Chapter Twenty-One

Jonah

Jonah waited until his mom had picked up Waverly for a girls’ day and walked into the family room to talk things out with his son.

Evie was right the other night to be worried about how their arrangement was affecting the kids. Which was why Jonah had given it a lot of thought and decided he’d provide Ryan with a platform to express his feelings on how things progressed from here.

Man, the other night.

This fake relationship was turning into a problem. Namely, that Jonah was no longer a fake-it-till-you-make-it kind of guy. He’d lost that ability when Amber turned down the medical trial and he knew he was going to lose her. Pretending not to feel his feelings seemed like he was robbing them of the time they did have left.

So faking it with Evie suddenly had lost some of its appeal. He hadn’t kissed her because someone was filming them. Hell, once they’d sat down he couldn’t focus on anything but her. He barely remembered what he ate, he was too engrossed in their conversation, hanging on every word she gifted him. He heard her breathy little moans, felt the kiss, and that made all kinds of feelings rise to the surface that he was not ready to deal with.

He should have told Ryan about him and Evie the moment they made the agreement. Finding out his dad was dating would be hard enough. Finding out through the grapevine must have sucked.

It was no wonder the kid was pissed. One minute Jonah was right there with him in the trenches, the next he was rebooting his career and diving headfirst into the dating pool. Or so it seemed. If Jonah had told him directly, Ryan could have gotten pissed or sad or all the emotions that came with seeing the people around you, the people who were supposed to be sharing the same grief, healing and moving forward.

It wasn’t moving on. Jonah would never move on because that implied leaving Amber behind. But he was ready to move forward. Even if it meant engaging in a fake relationship.

It was time he pulled his head out of his ass and helped his son move forward, too.

Ryan was sitting in the middle of the couch, scooched down low, a baseball cap turned backward, and his bare feet propped up. There was a dirty plate, a bowl half-filled with chips that had long since gone stale, and two empty soda cans littering the coffee table. So much for having a counter you could eat off.

Two days was all it took for the house to look like a teenage-sized tornado had blown through it. He ran a tired hand down his face, then entered the room.

Jonah knew that Ryan was aware of his presence, but the kid didn’t even acknowledge him, just kept playing his video game.

“Mind if I join in?” Jonah asked.

The response was a bored shrug, but Jonah would take what he could get, so he picked up the spare controller and sat on the couch. To his surprise, Ryan restarted the game in two-player mode.

All it took was five minutes for Jonah and Ryan to fall back into their Saturday pattern they’d had when Ryan had been younger, playing video games, razzing and joking with each other. Jonah even got a few laughs out of Ryan. It felt good. Normal.

“So I’m guessing you want to talk,” Ryan broached, eyes glued to the screen.

Jonah chuckled. “Am I that obvious?”

“You just don’t play video games anymore.”

That brought Jonah up short. He had hundreds of memories of them sitting on this couch, killing zombies or enemy combatants. “Sure, I do.”

“When was the last time we hung out? Besides family dinner?”

Jonah opened his mouth to say just last week, when he realized that he couldn’t think of the last time it had been just him and Ryan, hanging out and doing guy stuff without Waverly or interruptions.

“You’re right and I’m sorry. I’ve let other distractions suck up my time and that’s on me.”

“Whatever. I get it.”

“But you shouldn’t have to.” Jonah wanted to pause the game but knew that the best way to keep Ryan talking was to play it casual—two guys shooting the shit. “How do you feel about me dating?”

Ryan’s fingers paused ever so slightly on the controller. “You have to start sometime. I guess now is the time,” he said. “Are you going to start inviting her to family dinner and stuff?”

Ryan was ten steps ahead of the reality of the situation. By avoiding the conversation, he’d left Ryan to wonder what family life was going to look like.

“Family dinner is family dinner. And this family is you, me, and Way, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

Ryan’s shoulders visibly relaxed, a clear indicator that he’d been stressing over this. Maybe even hesitating every time he came home not knowing if his family would look different than it had when he’d left for school. Just like when Amber had died. The kid had gone to bed with a mom and awoke to a fractured home.

“How do you feel about it being Evie?”

“I guess if you had to date someone, I’m glad it’s her.”

Jonah released a breath he’d been holding since Ryan’s run-in with Evie the other day. “If you’re not, you can tell me.”

Ryan paused the game to look at Jonah and he could see the honesty in his expression. “She’d never try to take Mom’s spot. Plus, I think Mom would like that you two were together.”

Jonah swallowed thickly. He liked that his son approved of Evie. Until that moment he didn’t know how important it really was.

“You do?” Jonah asked. “Why?”

“She was nice to Mom when Mom was sick and took care of me and Way when Mom died. Mom loved Evie, so I guess it’s okay if you love her, too.”

Relief and panic waged war in his gut. Relief that Ryan thought Amber would be okay with things—encourage it even. Panic because love wasn’t, and never would be, a part of the equation. Sure, he’d kissed Evie because he’d wanted to. And yes, he was attracted to her like a bee to pollen, but their arrangement was there to keep anything more than lust and like to form.

Something he needed to remember.

“I’m not looking for love, kiddo. Evie and I are just seeing where this thing can lead. We enjoy each other’s company, have a lot in common, and have only been on one date—unless you count the dinner I made her.”

Was this where he told his kid the truth? And how would the truth affect Ryan? He’d just told Jonah he liked Evie and thought Amber would approve, and it was all a lie.

“Maybe you should talk to your therapist about this,” Ryan said. “Because it’s kind of weirding me out. Plus, I’ve got practice and have to get ready.”

Ryan flicked off the television and stood, but before he could leave Jonah grabbed him for a hug. To his surprise and delight, Ryan hugged him back.

“I’ve missed this,” Jonah said gruffly.

“Me too,” Ryan said, then pulled back and walked up the stairs.

Jonah made a note to schedule an appointment with his therapist, then swiped off a text because there was someone else he wanted to talk to first. He knew Evie was at work, saw her speed out of the driveway at six that morning. No doubt she was slammed with customer orders, employee gripes, family drama, and possible suitors with roses and promises of Prince Charming ways.

It was the last one that got him typing.

Jonah: How would you like to show off your landscaping prowess?

He reread the text. Delete. Delete. Delete.

Jonah: You want to smell the roses?

“That’s what you’re going to send?” Ryan asked, startling Jonah. He looked over his shoulder to find his son transfixed on his phone.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know that you’re way out of your league with Evie.”

Didn’t he know it.

“Then what do you think I should write?” he asked, wondering if he was desperate enough to take dating advice from a teenager. The answer was a pathetic yes.

Ryan grabbed the phone. “How long have you been dating?”

“Two weeks.”

Ryan shot him a look. “You’ve been dating for two weeks and gone on one date? It’s worse than I thought,” he said. “Where do you want to take her?”

He wanted to take her somewhere that she could relax, that didn’t put too much pressure on the date. Somewhere that was like a coffee date but without the coffee. And he knew just the place. “The garden store.”

Ryan lifted a brow. “Seriously? You’re going to take her to look at manure?”

“I’m going to take her to look at the roses.” She’d been wooed for weeks by pricks bringing her a single store-bought rose. Jonah was going to give her a whole garden shop full of garden-quality roses. Plus, he saw how often she and her mother spent in the yard, knew that she loved gardening, and knew she’d appreciate an afternoon to smell the roses.

Ryan handed over the phone. “Here.”

Jonah’s gaze flew to the screen at the already sent, no permission asked, text to Evie.

Jonah: We’ve been dating two weeks and have only been on one date.

“That’s it? No question? No asking her out?” Jonah asked.

“It’s to the point without cornering her to accept. Women like to have options. And you want her to go out with you because she wants to, right?”

His brain reminded him that the dating was for show. But the rest of him said he wanted her to say yes because she wanted to spend the afternoon with him.

“You’re right. How long do I wait for a response before I just call her?”

Ryan snorted. “Call her? Dad, that’s so last century. You wait. How long she takes to respond will tell you a lot of things.”

“Like?”

“Well, if she answers back in under a minute, think of yourself as the icing. The best part of the cake. They’re into you,” Ryan said. “Fifteen minutes they are still interested but they’re working their way through the cake to make sure they want the frosting.”

He couldn’t believe he was asking, but… “What about longer?”

“Then oven is on, the cake on the center rack, so they know you’re there, they’re just a little sidetracked with other things.”

God, his life had come down to cake metaphors. What was wrong with him? He was about to put his phone away when it lit up.

Ping.

Ryan looked at the phone he was still holding. “Not bad. Forty-five seconds. This is good.”

“What does it say?” Jonah asked.

“She said, ‘Ideas?’”

Jonah threw his hands in the air. “What the hell does that mean?”

“That she’s open but putting the ball in your court to plan it. So what do you have planned?”

“Tell her I’ll pick her up at four,” he said, and Ryan started typing. “Wait, be sure to ask if that works for her. I don’t want her to feel cornered.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “She’s already signed up for the frosting, now she’s looking for confirmation that you know how to frost a cake.”

“Even so, make sure she knows this is on her time.”

“Your life,” Ryan said and hit send. He handed Jonah back his phone but held onto it. “You’re not going to wear cologne, are you?”

“I was thinking about it. Why?”

“It reminds me of Mom. And if it reminds me, it will remind you. I just don’t think Mom would want to be a third wheel. Now go on, Dad. It’s up to you to make it a great second date.”

…

Once Evie agreed to the date, the morning took on a sloth-like attitude, moving so slow Jonah was going to lose his mind. To keep his excitement and nerves under control he decided to send out some resumes, then clean up around the house. It started with the kitchen and family room, and ended with him working in the yard, pulling weeds and prepping it for its makeover.

He hadn’t a clue as to what the final product would look like, but he figured ripping up the dead to make room for the living was a good start. Even though there was a cool fall breeze, summer was still hanging on, leaving Jonah ripe for the picking.

He hopped into the shower, skipped the cologne, and raced out of the house. By the time he hit the car he was sweating again—this time with nerves.

They were taking it date by date, and since this was only date two, he wanted to play it cool so he was picking her up at work rather than the old-fashioned knock at the front door. Plus, she’d just finished her shift. So he’d be picking her up in front of her employees, so there was no going back. Maybe that was why he was so nervous.

He knew what a risk they both were taking with their families, their professional lives, their other relationships. If things went sideways, it could negatively impact their lives, which was the opposite of why they’d agreed to this arrangement in the first place.

So when Jonah got a text from her that she’d meet him at the garden store he knew what that meant. She wasn’t ready to deal with the onslaught of questions that would arise if he’d picked her up at Grinder. It should have given him relief, but for some reason a wave of disappointment washed over him.

Then he looked at what she was wearing, and those nerves were back. He was so out of his league.

She had on a pair of ass-hugging black jeans, knee-high suede black boots, and a light-pink fitted tee. He’d never seen her wear anything like this and he liked it. It was like the girl next door and a biker collided, leaving behind one sexy-as-hell woman.

She was standing by the entrance to the garden and home center surrounded by a bright mosaic of flowers, her hands in her back pockets, rocking back and forth. By the way she fidgeted with her hair he could tell she was as nervous as he was.

“You look incredible,” he said as he approached her.

For the first time since he arrived, she met his gaze. “I do?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, sunshine. You do.”

She looked down at her clothes and laughed. “Don’t let Julie hear you say that or I have to pay her fifty bucks,” she explained. “She actually dressed me. In her clothes. She said I couldn’t go on a date in my work uniform.”

“You would have looked equally as stunning,” he said and meant it. The woman was as sexy all dolled up as she was in sweats sans the makeup and working in her yard.

“Thank you,” she said, and he was pretty certain she was blushing. “I wasn’t sure what to wear, since you didn’t let me know where we were going until five minutes ago.”

“I thought we’d keep it casual and fun, so I picked Everything But the Kitchen Sink.”

“When I saw your text, I was surprised.”

There were those nerves again, stemming from uncertainty. “Unless you’d rather go somewhere else.”

“Are you kidding?” Her smile was so radiant she glowed. “I love this place. I can’t even think of the last time I came here with time to peruse.”

“I figured we could check out some plants for my yard and maybe I can get you a rose bush for your garden.”

Her lashes fluttered. “You want to buy me a plant?”

“I figure all the other guys brought you roses, so I wanted to get you something, too. But something that will last.”

She nibbled at the lower lip he wanted to kiss. “You don’t have to buy me anything.”

“It’s something I’d do for my girlfriend and since we’ve been dating two weeks, I figure it’s time to start wooing you.”

“Hang on.” Without another word she raced to her car.

What had just happened? Had the plant been too big a gesture? Right as his brain was spinning with all the possible scenarios of that moment—like if she was going to come back or bail—she was back at his side.

“I have a present for you. It isn’t anything big, and I’ve been sitting on it because I didn’t know how to give it to you, but the moment seems right.” She handed over a poster-sized, rolled-up tube of paper.

“Are you gifting me your Nick Carter poster?” he teased.

She snorted. “You wish.” Her smile was shy. “If you hate it, it won’t hurt my feelings.”

Whatever it was he knew he wouldn’t hate it. Hell, even if it were a Carter poster he’d hang it above his bed. But it wasn’t a poster—it was blueprints.

“What is this?” he asked quietly.

“I had some ideas that I think would make your yard look nice. I’m nowhere near a professional landscaper, but I was just sitting at the kitchen table and this idea popped into my head. It will look like you spent top dollar but no one will know you’re on a tight budget.”

It wasn’t just an idea. It was a full-on master plan for both his front and back yards. It was gorgeous—and affordable. He hated that she had figured out his financial woes, but in a way, it felt nice to have someone to talk to about it. “This must have taken you hours.” Hours he knew she didn’t have to spare.

She shrugged it off, but he knew that this was more than just blueprints. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it confused the hell out of him.

“You didn’t have to do this,” he said.

“I wanted to. I was so hard on you about your yard. Think of this as an olive branch.”

Oh, it was more than an olive branch, but he’d dissect that later. “Is this because you want me to kick my butt into high gear?”

“Yes and no. I did this because I wanted to. But I also have some skin in the game.”

“I knew there’s more to the story than concrete-staining pomegranates and rats in the roses.”

She looked away, guilt etched in every beautiful feature on her face.

“Spill. What’s going on? Why is this so important to you?”

She sighed as if hesitating, then lowered her voice as if she was about to impart secrets of national security. “You have to promise not to say a word to anyone. Only one other person on the planet knows what I’m about to tell you.”

He took her hand. “You can trust me.”

At the word trust she flinched ever so slightly, and it made him wonder just what kind of assholes she’d been spending time with.

She looked over her shoulder, as if expecting to find an influencer with their phone poised to record her every word. “My mom is turning sixty in a few weeks and I’m throwing her a surprise party.”

“She’ll love that.” He didn’t know a lot about Moira, but he knew that she loved to be the center of attention.

“She can smell secrets from a mile away. When I was a kid, Christmas was a joke. She’d just pick up a box and smile, as if she already knew what was inside. And she did!”

“And you want to really surprise her?”

“Yes. She surprises everyone. And you know what they say about how people do for others what they wish someone would do for them?”

He didn’t think that she realized how much insight she’d just given him into her mind. Evie was the queen of accountability, always being there for her loved ones and helping carry the load. Did that mean she wished someone would do that for her?

“I want to do that for her. I want it to be a garden party at the house with all her friends and family. And I want it to be perfect.”

Now he understood why she’d been so upset the night of the board meeting. “And my yard would be an eyesore that would bring your party down—and not to mention the rats.”

She sank her teeth into her lower lip. “Yes.”

“Why weren’t you just straight up with me?”

“I already told you. The more people who know, the greater the chance that my mom finds out and the surprise element is ruined.”

That was part of the story, but his gut said she wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

“You didn’t think I’d care,” he guessed, and the look on her face said he’d hit the nail on the head. Guilt washed over him. Had he really pushed things so far that she thought he’d purposefully sabotage her party?

“I don’t think you’re an asshole, Jonah,” she said and, thank God, it seemed she meant it. “I just didn’t know if you were ready and I felt guilty that I needed you to be ready. Then Karlson kept calling and I took the easy way out and blamed it on the Beautification Board.”

“So when that backfired and they gave me six weeks I blew your plan?”

Her silence was all the answer he needed and, man, he felt like a jerk. He was starting to realize just how many people derailed her plans on a daily basis. Little things like sleeping in. Big things like going to college and quitting a job she clearly loved. He didn’t want to be one more person who made her life complicated.

“I will have the yard done by the time the party is here.”

Her eyes lit with unexpected surprise. “Really?”

He cupped her cheek. “Really, sunshine.”

She visibly swallowed and he could see the pulse at the base of her neck pick up. “You don’t have to do my proposed plan. I meant what I said. If you hate it, no harm, no foul.”

“I love it.”

It was the perfect solution to his problem. And he was starting to think he’d found another perfect solution. Too bad it wasn’t real.

“Now how about we go pick out a rose bush.”

“My mom loves roses. I’m more of a peony kind of girl.”

“I have no clue what a peony is, but I’m treating you to the biggest one they have.”