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“Exactly,” Steve agreed. “The only thing you’ll be losing is our next poker game.” Now that Cohen and I both had homes, we alternated between our two places for a weekly poker game. We never played with money and spent more time drinking beer than actually playing, but it was a ritual I never wanted to end.
We sat and bullshitted for the remainder of my lunch break. But even when our lunch was done, I couldn’t get the idea of taking Mara on a date out of my head. Would it be a terrible mistake or the best decision of my life? I wouldn’t know unless I tried.
On my way back to the office, I called Mara, and she answered within a few rings. “Hello?”
“Hey,” I said, already smiling at the sound of her voice. “How did today go?”
“It was great. Your mom and I talked about books, and she even helped me get through a plot hole I’d been worrying about.”
The fact that she didn’t bring up the technician made me far too happy. Time to bring myself down to earth. “Did you get in touch with the security company?”
“About that...” She let out a sigh. “No amount of sweet talking or bribery will get them to my house until the end of next week. Which means I either need to buy a gun or ask Birdie and Cohen if I can stay with them. Or maybe I could ask Henrietta. She lives with her parents, but maybe she wouldn’t mind sharing a bed for a little while...”
“Why would you stay with them? You’re more than welcome to stay with me.”
“Jonas...”
“Seriously. I don’t mind having you at all.”
“Really,” she said. “You’ve already done so much for me.”
My chest felt tight at the thought of losing her already. I knew I would miss her the second I couldn’t smell her on my sheets. “I haven’t done nearly as much as what you’ve done for me and my family. You should have heard Mom when I called her earlier. She was so happy and said she had a great time with you.”
“That may have something to do with the hot technician,” Mara said. “We were both a little smitten.”
My laugh came out strangled. “Is that so?”
“He was a little forward, leaving me his number even though we clearly said I was Riah’s son’s girlfriend.” She made a tsking sound. “He obviously doesn’t know I’m a committed woman.”
She was joking, but I wished it were true. I just needed to come out and say it. Stop making things complicated, like Chester had advised. “Stay with me.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Okay. But can you come by my house with me to get my things?”
“Of course. I can come by after work and then let’s go out to eat?”
“Like at Waldo’s?”
I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel. “I was thinking La Belle.”
“I’ve been missing their tiramisu!”
Well, she wasn’t exactly saying yes to me so much as dessert, but I’d take it. “Meet you at my house at six?”
“It’s a date.”
22
Mara
Confession: Sometimes I like a man to take control.
I’d been havingsuch a good day until the security company told me they wouldn’t be able to come until late the following week.
I hated needing people, but I knew if I stayed at my house my anxiety would be out of control. The thought of my dad just showing up unannounced in the middle of the night made me want to run away from here and start a new life somewhere he couldneverfind me.
I used to think he didn’t care enough to ever come after me, but clearly I had been wrong.
No matter how hard it was to admit, I felt better being at Jonas’s house, under his wing, with his front door video camera and the sign in the yard that saidProtected by Stonewall.But it wasn’t just that. Jonas had such a calming presence. When I was around him, everything felteasier. Even if it was so much more complicated.