laugh about something. What other choice was there? Their family had seen their share of hard times, growing up on the lower end of lower working class, even though his parents had worked like dogs to provide their four boys with everything they needed. There were various crises along the way, always handled together with humor and love.
This was no different. His lack of vision made Jonas feel like an outsider, different, even with his own clan. People treated him differently, and he didn’t like it.
“So she just walked in?” Garrett asked out of the blue.
Garrett had shown up as Tessa was leaving, bumping into her as she left the building. Jonas had been raw and completely unable to discuss the visit at the time, so Garrett had let it go, let him calm down. He still didn’t want to discuss it as his brother led the way out to the car, but he knew Garrett wouldn’t let the matter drop.
“Let’s get some food. I missed breakfast and lunch,” Jonas said, and then blew out a breath before answering the question. “Yeah. She just walked in.”
“I knew I liked her,” Garrett said, and Jonas could hear the smile in his voice. It was a new experience, hearing smiles. “I know you liked her, too,” Garrett added, pulling away from the curb.
Jonas didn’t answer. His brother was a romantic.
Lust had very little to do with liking someone, in his view, but he had to admit, he had seen a lot to like about Tessa while he had worked with her for those few weeks. More than he had expected to. More than he was comfortable with.
She was dedicated to her business, much as he was to his. Her obvious caring for her customers and her friends was clear, and she did seem to truly love her father, in spite of their differences. She was extroverted, sexy and gregarious, but not the reckless, selfish woman he had envisioned. At least, that was what he’d thought until she’d proven him wrong.
There were a lot of reasons to keep a principal—the term they used for the person receiving their protection—at arm’s distance. Women in particular, even married women, had a tendency to fall for their bodyguards—a kind of transference, like falling for their doctors or therapists. Jonas never took the bait. Not before Tessa.
“You know what she did, Gar. She didn’t have to tell anyone what happened between us. It was my bad for falling for it in the first place.”
Garrett couldn’t argue that. Losing a client like the senator was a major blow.
“I think you should give her the benefit of the doubt. She came by the office a few times, looking for you, and I don’t know, Jon. She just didn’t hit me that way. There might be more going on.”
“How else to explain her father warning me off her?”
“I guess you have a point. But you were different when you were around her for those few weeks. I can’t put my finger on it, but I thought she might be good for you.”
“Frankly, after what you’ve been through, I’m surprised you have a romantic bone left in your body, Gar.”
Jonas heard his brother’s silence louder than any reply, and cursed under his breath at his blunder. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have gone there.”
“It’s okay. You’re right. Lainey and I had some wonderful years, and I lost her too soon. But what we had was great. You deserve that with someone. You’re too much on your own all the time.”
Rain was coming down a little harder than when they left, and Jonas remembered that some strong storms had been forcasted for later in the evening.
Jonas didn’t respond, but his brother’s words hit home.
They were different men, even if they were brothers. Garrett had lost his wife in a car accident while he was gone on a job, and it had nearly wrecked him. He’d bounced back, and from what Jonas could see, would be able to find happiness again someday. Jonas hoped he would. Garrett was made for family, being a husband, a father.
Jonas didn’t see that in his future, but he still put family first. The senator’s aide had made Rose’s threat clear—if he went near Tessa, there could be serious repercussions to the agency, to Jonas’s brothers and everything they had worked for. No way would Jonas risk that.
“You should come in the office today, listen up on some of the recent cases,” his brother offered, changing the subject.
“Maybe,” Jonas replied.
He’d like nothing better than to get to work, but he worried about being at the office too often. He figured it was better to keep his condition as hidden as possible. If clients discovered he had messed up or been seriously wounded on the job, it could compromise people’s confidence in the agency, in their ability to do their jobs.
The car stopped, and Jonas detected the rich aroma of cheese steak and onions from their favorite shop just west of Center City.
“This way,” Garrett directed, walking at his side. Jonas negotiated his way along with the cane, hating every minute of it, but he needed it to find his way through more obstacle-ridden environments like streets and crowded public places. As soon as they reached their table, he stashed it away.
“It’s just a cane, Jonas. A tool. People don’t even notice. Most blind people these days live very normal, active lives.”
“I’m not a blind person. This is temporary,” Jonas bit out, and then regretted his tone.
Garrett was right, but Jonas was edgy—an understatement of the emotional mess Tessa had left him in.
It had taken everything he had inside not to take her to bed right there and then. He was that hungry for her, and that fact generated even more self-disgust. How could he be so attracted to a woman who was obviously so manipulative? But if she hadn’t said no, he knew it would have happened.
It was just pent-up lust and frustration, or so he told himself.
His lack of vision certainly hadn’t seemed to put Tessa off any, he thought, remembering how passion and need had practically vibrated off her. Her scent was still on his skin. He didn’t know if she was faking that or not. The senator was out of the country, and maybe she’d decided to finish what they’d started when her father was out of play—something like eating cake and having it, too.
“Well, if not with Tessa, you still need to get out more,” Garrett continued. “You’re blind, not under quarantine. When was the last time you were even on a date?”
“Now, there’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Jonas accused.
“I’ve gone on a few dates, but my situation is different.”
Jonas frowned. “I don’t date. I have plenty of women I know who are available when I want one.”
“Classy.”
“Drop it, Garrett. Can we talk about cases, the weather, anything but this? You’re beginning to make me wish I’d gone deaf, too.”
Garrett laughed and acquiesced as their sandwiches arrived and they dug in. They were delicious as always, though Jonas was getting a little tired of sandwiches, in general. They’d been standard fare since he lost his sight, as he
