Page 85 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

“Oh, my God.” Her anger drained away instantly, and she slid into his lap to sit on his good leg. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she cuddled her face into his neck. “I’m so glad you couldn’t. Because I don’t know what I’d do without you, Jonah Abbott. Do you understand that? You cannot leave me.”

He buried his face in her hair. “I kept holding on to life, even though I was sure the world would be a better place if I wasn’t in it. I kept holding on because I had this piece of hope stuck in my head that maybe, one day, I could be with you again, like we are right now. Even after I saw you with Logan, I just…I couldn’t give up.”

She shuddered and clutched him tight, overwhelmed by the thought that she’d given anyone a reason to fight for their own life. “The world would not be a better place without you, Jonah. It would be dark and gloomy, and I don’t know if I’d ever smile again if you left it.”

Their supper officially over, he picked her up and carried her back to the couch. She didn’t complain about his bum leg this time because he seemed determined to carry her everywhere despite how much she objected. And besides, it made her feel as tiny as he said she was.

Back on the couch, they held each other, and eventually turned on the television to watch a sitcom as they lay wrapped together.

At some point, Tess fell asleep, only to wake up to a voice screeching, “Oh, sweet holy hosanna, you have a naked woman in bed with you.”

“She’s not naked.” Jonah slurred out the half-awake argument as he yawned and shifted under her.

Tess lifted her face from his chest to see the silhouette of a guy from the open doorway of the apartment. When the silhouette stepped inside and shut the door, she decided he must be Aubrey.

He pointed to her pants and shirt wadded on the floor by the couch. “Not naked, huh? God, Jonah. I can’t believe you brought home a woman. You are such a whore. You’re supposed to still be hung up on—” As he swaggered closer, he took in Tess and halted in his tracks. “Well, glory be. Curly red hair, big blue eyes, innocent face. You must be Tess.”

Tickled he knew her name just by looking at her, she twisted to sit up and grin at Jonah as he settled beside her. “You talked about me?” And enough to warrant Aubrey’s recognition of her at first sight, too. How amazing.

Jonah rolled his eyes with a moody harrumph. “He forces me to talk. It’s a pain in the ass.”

“Oh, whatever.” Aubrey gave a tickled squeal and rushed forward. “You love me. Now scoot.” He plopped down between the two of them, forcibly wedging them apart so he could sit in the middle.

Tess scrambled to smooth the hem of Jonah’s T-shirt down her thighs, because it wasn’t uncomfortable at all for a complete stranger to sit by her and throw his arm around her while she was wearing nothing but a huge shirt and panties. Yeah, not uncomfortable at all.

But Aubrey didn’t seem to notice. He grinned and touched her face with fingers that were stained with what looked like every color of spray paint. “You have such a clear complexion. I love this skin. It’s like alabaster. Jonah, don’t you just love her skin?”

“I doubt she’d be sitting here in nothing but my shirt if I didn’t.”

Aubrey rolled his eyes and snorted as if that answer was simply too male. Then he turned back to Tess. “Sweetie Pie over here has gushed about you so much I feel like we’re already sisters.”

Tess glowed. She loved hearing how he’d gushed. “I don’t have any sisters,” she admitted. “But I’ve always wanted one.”

“Then you’re adopted.” Aubrey gave her arm a squeeze. “We’re going to have to go shopping together now and rent lots of movies with Channing Tatum in them and eat popcorn while staring at nothing but his perfect little tush and glorious abs for a solid two hours.”

While Jonah groaned and rolled his head onto

the back of the couch, Tess laughed. “Sold. It’s a date.”

“Great. You bring the popcorn. And I’ll whip up some margaritas and—”

“Hey,” Jonah cut in, shoving his roommate off the couch. “If you’ll excuse us, you’re interrupting what is technically our first date.”

“Oh!” Eyes going wide, Aubrey slapped his hand over his forehead, highlighting the fact he had a touch of blue paint on his jaw. “You’re right. I’m so sorry, honey. You two continue. I’ll just adjourn to my room, plug in the iPod, and stay there for the rest of the night. Enjoy him, sweetie.” He tapped Tess’s knee and winked at her. “He’s a good man.”

“Yes, he is,” she said softly. She waited until he was gone and heard the soft click of his bedroom door before she turned to Jonah. “I like your roommate.”

He snorted. “I’ve had worse.”

When they both realized how much worse of a roommate he’d had, Tess shivered. He pulled her close and tucked her head up under his chin. “How’ve you been holding up with all that lately? If you’ve decided to come back next semester, I’m guessing you’re not so scared of campus anymore.”

“No,” she admitted. “Not as scared, anyway. There are still moments I feel like I’m tramping over someone’s grave, like whenever I’m in the food district, but I’ve worked through a lot of it.”

He kissed her hair and smoothed his hand up her arm. “Good. I knew you’d pull through.”

She spent a second just listening to his heartbeat before pulling away and looking up. “I should probably get back. Bailey will worry.”

That was meant to be a joke, but Jonah said, “Or you could just call her. Tell her I’ll get you back in the morning in time for your first class.”

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