“My hotel isn’t all that great. Your place?” he asked, hoping this wasn’t the end of their night together.
“I’ll drive,” she agreed as she pulled her clothes back on and they moved to the front.
Ely could have cared less about the storm, watching her every second of the drive, reviewing everything he was going to do right this time. He hadn’t planned on a second chance, but now that he had one, he wasn’t going to blow it.
“SO HOW DID YOU get to be such good friends with Kate anyway?” Jonas asked as they ran into the train station, finally under cover, soaked through yet again.
“She came into the shop when it first opened, and I made some special items for her. She was always very lively and friendly, and she invited me and Lydia to lunch a few times,” Tessa explained, getting their tickets and leading him to the platform.
“Then her husband died, and I knew that they didn’t have children, or other family close by. Her diabetes was affecting her sight, and just this year she was declared legally blind.”
Tessa peeked up to see Jonas’s expression, which remained stoic as he listened.
“So, I started helping out, visiting her more, and it just became part of my life. I never knew my grandparents, at least not on my mother’s side, and my father’s parents, well, let’s just say they preferred my brother,” she said, laughing shortly.
“So Kate was like a foster grandparent for you?”
“Something like that, I guess, though I really consider her a friend. I like spending time with her, listening to her stories about her and her husband, and she plays a mean hand of canasta.”
Jonas laughed, and she pulled back to look at him in surprise as they boarded their train.
“What?”
“Somehow I have a hard time picturing you sitting with a bunch of octogenarians playing cards on a Friday night.”
“Well, it was usually Sunday afternoon, and I rarely won. Those ladies take no prisoners.”
As they made their way through the passel of people vying for spots, she heard him chuckling.
She tucked herself inside the corner of the car at the end and held on to the railing. Jonas was so handsome
when he laughed, she thought. He was handsome anyway, but when he smiled, he became wickedly so.
Tessa wondered if he was ticklish, eyeing the way the muscles in his side stretched and gathered as he reached to hold on to the rail, as well.
“It’s nice to have lights for a few minutes,” she commented about the train, changing the subject, and then realized he couldn’t know if the lights were on one way or the other. “I mean, shoot, I’m sorry, Jonas, that was thoughtless—”
“It’s not a big deal, Tessa. You can talk about the lights being on, the sun in the sky, the things you see … it doesn’t bother me. I’m not that fragile.”
She pursed her lips. “Well, maybe not, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to rub it in. I can’t imagine what it would be like not to see.”
“It’s … not fun,” he agreed. “But it’s also temporary.”
“What do your doctors say? Did they tell you when?”
She had such a hard time thinking about Jonas being disabled in any way. Standing here with her now, he still looked undefeatable to her. She felt safe with him, regardless.
“Any time … things appear to be healing, but I just have to be patient,” he said in a tone that told her that patient wasn’t his strong suit.
Jonas was a man who took control, who called the shots. She knew this had to be maddening for him.
“I hope it’s soon for you,” she said, leaning in closer to plant a soft kiss on his cheek.
He frowned, and she wondered why. Did he regret what happened back at the apartment? Was he thinking she was still just messing with him?
“I hope the drugstore stays open,” she said, needing to refocus. “I should make sure they know I’m coming. Kate has to have her injections or we will be calling emergency.”
He nodded grimly while she pulled out her phone to call the pharmacy.
“They are open for a few more hours, so that’s good,” she said in relief.
“We’ll get there, and it will be okay,” he reassured her.
“Thanks. And thanks for coming with me. I know none of this was part of your night.”
“True. If I weren’t here with you, I’d either be limping around the office with a bandage still stuck to my pants, or home sitting in the dark, not that I would even know it,” he joked, and she was so surprised she burst out laughing. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“Why, Jonas, I’ve never known you to tell a joke,” she said.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Tessa.” He winked, and she thought her knees might have trembled slightly.
Was Jonas flirting with her?
The thought made her heart race. There was a lot she didn’t know about Jonas, but she looked up into his face as he peered, unseeing, around the crowded train car.
She looked forward to having the chance to find out.
5
9:00 p.m.
JONAS WAS SURPRISED that the trains were packed. While some of the peripheral routes were closed down, the main lines were running. He supposed it made sense. The worst of the storm had hit around rush hour, and with the roads such a mess, the trains were many people’s only option to get home.
He could feel the heat and proximity of all the bodies crowded around where he and Tessa were tucked into a corner of the packed subway car. They were soaked from their dash to the closest station, a few blocks away from the shop, even having used umbrellas. It didn’t matter. Though he tried to make casual conversation, all he could think about was how close she was, and what had happened back at the apartment.
He shouldn’t have given in, but when it came to Tessa, he seemed to have a difficult time saying no. This time, hopefully, their indiscretions would stay between them. Senator Rose had said there was no direct threat, that he just needed someone to stick close to Tessa for a few days.
Rose had also been fully aware that Tessa liked to yank his chain, and was clear on the fact that she’d used Jonas to do it. Luckily, it appeared he wasn’t holding Jonas completely responsible for the last time, but Jonas reminded himself not to be so reckless this time, even though he was on fire for her.
She was also confusing the hell out of him. He had her tagged one way, self-indulgent, self-interested. He didn’t
