully out of bed before reaching for her hand. “Come on.”
Dani blinked up at him sleepily. “Where are we going?”
“To feed you,” he said.
“You sound very confident that I’ll actually be able to keep food down,” she grumbled.
“I am.” One corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “And then I’m putting you back in bed for at least another hour.”
Her eyes widened. “Bossy.”
“You’re pregnant and need some more rest,” he demanded.
That immediately silenced her. Jonnas tugged her gently toward him until she stood barefoot in front of him, wearing only his shirt.
His breath caught slightly because no matter how many times he looked at her, it still hit him hard.
She was beautiful, and she was carrying his child.
Jonnas rested one hand low against her stomach instinctively.
She wasn’t showing yet. Hell, she was so tiny, he couldn’t imagine her carrying his baby, but he knew that he or she was there and real.
Dani looked down at his hand before looking back up at him, emotion flickering across her face again.
“You do that a lot,” she whispered.
“I do what? He asked.
“You touch me there.” His chest tightened painfully because he hadn’t even realized how instinctive it had already become. Jonnas brushed his thumb lightly against her stomach through the shirt.
“That’s my baby in there,” he breathed. Her eyes filled immediately.
“Oh no,” she whispered weakly. “I’m gonna cry again.”
A helpless laugh escaped him as he pulled her against his chest. “Yeah,” he murmured softly into her hair. “I know, baby girl.”
Jonnas had never imagined that watching a woman cry because he touched her stomach would become one of the most important moments of his life. But standing in his bedroom with Dani wrapped in his shirt while tears filled her eyes at the thought of their baby—yeah, that one hit deep.
“Oh no,” she whispered again, laughing shakily through the tears. “I’m emotional just because you touched me.”
“You’re emotional because you’re carrying our kid and finally letting somebody share the weight with you,” he insisted.
Jonnas immediately pulled her fully against his chest before she could apologize again.
Because he’d already noticed the pattern.
The second she felt vulnerable, she tried to make herself smaller, and he wasn’t letting that happen anymore.
“You know what I need from you?” he murmured into her hair.
“For me to stop crying,” she grumbled.
He chuckled. “No more apologizing every time you feel something.”
Dani let out a weak laugh. “That sounds unrealistic.”
“I’m serious,” he said.
“I know.” Her arms tightened around his waist. “That’s the problem.” Warmth spread heavily through his chest because God, he loved her honesty. Even when it came wrapped in nerves and fear and too many emotions all at once.
Jonnas tipped her chin up gently until she looked at him again. “You trust me?” The question settled between them quietly. Dani didn’t answer right away, not because she hesitated, but because she was taking it seriously.
Finally, she nodded. “Yes.” The simple sincerity in her voice nearly knocked the air out of him.
Jonnas brushed his thumb softly beneath her eye, wiping her tears from her face. “Then trust me when I tell you that needing comfort doesn’t make you weak.”
Emotion flickered across her face again immediately. “Jonnas—” she breathed.
“No.” His voice gentled further. “Listen to me, baby girl. You’ve spent your whole life surviving,” he continued quietly.
“You’ve been working your ass off to take care of yourself and handling everything alone.
” His gaze locked onto hers. “Just let me help you, Dani. Let me take some of the weight off your shoulders.”
A tear slipped down her cheek again, and Dani laughed weakly. “You really need to stop saying devastating things before breakfast.” He dipped his head to gently kiss her lips.
“What was that for?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I just like hearing you laugh.” Jonnas kissed her forehead before stepping back slightly. “Come on, let’s get you some breakfast before you pass out from nausea and stubbornness.”
Dani narrowed her eyes. “You think I’m stubborn?”
“I think you’d try surviving on crackers and spite if left unsupervised.
” That startled a real laugh out of her.
Jonnas took her hand and led her downstairs barefoot, unable to stop himself from glancing back at her every few seconds.
His shirt hung off one of her shoulders, her hair was messy, and she still looked at him sometimes like she couldn’t quite believe he was real. That part gutted him every damn time.
By the time they reached the kitchen, Dani looked calmer. Jonnas guided her toward one of the stools at the island. “Sit.”
“You really enjoy ordering me around,” she grumbled.
“You’re really good at doing as I ask,” he said. Her entire face flushed instantly. Every reaction she gave him only made him more certain about this connection between them, not because she obeyed automatically, but because she relaxed when somebody steady took control. There was a big difference.
Jonnas moved around the kitchen gathering ingredients while Dani watched him openly now. “You’re staring again,” he murmured.
“You make pancakes from scratch?” she asked.
“I’m sorry your standards for men are so low,” he teased. “But if they made you pancakes from a box, then they weren’t good enough for you, baby girl.” She snorted softly.
Jonnas cracked eggs into a bowl before glancing back at her again. Dani had gone quiet. “What’s going on in that head?” he asked softly.
She traced her fingers along the countertop slowly. “I keep waiting for this to stop feeling real.” His chest tightened instantly. Jonnas set the bowl down before crossing back toward her, and when he stepped between her knees, Dani looked up automatically.
Jonnas rested both hands lightly against her thighs. “Look at me.” She did immediately. “There’s gonna come a point,” he said quietly, “where you have to stop treating happiness like a temporary condition.”
Jonnas brushed his thumb along her knee slowly. “I’m not here because you got pregnant.” Emotion flickered across her face instantly. “I’m here because somewhere along the way, you became important to me.” His voice roughened slightly. “The baby just made me realize how fast it happened.”
Dani looked completely wrecked by that confession. That worked for him because he needed her to understand this wasn’t about obligation. It was a choice, and one that he’d make all over again. “You know what scares me?” she whispered after a long silence. “That I believe you.”
Something fierce and warm moved through his chest at the same time. Jonnas leaned down slowly until his forehead rested lightly against hers. “Good,” he murmured softly. “You should.”