What my father said to me on our walk kept playing in my head. I had been wanting to tell Jonah all about it and more importantly, how I felt about him, but we hadn’t had a moment alone. I snuggled against Jonah after I’d collected my two hundred dollars for passing go. We were all on the floor surrounding the coffee table in their basement family room, which doubled as a theater room. I’d never seen such a large screen or so much tech.
“I think Ariana’s cheating.” Maxwell eyed my pile of cash.
Whitney perked up, offended on my behalf. “Ariana would never cheat. She just plays better than you.”
I pulled Whitney onto my lap and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, honey.”
Everyone around us laughed.
Sabine smacked Maxwell. “That’s what you get for teasing your sister.”
Whitney set her sights on Dean and Sabine. “How come your sons don’t know a lot about dinosaurs? You should take them to the museum more. I had to tell them everything.”
Dean tried to keep his smile under wraps. “I will rectify this situation immediately.”
“I have notes you can use.” Whitney just happened to have them with her. She had gone through them with me. She was well on her way to completing her doctoral thesis.
Dean took the notes Whitney handed over. “Thank you very much. Do you mind if I read them tomorrow?”
“That’s fine, but it must happen before we leave because I have to share my findings with my friend Tabitha.”
I honestly hated that we needed to leave tomorrow afternoon. I wanted to get to know my family better. I wanted to stay in this moment with Jonah and Whitney. At least they were coming home with me.
“I promise you will have them back before you leave.” There was a hint of sadness in Dean’s voice.
As we counted our way down to midnight, we laughed and tossed popcorn at each other when the other person made us pay for landing on their property. It was pretty much perfect. It was the family moments I’d always hoped for growing up.
When it was almost midnight, Sabine jumped up. “Ooo, I have champagne for those of us over twenty-one.”
My brothers rolled their eyes as if to say she was crazy if she thought they hadn’t had alcohol before, but they played along and took the sparkling cider offered to them. Whitney was long asleep with her head in my lap.
Jonah and I each took a glass of champagne and counted down until the clock struck midnight. We clinked glasses, and before we drank from them, Jonah pressed a kiss against my lips. “Happy New Year. May we celebrate many more together.”
“Here, here.” I took a sip of my champagne.
It didn’t take long before we all retired to bed. It had been a long but good day, and I wanted to spend some alone time with Jonah. He had the same idea. As soon as I walked into our room from brushing my teeth, he swept me off my feet. “How about we spend the night on the couch? It’s been a long time.”
“What about our bundling sack?”
“I’ll behave. Mostly.” He nuzzled my ear.
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You missed a spot.”
He obliged and kissed my neck, driving me crazy. To the couch we went, where he gently set me down before joining me and taking me back in his arms. We lay in the dark, just holding one another.
“How are you feeling?” Jonah asked.
“Good. Actually, better than good. I feel light.”
“I’m happy to hear that. I know today wasn’t easy for you, but you stood up to your fears and Roger Stanton.”
“I guess I did.”
“Are you going to take the money?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. I want to give it to Dani for Children to Love. If I can help save one kid, this will all be worth it.”
Jonah gazed down at me. “You are an incredible woman.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I do.” He outlined my lips with his finger. “I love you, Ariana. Please let me love you.”
I placed my hands on his cheeks, took a breath full of courage, and let it out. “Only if you let me love you back.”
His wide eyes misted over. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I love you, Jonah. With all that I am, I love you.”Epilogue“Daddy,” Whitney ran to Jonah when he arrived at the studio after work.
I loved to hear her call him that. I watched the scene that had played out almost every day this summer. Jonah knelt, kissed our girl, and asked her how her day was. She always had something to report. Today it was all about how she and Tabitha had discovered that they could make paint with milk. I was happy when I could impress her and teach her something new. Their designs were drying on one of the tables. Jonah admired them before he made his way to me at the workbench. He greeted me with a chaste kiss.