Page 14 of Adored By Jonah

“It’s you. Everything about you that makes you the woman you are. Those tiny things that separate you from the rest. I’m addicted to you and I can’t hold myself back. I want you, and Gracie, the whole damn package.”

“You think you want these things right now, but you’ll change your mind when things get boring. You’ll want something more exciting that I can’t give you. But this is what you get with me. I’m schedules and structure and stability. Jonah, my daughter is the most important person in my life and I’ll give her one hundred percent of me to make sure she has a better life than I did. Any man that comes into our lives will have to be okay with that and know that he will never be my top priority, and no man ever will be.”

“The right man would never ask you to choose. He’d feel blessed to be along for the journey.”

Shaking my head I look away from him to stare at my daughter. Could I one day love Jonah? Probably. He’s a sexy man who seems like a great guy. Am I willing to go through what I went through with Mark for a second time? I fear with Jonah it would hurt a hell of a lot more.

I feel Jonah scoot closer and I turn to see him lift my hand to his lips, kissing the top of it. “I’m going to prove to you I’m that man. Will you give me the chance?”

“Why are you trying so hard?” I growl. Why won’t he give up on me?

Instead of grinning like I expect him to, he stares deeply into my eyes, into my soul. “I’d be an idiot not to.”

“You’ve got one chance, Jonah.”

“One is all I need.”

Chapter Five

Jonah

It’s beena few weeks since I dropped by Maddie’s with donuts for her and Gracie. I’ve seen them almost every day since then. Usually, I’m stopping over after work to spend time with them. Sometimes I bring dinner, but most times Maddie cooks. She’s not the best cook, but I swallow it and pretend it’s the best damn thing I’ve ever eaten. It doesn’t matter if she can cook or not, I can’t either, but we’ll make it work. She even let me pick Gracie up from school last week when Ally was sick and couldn’t do it.

We spent this past Saturday up at the lodge, playing in the snow and going down the bunny hills with Gracie. It was a perfect day that ended with pizza in my cabin and Gracie falling asleep watching a movie while Maddie and I got lost in conversation deep into the night. Gracie and Maddie stayed in my guest room and when I woke up in the morning, my girls were making breakfast in the kitchen for us. It’s getting harder and harder to leave them every night, and I can tell Maddie is feeling it too.

I’ve never felt as connected to another person as I do Maddie. I desire her in a way I’ve never desired another woman before. My need for her to be permanently mine grows by the minute, but I’ve been holding back out of fear of pushing her too fast. If I could I’d marry her and adopt little Gracie as soon as she’d let me. She’s not ready for that, not after the shit her ex Mark put her through. If I were a violent man, he’d have already been in the ground. One day, hopefully soon, Maddie and Gracie will have my last name and we’ll add more to our family. Until then, I’ll be by their side protecting them from the world and doing my best to make them happy.

Something has been bothering Maddie for the last few days and every time I ask her about it she brushes it off like it’s nothing. If it were nothing I wouldn’t feel her pulling away from me. I don’t know what to do. I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach that if I do nothing, I’ll lose them. I won’t let that happen. It can’t, not when I know we are perfect for each other.

I’m sitting at my desk in my office trying to figure out what to do about Maddie, when Justice walks in and goes straight to his desk.

“What’s up with you?” He asks, turning his chair to face me.

Not one to beat around the bush I come straight out with it. “Something’s wrong with Maddie, but she won’t tell me what it is.” I say staring blankly at the spreadsheets I pulled up twenty minutes ago.

“Maybe it’s that time of the month,” Justice laughs awkwardly.

I look up at him as my brows pull together. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

Justice grabs a stress ball off his desk and chucks it at my head, but I duck before it lands. “Shut up. I know things.”

“You know things?” I ask, throwing my head back laughing. “What kinds of things?”

Justice rubs the back of his neck and looks at the wall. “You know, things about women.”

“Tell me oh wise one, what do you know about women?”

“Fuck off,” he growls and turns around.

“Shit, I’m just messing with you Justice. What were you trying to say?” I ask, picking up the ball and tossing it at his back.

Sighing, Justice turns and faces me. “All I’m trying to say is maybe it’s hormones or something. Trust me, Delaney has all kinds of hormones right now. Something will be wrong for a couple of days and then I find out she’s sad that I used all the milk and she couldn’t have cereal for breakfast three days ago.”

“She was mad at you for drinking all the milk?”

“Hormones man, they are killer.”

“I don’t envy you man.”

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