“Hell, you’d be worse.” Wade looked over at the blank tax document. “I see you’ve been hard at work.”
Jonas picked up the paper. “This should’ve been done days ago.”
“I’ll work on it—don’t worry about it.” Wade took the paper from him. “I owe you for everything you did for Gracie anyway.”
“You don’t owe me, but thanks.” Jonas had done whatever he could to help Gracie with her stalker situation because Wade was his friend and Gracie belonged to Wade. End of story. “I’ll try to get my shit together.”
“While you’re doing that, consider calling Deanna.”
“I can’t.” Jonas stood and grabbed his keys from the desk drawer. “I promised not to push.”
Wade tossed the paper onto his own desk, then crossed his arms over his chest. “And if she never gives you an answer?”
“She will. She might be as stubborn as a mule, but she won’t leave me hanging.” He just hoped like hell she gave him an answer soon.
Wade’s cell phone rang, and judging by the grin when his friend looked at the number on the screen, Jonas had to conclude Gracie was on the other end. He left him to talk with his woman in private, only marginally jealous of the pair of lovebirds.
Half an hour later, Jonas pulled into a parking spot in front of his apartment complex. As he shut off the engine and got out, he scanned the lot and tried to remember the trip there. He’d just spent the entire drive home thinking of Deanna. “If I don’t get that woman out of my head soon, I’m going to end up wrapped around a freaking tree.”
Once inside his apartment, Jonas headed straight for the fridge. A cold beer was a poor substitute for Deanna’s warm smile, but it was his only option at the moment. He popped the top and took a long drink before setting it on the counter. As he opened the cabinet and took out a box of spaghetti, he sighed. “Another Friday night spent at home alone. Yippee.”
As he was getting out a pot to cook the pasta, his phone rang. He grabbed it from the cradle on the counter and answered on the second ring, hoping it was Deanna. “Hello?”
“Jonas, it’s Mom.”
Jonas frowned. The only time his mother called was on holidays or when she was going out of town. “Hi, Mom.”
“I hope I didn’t disturb you.”
Jesus, did the woman always have to sound so formal? “No, Mom, I was just getting ready to make dinner. What’s up?”
“I wanted to let you know that your father and I are going to spend a few months at our place in London.”
Jonas picked up the large pot and ran water in it. “Do you need me to check on the house or anything?”
“No, thank you. It’s all arranged.”
Having had this conversation a hundred times before, Jonas’s next response came with practiced ease. “Sounds good. Take care, then.”
“You, too, Jonas.”
After they hung up, Jonas placed the phone back in the holder, then shook his head in disgust. Each time the woman called, he got a little more sick to his stomach. She was so cold he could practically get frostbite just talking to her.
He couldn’t help but compare how different his family was from the Harrisons. Wade’s mother, with her warm, friendly nature, was the polar opposite of his mom. Hell, from the day he’d met Mrs. Harrison, she’d treated him as if he were one of her own.
On the other hand, Jonas couldn’t remember a single time his mom had told him she loved him. It was always “take care.” He wondered if she was even capable of loving someone. Money, she loved. Adored it, even. People were expendable, though. Even her own husband slept in a different room. No, what his parents had was the exact opposite of what he wanted in a marriage.
Jonas knew if he ever tied the knot, his wife wouldn’t be sleeping in a room down the hall. Nor would his children go to bed at night wondering if their parents loved them. Laughter and joy and love, that’s what he wanted in a marriage. That’s what his children would know. He would go to every single one of his kids’ games too. And he wouldn’t make excuses about being in important business meetings.
As Jonas placed the pot of water on the stove and started to turn on the burner, his doorbell rang. Could it be that Deanna had finally decided to put him out of his misery? Jonas turned the burner off and headed for the living room. He tried to tell himself that the unexpected visitor could be anyone. An ex-girlfriend. Wade. The annoying woman down the hall who kept trying to flirt with him, even though she was married.
It rang again and Jonas tore himself out of his thoughts and sprinted toward the front door. His entire body went from zero to sixty as he glanced through the peephole. It seemed to take a shitload of time to unlock the door and get it open. When he did, Jonas nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight that greeted him.
Deanna stood in the hallway wearing a short black dress and a pair of the sexiest black pumps he’d ever seen on a woman. Attractive didn’t begin to describe her. Long legs, silky dark hair spilling down over her shoulders, and curves in all the right places. His hands itched to reach out and touch.
“Deanna,” he said by way of greeting.
She planted one hand on her hip and clutched a small black purse in the other. “Are you going to let me in or what?”