Page 50 of Those Who Are Bound

Who I am is scarier.

He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

Elliott shrugged and took a deep breath, gathering the pieces of her wall, her defense, her comfortable façade, and clicking them back together. “I’m usually more controlled.”

Jonah watched her for a minute, and then said softly, “Right, my little control freak. Well, that’s too bad.”

She let out a disbelieving laugh. “What?”

“That’s too bad, because the real you with real emotions is more interesting than the façade, no matter how amazing you look with your boxing gloves on.”

Elliott pushed her hair to the side and sat back in the chair, mimicking his pose; she felt drained. But her itch to jump in an Uber wasn’t as strong. There was something settling about being in his presence, even when he was calling her out.

She said honestly, “I don’t know what to think about today.”

“My favorite day with you so far.”

She was unconvinced.

He said in a low tone, “I’m discovering who you are. It’s the best day I can think of.”

Bemused, Elliott shook her head. “Not much rattles you, does it?”

“What should be rattling me? I’m getting what I want. And I beat you at Frisbee golf.”

She looked away. “The one person on Earth who’s a Frisbee champion,Ichallenge to Frisbee golf.How many of you exist? Ten?”

Jonah laughed. “It really is a thing. You can look it up.”

Elliott was staring at him like he’d told her he was from Mars.

“If you’d cyber-stalked me…”

“Wouldn’t that have been cheating?” Then she asked, “Do you have a Wikipedia page?”

“No, but it’s mentioned on the store’s website.”

“At least you know I’m not a cheater by going to Google.”

“You probably should have, just to be sure I wasn’t a criminal.”

Elliott reached for another slice of the pizza. Becks had pretty much said the same thing.

“Tell me your favorite childhood memory.”

Elliott’s eyebrows shot up. She finished chewing and said, “Oh, wow. I have a lot.I don’t know if I can pick a favorite.”

He shrugged. “A happy moment.”

“Mm, sitting on the dock at Jacksonville Naval Air Station and seeing a manatee for the first time. It was just my dad and me. It was magical. He had us get on our bellies on the dock, and I was able to pet it. The whole time, he had his arm around my waist—not that a manatee would pull me into the water—but I was his little girl, and he wasn’t taking chances.” Elliott smiled at the memory. “I remember feeling safe. Dad always made me feel safe.”

Jonah commented, “Your eyes glitter like diamonds when you’re happy.”

Blushing, Elliott dropped her gaze.

Damn, dude.

“I hope to put that look in your eye more often.”

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