Chapter Twelve

Jonah

Jonah approached the table, where Kyle, the director of finance for a midsized firm, was grinning as if he’d watched the fashion debacle unfold.

Kyle stood and welcomed Jonah with a handshake. “For a minute there I thought you were going to stand me up, but Jake said you were top of your class and admired your work so I decided you were worth the wait.”

Jonah had met Jake freshman year at Cornell. They were randomly assigned to the same dorm. They immediately hit it off. So when Jonah decided to get serious about getting a job—one that didn’t require getting someone else fired, brown-nosing it to climb the ladder, or sacrificing his family—he reached out to Jake. His firm wasn’t hiring but he hooked Jonah up with Kyle.

“Just having a morning,” Jonah explained. “Sorry about that.”

Kyle waved it off. “No worries. My wife nitpicks my clothes all the time.”

“Oh, she’s not—”

“Hell, she practically dresses me.” Kyle froze, then swallowed hard. “Sorry man, I forgot. Jake told me about your wife. That’s rough.”

Jonah wondered what people saw when they looked at him. It was clear by the concern on Kyle’s face that it was not the ballbuster broker he’d once been. Because you aren’t the ballbuster broker you once were.

But he could be. All he needed was one person, just one, to take a chance on him.

“It was. But I’m ready for the next chapter.”

“The kid yours?” He jerked his chin toward Waverly, who was perched effortlessly on Evie’s hip, like two pieces to the same puzzle. Something uncomfortable tightened in his stomach.

“Just turned three.”

“She’s cute. I have two. Nine and thirteen. Let me tell you, the teen years will make you go bald. Some days all my daughter is missing is the plastic heels and a pole.” Jonah thought of his own baby and shivered at the thought.

“I have a seventeen-year-old son, so I get it. Broody as hell.”

“So this next chapter. What does it look like? Because, I’m going to be frank, we aren’t really looking for anyone right now. But if the right kind of person comes along, we will always find the room, if you get what I’m saying.”

“I am that person. I know on paper I have some gaps, and decisions that I would question if I were in your chair, but when my wife was diagnosed and I heard the word terminal? I knew I couldn’t give one hundred percent of myself to my wife and job, so I quit.”

“I heard you were mere months away from being named partner.”

“I was. Which speaks to my ability and work ethic. It also speaks to the way I work with clients. My past employer won’t give me a glowing recommendation—”

“Frank is the devil incarnate. I can assure you we run our company differently.”

“Good to know, because while my daughter is in preschool and I’ll be hiring after-school help, things come up that are out of my control. Like today. And I don’t have a partner to rely on.”

The second that last sentence came out of his mouth he wanted to reel it back in. Because the slowly built confidence in Kyle’s eyes fizzled.

“I get that family comes first, but I need someone I can rely on, and sometimes that means making a hard call or working through dinner or over the holidays.”

“I hear you and agree with you.”

Kyle relaxed. “Why don’t you email me your resume and a list of client references, and I will take a look at it and get back to you. You were at the top of your game and impressive as hell.”

Jonah didn’t like the past tense Kyle used on that last line, but he knew his former clients would sing his praises.

Jonah reached into his bag and pulled out a crisp white paper. “Already have it.” He slid his resume and referral list across the coffee shop table and Kyle gave it a quick glance.

“Prepared. I like that.”

They shook hands, and when Kyle left the shop Jonah walked over to the counter where Evie was effortlessly amusing Waverly while serving her customers like a pro. A lifetime from now, when he thought back to this moment, he would remember the way Evie looked holding his daughter. She had Waverly on her hip in a little apron and Grinder tee, helping with the whipped cream. And what a breathtaking picture that made.

Something shifted inside him.

She must have felt his energy because she looked up at that precise moment and their gazes snagged and stuck. After a heavy moment, she turned to her employee and asked, “Julie, can you handle things for a minute?”

Julie looked from Evie to Jonah and back to Evie and gave a dramatic brow waggle. “Take all the minutes you need.”

Evie rolled her eyes, then grabbed another cookie for Waverly and walked around the counter.

“You don’t have to stop for me,” he said, even though that was exactly what he wanted—to sit down with her and tell her what had just transpired.

“This seems like more of a sit-down conversation. Not one casually thrown over a counter.” They walked to a table in the back and sat. He expected her to hand over Waverly, but instead she bounced his daughter on her knee. “I want to hear everything.”

That comment hit him in the chest. He hadn’t had this kind of excitement since he almost made partner.

“I think it went well. Better than well. Maybe closer to great.”

Her face lit with genuine excitement. “Oh my God, Jonah! That’s amazing.”

“He didn’t seem to care that I’d quit a prestigious job to be a stay-at-home dad. He agreed to really look at my resume and call my former clients before deciding.”

He stopped and Evie smacked the table. “You can’t leave me hanging with two-line items. Tell me everything!”

A little surprised that she wanted to hear all about it, and uncertain about the rusty way his chest expanded, Jonah went into every detail about the meeting, getting more excited by the moment, until he got to the part when he brought up Amber and being a widower.

“I should have left it alone. I know it makes people uncomfortable. And it was like he went from looking at me as a viable candidate to a broken and inept has-been.”

“I’m sure it went in one ear and out the other. I mean, what kind of man would use that against someone?” Evie said. “Plus, I see it as a strength. For you to go through that and come out the other side with your family still intact? That takes courage, determination, and power.”

Her positivity shined through her and was so contagious he couldn’t help but smile.

He ran a hand down his face in disbelief. “It’s terrifying. Now that this is a real possibility, I have to get my shit together for the actual interview.”

Because there was going to be an actual interview. He was going to manifest the shit out of that.

“You can do this, Jonah.”

He had to. But he also couldn’t do this alone. That was a fact. He needed help. More than that, he needed a professional organizer. “Remember that offer you made the other day?”

She lifted an amused brow. “You mean the one you shot down?”

“Maybe I was a little hasty.”

“No, you were right. It is a ridiculous idea.”

“Give me three reasons why this can’t work.”

“Easy. We hate each other.” She ticked up a finger. Then another. “Our lifestyles clash. And your life is a disaster. You should have a walking hazard sign around your neck.”

“Your life isn’t all rainbows and sunshine.”

She crossed her arms stubbornly. “Then why do you call me sunshine?”

“Because while you pull this June Cleaver act with everyone else, with me you are all fire and brimstone.”

“You just proved my point. And if you want another reason, here.” She handed him an estimate from a landscaping company for his yard if he missed his timeline.

He glanced at it, then crumpled it up. “This is bullshit and you know it.”

“I agree. And FYI, I vetoed it, but the rest of the board saw the progress you’ve made and voted to hire Karlson’s son’s company if you fail to comply.”

He ran a hand down his face and looked at the ceiling. “Shit. Shit. Shit! I can’t afford this.” He looked at Evie. “I can’t afford this. Not without breaking into the kids’ college fund, which is a nonstarter.”

“You still have a month.”

“Hazard sign. Remember?”

Evie remembered how hard it had been in the beginning to be in it alone. But she’d never really been alone, she’d had her parents. Jonah had himself. “I’m not saying yes, but what are you offering?”

He looked dumbfounded. “Seriously?”

“I’ll hear you out.”

“If you help me get my life in order, I will help you convince the world you’re off the market.”

She snorted in disbelief. “It’s going to take more than a few weeks. Plus, I was delusional. We could never convince people we’re together.”

“Kyle thought we were a couple at first.”

“He did?” Was that a blush on her cheeks?

“He did. And you know what? When he thought you were my wife—”

“Wife?” she choked.

“He didn’t remember I was a widower. And he treated me differently. Like I was complete and a man who could do the impossible. Because in my past life I could do the impossible.” Except for when it came to saving his wife.

Evie rested her hand over his. As if she knew what he was thinking, she said, “Don’t go there. You were Superman all the way through.”

Resting his elbows on the tabletop, he leaned forward until he could see the flecks of gold in her eyes and rested his hand over hers, letting the warmth sink in. Getting too close, Jonah. “Who’s chicken now, Evie?”

She scoffed. “If this is going to work, we’d need to lay some ground rules,” she said, her tone all business, no bullshit. Her attention flickered to their hands, but she didn’t move. “First rule, touching is permitted only in public and only for show.”

“What kind of touching are we talking?” He waggled a naughty brow, needing to lighten the mood and get back on track convincing Evie that her plan was brilliant.

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I. If this is to work, then we need to set some concrete lines so we are on the same page. So clearly hand-holding is okay.” He flipped his hand over and laced their fingers, testing it. She stiffened but eventually relaxed. “How about cuddles, hip holding, and ass grabbing. All tastefully done of course.”

She yanked her hand back as if bitten by a viper. “How can ass grabbing be tasteful?”

“I am the king of tasteful, trust me.”

She seemed to consider this. “Only if the moment calls for it.”

She blushed. Interesting. The idea of his hands on her ass got her hot and bothered. It made him wonder what else got her motor running.

“Is this moment calling for it?”

“No. Neither is it calling to seal it with a kiss. A handshake will do fine.” Evie stuck out her hand and Jonah took it, then placed a gentle kiss to each knuckle before releasing her hand. She rolled her eyes. “Remember, this is just fake.”

It had to be. Dating in public while having a strict no-sex pact, and then breaking said pact behind closed doors, had the potential to blow up in their faces. When they reached the end of their agreement and things ended, someone could get hurt.

“Any more rules, sunshine?”

“One. And it’s the most important one. No one falls for the other. We both agree that this is a transactional relationship.”

“Am I Richard Gere or Julia Roberts in this scenario?” he wanted to know.

The set of her chin suggested irritation. “This is serious.”

“I am being serious. I’ve always wanted to walk into a store and say ‘Big mistake. Huge.’ Then do a mic drop.”

“As long as you’re wearing a wig and dress, I’m all for it. But this is a tit for tat. Even-steven situation. Nothing more. Got it?”

“Got it. But in case I forget to tell you later. I had a really good time.”