Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vivian
I should be sleeping, but I can’t seem to take my eyes off Jonah.
He bought a truck? And now, he’s driving all night so I can make it to San Diego for a chance at my dream job.
I’ve never had anyone willing to work this hard for me.
Someone who believed in me so much that they’d take on the world to make me happy.
My mother has tried in the past. But I pushed her away. Not wanting to look weak in front of my father.
The thing is, I don’t feel weak. The opposite. I feel strong, like I could do anything with Jonah by my side.
And that’s where my bubble of happiness pops. I’ve been fighting like hell to make it to this job interview, but I haven’t taken the time to consider whether I still want it.
I mean, I want the job. But do I really want to move to California? Away from my family? Away from Jonah?
Everything has gotten so confusing. A week ago, I hated Jonah.
And now I don’t. This feels like love, but what if it’s just hormones?
Getting to have regular orgasms without worrying about things like my safety or the guy getting all weird on me.
Having a Dom to take care of me when I need it?
It doesn’t matter that part of me thinks I shouldn’t want that. Being with Jonah makes me happy.
But what if it doesn’t last? I finally feel like I deserve this. I deserved to be loved. But that doesn’t mean that Jonah feels the same. Or that he’ll feel the same in a year.
“Thinking awful hard over there.” His eyes flick to me.
I shrug. But his eyes are back on the road. “A lot has happened in the last few days.”
“It has.” He takes my hand. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I chew on my bottom lip. “What about you? You told your dad you didn’t want to be a farmer.”
He shakes his head, and I can feel the self-recrimination from here. “I should have waited.”
I squeeze his hand. “No, Jonah. There was never going to be a good time. How do you feel?”
He laughs. “Free.”
I hold his hand against my face and kiss his knuckles. “Someday I hope to be that brave.”
“You’re the bravest person I know, Vivian. You’ll get there.” In a softer voice, he says, “I believe in you.”
Those words shouldn’t bring tears to my eyes, but they do.
“Get some sleep.” He smiles. “Big day tomorrow.”
“Are you tired at all?”
“I’m fine,” he says, catching my gaze. “Wide awake. And I’ve got a few Red Bulls just in case.”
I manage to sleep then. Hours later, we stop for snacks and caffeine drinks and are back on the road soon after. No broken wiper blades. No shattered windows. No blown engines. The truck looks a little rough, but it’s a smooth ride, and the bench seat means I can sit as close to Jonah as I want.
The sun is rising by the time we reach San Diego.
The city is beautiful, but I’m too tired to appreciate it.
I booked us a hotel, and we have about four hours before my pre-interview brunch with Frankie.
Jonah and I make it to our room and collapse on the king-size bed without even showering.
If I’m this exhausted, I can’t imagine how tired Jonah is.
He wraps his arms around me, and I melt into him. In that moment, life feels just about perfect.
Banging on the door wakes me, and it takes me a second to get my bearings. Another hotel room, but where?
“Vivian, get your ass up!”
Excitement zips through me. San Diego. I rush to the door. I can’t wait to see Frankie, but I also don’t want her to wake up Jonah. Throwing open the door, I shake my head, but I can’t help the grin on my face. “You were supposed to wait for my call.”
“Fuck that. I missed you.” She hugs me tight, and it feels damn good. Am I officially a hugger now?
“I missed you too, babe.” I blink back tears. When did I get so emotional? But Frankie is my best friend in the world.
“I cannot believe you’re here! Did you really drive all night?”
“Jonah did.”
She tilts her head and stares at me.
“What?”
She marches through the room until she’s standing in front of the bed. The only bed in the room. The bed Jonah is currently stretched out on, his gorgeous body barely hidden by the sheet.
Her head swivels back to me. “Lucy, you got some ’splainin’ to do.”
“Frankie,” I start, although I have no idea what I’m going to say. And she’s already throwing out I Love Lucy references. It can only go downhill from here.
She holds up a finger to stop me and points at the bed. “This is Jonah?”
“Yes, but—”
“Bu bu bu…” She waggles her finger. “Just to clarify. He’s your stepbrother?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes.”
“The one you hate?”
Glancing first at Jonah to make sure he’s not awake and listening to all this crap, I grab her arm and pull her into the alcove. “Hated. Past tense. I was completely wrong about him.”
“Uh-huh.” She tilts her body to look at Jonah. Is she checking to see if he’s awake or watching him sleep?
I jerk her arm. “Eyes in here.”
She smirks. “You never mentioned your brother was hot.”
“Stop it.”
Her eyes are way too perceptive. That’s what happens when you’ve known someone your entire life. “So, what’s going on here, Vivie?”
I don’t want to lie to her, but I also think if I’m going to confess to being in love with Jonah, he should be the first to hear it. But I have to give her something. “I…like him. A lot.”
“Like, a lot, a lot?”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Fine. But on a scale from Brangelina—”
“They’re not even together anymore.”
“Exactly.” She gives me a pointed look. “Stop interrupting. On a scale with Brangelina being the lowest and Taylor Swift and her football Daddy being the highest, where would you and your step—”
“Just call him Jonah.”
“Testy. Where would you and Jonah be?”
I stare at her and shake my head. “I can’t even process this.”
Her face scrunches. “That bad?”
“No, Frankie. Jonah is amazing, okay? He drove all night to get me here.”
She shifts her head back and forth like she’s weighing the options or playing a song in her head.
And honestly, it could be either one at this point.
“Either he’s mad about you—in a good way—or he’s ready to be rid of you.
Not in an offing-you way,” she says to clarify.
“More in a, you know, getting-you-out-of-Nebraska-and-his-life way.”
“That’s not— Please stop.”
She shrugs, looking entirely too satisfied with herself.
“I’m taking a shower.” I grab my bag and stomp off, not caring what she does. I’m in the bathroom when she yells through the door.
“Okay, boo! I’ll just hang out here and get to know your bro.”
Fuck. I bang my head against the door. But the need to be clean and go through my skin care routine wins out. Jonah can take care of himself. Right?
Right?
Even so, I hurry through it all. Not willing to leave my bestie alone with Jonah for longer than necessary.
When I leave the bathroom, the first thing I hear is Frankie laughing and Jonah…he’s laughing as well. Cracking up, actually. That really shouldn’t bother me.
“Hey. What’s going on?”
Jonah stands when he sees me. And okay, he’s staring at me with a big goofy grin that has my heart believing this is real.
“Oh. My. God.”
I glare at my bestie. “Stop.”
She nods, but when Jonah turns to grab his Dopp kit, she mouths, “Oh. My. God.”
I wave her off.
Jonah touches my arm. “Hey, I’m going to shower. And then we can go.” He hesitates for a second or two. “Frankie said I was invited to brunch, but I want to make sure you’re okay with that.”
This man is the sweetest. “Of course you’re invited.”
“Thanks, Viv.” And then he leans in like he’s going to kiss me and stops. “Um, okay.”
He tries to run off, but I grab his shirt. “Get back here.” When he turns, I grab his face and kiss him. A nice, long kiss. I don’t want there to be doubt in anyone’s mind about what’s happening here. Least of all, Jonah’s. “Now, go shower.” And as he leaves, I smack his ass.
Frankie’s eyes are as wide as the ball that drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. We used to go every year when we both lived in New York. She also appears to be screaming internally. It’s kinda fun to watch.
“Are you done yet?”
She nods rapidly and then slower and slower until she stops. “I’m calm now.”
“Good.”
“But, Vivie,” she says, her eyes pleading, “I need to hear every sordid detail.”
“Uh, no. That’s not happening.”
She pouts, but this is one time I’m not giving in.
I’m starving by the time we reach the restaurant and sit down for brunch. Frankie chatters on about everything from the best places to eat in San Diego to the chica she met last night in Hillcrest to the horrible traffic on I-5. “People just don’t know how to drive anymore. Come sit by me, Jonah.”
My hand is resting on Jonah’s thigh—for grounding purposes—and I squeeze his leg to keep him there. “He’s fine where he’s at.”
Jonah stares from me to Frankie, looking a little shellshocked.
I lean in. “It’s okay. Everyone feels that way around Frankie at first. You’ll get used to it.”
“Will I?”
“Eh, maybe.”
I let go of Jonah long enough to scarf down a stack of waffles and some of Jonah’s bacon. He no longer looks like he’s going to flee the scene of the crime. And it feels surreal to have my bestie and my—what? But who needs labels? My two favorite people in the world are here. Everything’s perfect.
That lasts until the moment my bestie opens her mouth and tumbles everything down.
“This is so great, Vivian. I can’t wait until you move here.
We can do brunch all the time. Oh! I can’t wait to take you to this great bar in Hillcrest.” She adds pepper to her Bloody Mary, unaware of the earthquake she’s caused.
Jonah drops his fork, and it clangs on his plate. “You’re moving here?”
“There’s a chance—”
My soon-to-be-ex bestie talks over me. “I mean, he has to get the job first. But, babe, you’re a shoo-in.” She lets out a squeal. “This is going to be so much fun.”
Jonah doesn’t yell. He pushes his plate away, throws money on the table, and excuses himself. Disappointment and hurt are apparent in every move.