Page 78 of Wish You Were Her

Jonah shrugged. “Not sure. They’ve been together for years now. I thought they hated each other when they were at school.”

“Guess you never can tell.”

He grinned at her. “Seems so.”

Allegra glanced across at the bedside table. She slid open its tiny drawer and withdrew a pink device, with two silver balls.

“What is that?” demanded Jonah, with a laugh in his voice.

“Possibly something very dirty. Oh, no, I know! I was sent three of these last year. It’s a skincare thing.”

He eyed her dubiously and, as she pressed a small indentation on the pink body of the device, it began to vibrate which caused both of them to shake with laughter.

“That is not skincare, Allegra Brooks.”

“Yes, it is! Look, I’ll try it on your face.”

“You will do no such thing!”

She slowly dragged the vibrating device up and down his jawline, causing him to grimace.

“It stings.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“It does! It’s tingling.”

“Men are such babies.”

“What exactly is it doing for me?”

She smiled as she took in his beautiful face. The long, dark lashes fanned out on his flawless skin. Dark curls and just the smallest hint of stubble beneath the silly skincare aid.

“Not much,” she said honestly. “You look pretty great already.”

They slept for a few hours. Allegra woke to find him spooning her, with his hand splayed out across her stomach. She normally hated people touching her middle but she didn’t mind when it was him. She had done kissing scenes for work, and she had dated a few people, but nobody made her feel the way Jonah did. It was not just arousal, it was something deeper. She felt him stir, waking as she had done. He kissed her neck and gently turned her chin so he could kiss her face.

She rolled over to take his face in her hands and kissed him again. When she ran her hands through his black hair, he groaned again.

“You’re going to kill me.”

She smiled and then both of them started as the shrill sound of a telephone from downstairs pierced the air. It rang and rang, an insistent new guest in the house. Jonah and Allegra listened as Jasper slipped downstairs, with light ballerina feet.

“Hello, Montgomery residence,” they heard her say.

There was a long, still silence after this greeting. A call late into the night, on a landline, signaled so many awful things.

But nothing could have prepared Allegra for what came next.

Jasper appeared on the landing, the phone in her hand. She registered Jonah’s presence in Allegra’s bed but said nothing about it. “Allegra, your dad would like you to come home.”

Allegra shook her head, confused. “I—how does he know I’m here?”

Jasper’s face was a picture of confusion as she handed the phone over.

“Dad?”

“Come home, Ally. Now, please. Get someone to drive you.”