Chapter 9
Jonah
The restaurant is too fancy for Valentine —white tablecloths, actual wine glasses, candlelight—but Chloe’s eyes are shining as she looks at the menu, and I’d endure a thousand expensive steaks to see her this happy.
“I can’t believe your mom insisted on watching the twins overnight,” she says, setting down her menu. “She basically shoved us out the door.”
“She’s been waiting three years for me to go on a date. I think she’s more excited about this than we are.” I reach across the table, taking her hand. “Though that’s hard to imagine.”
Chloe’s smile is soft, intimate. “Our first real date. No twins interrupting. No flour explosions. Just us.”
“Just us,” I echo, and the words feel weighted with promise.
We’ve been together for two weeks— two weeks of stolen kisses in the bakery, of holding hands when the twins aren’t looking, of late-night conversations after everyone’s asleep. But this is different. This is public. Official. Real.
The waiter appears, and we order. She gets the salmon. I get the Porterhouse steak, so I’m the expensive date, apparently. But even if she ordered the Chateaubriand, I wouldn’t bat an eye. And then we’re alone again in our little bubble of candlelight and possibilities.
“So,” Chloe says, playing with her napkin, “I met with the principal at Valentine Elementary yesterday.”
“And?”
“And I start the long-term substitute position February 16th. Second grade.” Her grin is infectious. “I’m going to be a real teacher, Jonah. Finally.”
Pride swells in my chest. “You’re already a real teacher. Those kids will be very lucky to have you.”
“You have to say that. You’re dating me.”
“I’m saying it because it’s true.” I squeeze her hand. “You’re incredible with the girls. Patient and creative and exactly what they need. Those second-graders won’t know what hit them.”
She blushes, ducking her head. “I’m nervous. What if I’m terrible at it?”
“You won’t be.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. Because I’ve watched you turn our chaos into order.
I’ve seen you make the twins laugh when they’re crying.
I’ve seen you care. Plus, you do wolf voices better than I do.
” I’m not jealous, just offering up the truth.
I lean forward. “You’re going to be amazing, Chloe.
And I’ll be there to celebrate every success and catch you if you fall. ”
Her eyes are suspiciously bright. “How are you real?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I ignore it.
It buzzes again.
“You should check that,” Chloe says. “Could be your mom about the girls.”
“It’s probably just Jake asking about tomorrow’s delivery orders for the morning.” But I pull out my phone anyway, and my heart sinks when I see the name on the screen.
Rachel.
Three text messages?
Chloe notices my expression change. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Just—” I hesitate. I should put the phone away.
Should focus on Chloe, on this date, on the life I’m building.
But Rachel is still the twins’ mother, even if she hasn’t totally acted like it in three years.
And ignoring her feels wrong, even if answering her feels worse. “It’s Rachel. My ex.”
Something flickers across Chloe’s face —surprise, maybe, or concern— but she keeps her voice neutral. “Oh.” She adjusts her napkin in her lap. “Do you need to...?”
“I don’t know.” I look at the messages, my thumb hovering over the screen. “She texts maybe twice a year. Birthdays and Christmas. This is three times and it’s never back to back.”
“Maybe you should check. Make sure nothing’s wrong.”
I open the messages.
Rachel: Hey. Hope you and the girls are doing well.
Rachel: I’m getting married. Thought you should know.
Rachel: His name is Trevor. He’s good to me. I’m happy.
The words sit there on the screen, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel.
Relief? Anger? Nothing?
“Jonah?” Chloe’s voice is careful. “What did she say?”
“She’s getting married.” I set the phone down, face-up, like I need to prove I’m not hiding anything but I know with Chloe I don’t. “To someone named Trevor. She says she’s happy.”
Chloe is quiet for a moment. “How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t know.” It’s the honest answer. I take a drink of my wine and let it settle.
“Part of me wants to be happy for her. She gets to move on, start over, build the life she wanted.” I pick up my wine glass again, then set it down without drinking.
“But part of me is angry. Because she gets to be happy while the twins grow up without their mother. She gets to start fresh while I’m still explaining to Ava why Mommy doesn’t call.
She knows who Rachel is, I’ve never hid it.
But I feel like I’m the one always making excuses. ”
“That’s valid,” Chloe says quietly.
“Is it? Or am I just bitter?” I run my hand through my hair. “She gave me the twins. Even if she left, even if she hurt us— they’re the best thing in my life. How can I be angry at someone who gave me that?”
“Because she hurt your daughters and you feel for them. That’s one of the things I appreciate about you— your big heart.
But, Jonah, she hurt you, too.” Chloe reaches across the table, covering my hand with hers.
“You’re allowed to feel complicated things about her, Jonah.
She’s not just the person who gave you the twins.
She’s also the person who walked away from them. ”
My phone buzzes again.
Rachel: I know I don’t have the right to ask, but are they okay? The girls?
I stare at the message, something hot and bitter rising in my throat. “She wants to know if they’re okay. If the girls are okay.”
“What are you going to tell her?”
“That they’re perfect. That they’re thriving. That they’re happy.” I look up at Chloe. “That they have someone in their lives who actually shows up for them.”
I know the words are biting. But I feel bitten. On behalf of our daughters and for me.
Chloe’s eyes are soft. “Hey, you don’t have to answer her. Not tonight.”
“I know. But if I don’t...” I shake my head. “She’s still their mother. Even if she doesn’t act like it. Even if they don’t remember her. They might want to know her someday, and if I cut her off completely, that’s my choice, not theirs.”
“You’re a better person than most people would be in your position.”
“Or I’m an idiot who can’t let go.”
“No.” Chloe’s voice is firm. “You’re a father who’s trying to do right by his daughters. Even when it’s hard. Even when it costs you something.” She squeezes my hand. “That’s not being an idiot. That’s being a good dad.”
I look at this woman across from me —this woman who came into my life and changed everything— and I feel something shift in my chest.
“I need to tell you something,” I say.
“Okay.”
“When Rachel texts, when she reaches out like this, part of me still feels… responsible. Like I owe her something because she gave me the twins. Like I failed her by not being what she needed.” I force myself to hold Chloe’s gaze.
“But that’s not fair to you. To us. And I need you to know that whatever I felt for Rachel and whatever history she and I have…
it’s done. Done. She’s the twins’ mother, and I’ll always have to deal with that.
But she’s not anything else. You’re the one I want, Chloe. You’re the one I’m choosing.”
“I know,” Chloe says softly. “I’m not worried about her, Jonah. I’m worried about you. About how much this costs you emotionally and mentally every time she shows up and reminds you of what you lost.”
“I didn’t lose anything.” The realization hits me as I say it. “She left. That’s on her, she lost out. And yeah, it hurt. But I didn’t lose anything worth keeping.”
“Except your trust,” Chloe says. “Your ability to believe someone will stay.”
She’s right. She’s so right it makes my chest ache.
“I’m working on that,” I say quietly. “You make it easier.”
“I’ll try, but you have to make the real effort.” She smiles, but there’s something vulnerable in it. “I’m not going anywhere. Even when your ex texts. Even when things get complicated. I’m staying.”
I stand up, moving around the table to kiss her, right there in the fancy restaurant with the white tablecloths and the candlelight. She makes a small, surprised sound, then melts into me, her hands coming up to cup my face, holding me to her.
“I love you,” I say against her lips. The words surprise me, but they’re true. Completely true. “I’m falling in love with you, Chloe.”
Her smile is radiant. “I’m falling in love with you too.”
I sit back down, and we’re both grinning like idiots when the waiter brings our food. My phone sits between us, Rachel’s messages still unanswered, but it doesn’t feel heavy anymore.
It just feels like the past.
And Chloe feels like the future.