who would?” Jonas asked, stepping close, catching her scent and wanting to touch her so badly that he ached. “Who else would do this? Who else would want to hurt you?”
If she’d give him a name, he’d get busy tearing the bastard apart.
Her gaze held his. “No one. I can’t think…no one.”
But someone was out there. Someone who had a grudge against her. Someone who was going to pay.
And Charles Crenshaw was at the top of his list.
Jonas didn’t go back to her parents’ house with her. Her parents saved dinner for her and Daniel, had kept their guests waiting so they could all eat together.
Her father was furious about her office, and he kept tossing out threats left and right. Her mother seemed worried, her voice quiet and concerned as she asked questions.
And Daniel—well, he still seemed pissed.
There was an extra seat at the table. An obviously empty seat. She’d asked her mother to make room for Jonas, and Clara had. Room that wasn’t needed.
“Christie, dear, what happened to your friend?” her mom finally asked in her soft, southern drawl, just as they were beginning the second course. Maybe her mom was trying to take the focus off the vandalism. Maybe she was simply curious. Clara was known for her curiosity—ahem, nosiness—as much as for the slew of beauty pageant wins she’d racked up as a younger woman.
Christie’s hold on her knife tightened. “Jonas is working on the investigation about the incident tonight.” Incident sounded nice and vague. She really didn’t want her aunts, uncles, and assorted cousins knowing that her office had been trashed, quite possibly by an ex-lover.
“Jonas?” Her mother repeated and a smile stretched her lips. “Oh, well, he’ll get to the bottom of this and—”
“No, mom.” A long sigh came from Daniel. “What Christie means is that Jonas can’t be here because he’s working the case.”
“Such a shame,” her mother said, still obviously missing the point. “I invite him every year and he never—”
“Jonas was my date,” Christie interrupted, figuring it would be best to just break in with the news.
“Your date?” her mother repeated. Then her smile widened and her blue eyes gleamed. “Oh, finally, you’re picking an interesting man!”
Yes, she was. Her gaze shifted to her father. She knew he’d heard everything.
He stared back at her. “You know what you’re doing?”
She nodded.
He picked up his fork. “I always rather liked Jonas.”
What?
Her father aimed his fork at Daniel. “You like him, too, so don’t be glaring at me, boy.”
“He’s dating Christie.”
Her father glanced her way once more. “Then that makes him one lucky man.”
Christie swallowed. “Thanks, Dad.”
“I learned my lesson with you years ago, sweetheart.” A grin edged his mouth. “You weren’t ever really interested in that Benjamin, were you?”
She shook her head.
“Sometimes love can make a man do crazy things.” He dove into his plate, came back up, and said, “But my girl is damn smart, and if she’s chosen to be with Jonas, then that’s fine by me.”
Daniel hung his head. “He is a lucky bastard.”
She thought about Jonas’s past. No, he wasn’t lucky. She was the one who’d had all the luck.
Daniel happened to look at her then. His eyes narrowed on her face. “Christie?”
People talked around them. Her mother turned away, chatting with a cousin. Daniel scooted toward her. “You…know, don’t you?” he asked.
She still hadn’t managed to take a bite of food. She let her fork drop. “Know what?” Jonas’s secrets were his. Not her place to tell them.
“I’ll be damned.” Daniel’s eyes swept her face. “He told you.”
No, I already knew.
“As far as I know, he’s never told anyone but me,” he said.
Her temper began to boil. It had really been one hell of a night. The break-in. The fight between Jonas and Daniel. Finding out her ex might be gunning for her. “He told you because he trusts you, Daniel. You’re friends, remember? Even if you’re acting like a jerk, he still sees you as his friend.”
His gaze held hers. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, slowly.
“Don’t tell me,” she muttered. “Tell him.”
The doorbell rang then. A long, echoing peal of sound, and Christie couldn’t help it—her heart started to race.
Then a few moments later, Jonas walked into the room, and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. His hair was swept back, and the leather coat stretched across his shoulders. He stopped when he saw the packed table. The spread of food. All those relatives.
She stood up, shoving her chair back. “Jonas!” She couldn’t stop the wide smile that lifted her lips.
He smiled back at her. A hesitant curl of his mouth that made the man look even sexier.
Daniel rose, too. “Come on over here, man,” he called over the din of voices. “We’ve got you a seat waiting.” Daniel’s hand squeezed Christie’s shoulder.
Her brother really could be a good man. He just sold himself short too much.
Jonas came around the table, his steps a bit slow. The bulge of his weapon was gone. He’d been armed when he met her at Tate Toys. He’d been a cop then. Now, he was coming to dinner just as a man. Her date. Christie took his hand and pulled him down beside her.
Just sex? Who was she kidding?
“Glad to see you, Jonas,” her mother told him, flashing her dimpled smile.
“Son, we’ve got plenty to eat,” her dad said, waving his hand over the table.
Jonas blinked and shot her a questioning glance.
She caught his hand beneath the table. “It’s Christmas,” she told him. “And you’ve been welcome here with my family for years.” But finally, finally, he’d come to celebrate with them.
His fingers tightened around hers.
She had to swallow the lump that rose in her throat. Daniel leaned forward and said bluntly, “Sorry for being a dick.”
To which her mother immediately shouted, “Oh,
