Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“So,” I said, drawing a breath for courage. “What exactly are we doing here?”
I felt his nose go behind my ear, nuzzling affectionately. “I’m not going to pretend it’s only sex between us. I care about you, Ada. It’s fairly obvious, given I nearly gave myself a coronary when I couldn’t get in touch with you tonight.”
I twisted in his arms to look at him. “I care about you, too. A lot.”
A deep, satisfied hum rumbled from his chest. “Good, because I want to give this a proper shot.”
Emotion thickened my throat. “You do?”
I could only imagine what our parents must be thinking if they were looking down on us. Okay, no, I refused to imagine them watching us right at this moment, but I did think Leonora would be rather emotional to know how close Jonathan and I had become. Despite their differences, she’d always wanted him to be happy, to find someone who cared for him like he deserved. Was I that woman? From the way my heart skipped a beat, I knew I wanted to be.
“Don’t you?” Jonathan questioned, eyeing me now.
I nodded. “Yes, I really do. I just worry that—”
His finger went to my lips, shutting me up. “No worries. We’re doing this. We’re taking a chance on each other.” His words were steady, determined, and the confidence in his voice gave me confidence. We were two grown, mature adults. Sure, we might’ve both just lost our parents, but we could make this work. It wasn’t impossible.
“Okay,” I breathed, nervous flutters in my belly. “We’re doing this.” A pause. “I just have one stipulation.”
“Say it.”
“Can we keep things to ourselves for a couple weeks?”
Jonathan frowned. “Why?”
“I just feel like telling people about a new relationship can bring unnecessary attention when we’re still trying to find our footing. Everyone has an opinion, and sometimes those opinions can get into our heads. I think if we just keep it between us until we’ve learned how to navigate being together, it will be better.”
His frown drifted away, his expression softening. “When you put it that way, it does sound prudent.”
“Plus, my mother is coming to visit for Christmas, and she’s always done this weird thing when she meets mine or my sister’s new boyfriends. She even did it with Frances’ husband, Glen, which just makes me cringe every time I remember.”
Jonathan looked perturbed. “What weird thing?”
“Ugh, it’s so embarrassing. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother, but she can be a little immature in certain ways. She’s always been beautiful, it’s like her main ‘thing,’ you know? So, she likes to always feel like the most gorgeous woman in any given room.”
Jonathan scoffed and pressed a kiss to the gap between my shoulder and collarbone. “Not possible when you’re in the room.”
I smiled at the compliment, though it didn’t take away from how Mam’s behaviour bothered me. She was one of those people whose ego was so fragile she needed constant flattery and attention. An enneagram three for sure. It was exhausting when I was younger, and I often resented her for it back then, especially when I brought a boy around, but now that I was almost forty, I’d resigned myself to her behaviour. Her personality wasn’t going to change, and it wasn’t like Jonathan was going to succumb to her silly flirtations.
“Ada, what is it?” he prodded, and I realised I’d fallen into my thoughts.
I grimaced. “Whenever Mam meets my sister’s or my boyfriends for the first time, she acts overly flirtatious and interested. It’s like she has this weird competitive streak and has to prove to herself that our boyfriends would pick her over us, given the chance.”
Jonathan’s hand stilled where it had been stroking my hip. “That is … certainly odd.”
“It’s immature, especially since she feels the need to compete with her own daughters.” I fell silent, bristling at the memory of her meeting Cathal for the first time. We’d gone out to dinner, and she’d kept touching his arm and laughing loudly whenever he’d said anything even remotely humorous. The irritating thing was that if Cathal hadn’t been with me, she wouldn’t have given him a second glance. This side of my mother was something I hadn’t thought about too much in the last few years since I’d been single, but now that I was remembering all the times she’d embarrassed me, I felt my annoyance rising. I especially didn’t enjoy the idea of her flirting with Jonathan. Of all the men I’d been with, I felt most possessive over him.
I cleared my throat. “At least not announcing our relationship so soon might keep her from flirting with you if your paths cross when she visits.”
“Right,” Jonathan said. “It might be a little late for that.”
The statement had me stiffening. “What do you mean?”