Page 65 of On the Edge

“I know.” Jonas still looked rather pained, mouth tight. “It’s a miracle to me too.”

“This calls for bacon.” Wren headed back to the kitchen. Phone out, Rowan followed distractedly behind.

“Seriously, you guys okay?” Eric asked me and Jonas. “No…drama?”

“Yeah. Being out is good.” I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of fresh paint and cleaning products.Fresh start.For allof us. I was far more at peace than I could have ever predicted. “And there’s about to be bacon. It’s a good morning.”

“It is.” Eric nodded, but his gaze had shifted from Jonas and me back to the newly redecorated room.

“The room looks good.” I gestured widely. “Thanks for letting Rowan paint.”

“It was time.” Eric’s voice sounded far away.

“Time for you to move back downstairs?” I made the suggestion because for my entire stay in the house, Eric had lived in a tiny room on the third floor. He deserved to reclaim the primary bedroom.

“Let’s not get crazy.” Eric offered up a ghost of a smile. “But the lure of my own bathroom again isn’t a terrible thing.”

“And where are you going if Eric moves downstairs?” Jonas asked as Eric wandered back toward the kitchen.

“Where do you think?” I gave him a meaningful grin, complete with an eyebrow waggle.

“Oh, you think so, do you?” Stepping into the room, Jonas put his hands on my waist as he adopted a scolding tone. “I don’t recall posting a roommate ad.”

“It’s a practical use of the space available here,” I said archly, confident he wasn’t about to kick me out of his bed. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good. I suppose you can stay.” He started to lean in for a kiss, then glanced back at the open door. “This okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, it is.” I gave him a decisive kiss, which turned hot in a hurry. I glanced over at the bed. “Do you have to work today?”

“Nope. I turned down shifts for yesterday and today. Monday is an admin day though.”

“Two days off in a row.” I darted around him to close the door. I didn’t really intend to jump his bones with Eric and theteens in the kitchen, but making Jonas blush bright red was fun. “Let’s get crazy, indeed.”

“I’m going to do that more.”

“Get wild?” Returning to his side, I winked at him.

“Days off. I’ve never been good about putting myself first, but I want to work on it.” He pulled me toward him again. “For us. I want to put us first, and that means not always saying yes to everyone else first.”

“No, it means putting yourself first and then us.” I wagged a finger in his face. “You have needs and goals and dreams too.”

“I guess I do.” Jonas shrugged like he’d never bothered to consider his own desires.

“You do,” I said firmly. “Tell me a secret dream.”

Jonas shook his head like the very notion was silly. “You. Seriously, just having a partner. Someone to do life with. Someone to care about.”

“Okay, you’ve got me for that.” I turned my pointer finger into a magic wand. “And?”

“What do you mean and?” Jonas scoffed. “That’s the dream.”

“It’s hardly a secret one.” I rolled my eyes as everyone who’d ever met Jonas could likely guess he was the relationship type. “Come on, Jonas. Dream big.”

Closing his eyes, he scrunched up his face like letting this much hope in was painful. I held him close, silently encouraging him.

“I have a storage unit,” he said softly. “Sometimes I think about getting a little house. Eric won’t need me here forever. It would be nice to have someone to come home to, a partner like I said, and Oz, of course, and maybe a friend for Oz.”

“Pack of dogs, check.” I kissed him soundly on the cheek. “And I’m a Murphy.”

---