Page 44 of Starting Over in Cedarwood

His irritation rose. “It’s still new, but yeah.” He wasn’t lying. The passion between them was strong and he believed it was love.

“Ah, so you’re living together and fucking like rabbits. Does he know you’re talking to me? That you still have my number in your phone?” Jonah asked.

“Stop.” He wasn’t in the mood for this shit.

“Come on, Shaun. Be honest. Why not delete me? I’ll bet he doesn’t know your secrets.”

He’d had enough. Jonah could be a manipulative shit when he wanted to and this wasn’t the time to push. “First, I want my pictures back, and I’ll meet you in Ashland at the truck stop to get them. As for Kevin, we’re good. We are in a great place and happy, so don’t ruin it. Got me? Don’t be this way.”

Jonah snorted. “Who says I’m beingthat way? I just asked,” he said. “When do you want to meet?”

“How about Wednesday? I’m available after three.” He just wanted to get this over with.

“Four on Wednesday. I’ll be there,” Jonah said. “Should I wait in the car or inside? I don’t want you to be disgusted by seeing me.”

“Wait in the food court.” Jonah would have to add the little derogatory comments. The ass.

“We used to be good together, Shaun,” Jonah said. “We used to make each other happy. Where did we go wrong?”

“You wanted to sleep around.”

“I never wanted to get married,” Jonah said. “You assumed the sleeping-around part. You never asked me for clarification.”

Shaun thanked God he was sitting down. Jonah’s declaration would’ve knocked him over if he hadn’t been seated. “Wait. You had a boyfriend and I remember meeting him.”

“You did, but not until after we split.”

Not true.

“I didn’t invite you to meet him until after we were done because I wanted to know it was the truth,” Jonah said.

Something didn’t feel right. He remembered meeting a guy—Stephen or Karl, or maybe it was Dave—but he and Jonah hadn’t split yet. He recalled the guy coming over to the house they were renting and Jonah explaining Shaun and the man should be friends.

“Yeah, I thought you’d forget,” Jonah said. “I want to see you. I miss you and miss us. It’d be good to have a bit of time together.”

“I suppose.” Closure would be nice. “Just be there on Wednesday.” He’d have to tell Kevin soon. He doubted Kevin would be upset, but still. They had to be open with each other. Jonah was his past and Kevin was his future. He was starting to understand what love was and it defined his feelings for Kevin.

“I’ll see you and I will bring the photos,” Jonah said. “Bye, Shaun.”

“Bye.” He hung up. Shaun closed his eyes and rested his head against the cushion.Well, fuck.He’d thought Jonah was out of his life. Thought he’d moved on, but Jonah had found a way to pull him back in. That was Jonah, though. He lived for the push-pull. One day he never wanted to see Shaun again, then the next he missed Shaun.

Jonah probably did have photographs and could be acting nice enough to give them back, but the story didn’t make sense. If Jonah knew about the photos, had he really found them a month ago? Why not call before now? When he and Jonah were together at the end of their relationship, they couldn’t be in the same room at the same time because Jonah had thought he was fucking every other guy there.

He rubbed his forehead. He and Jonah did want different things. Jonah wanted to be with everyone and his actions spoke to his desires. For someone who said he hadn’t been sleeping around, why had Shaun found him in bed with someone else three different times?

He shoved the phone away and closed his eyes. Why did his ex want to fuck with him?

Because Jonah can.

Shaun sighed. He wished he were at Kevin’s so he could pet Leo. The cat gave him comfort. Plus, it meant he’d be there to see Kevin when he got home.

He groaned.Fuck.He needed to tell Kevin right now about Jonah. He slapped for the phone, then grabbed the device. He should check the score to see if Kevin would even be available. What was the schedule for the team like on Wednesday? Maybe Kevin could come with him.

He scrolled through the remaining dates.Shit.A game on the meeting day. Hopefully Kevin wouldn’t care about the quick meet-up and would give him strength.

Shaun left the sofa and made himself a snack. He wasn’t hungry, but needed to eat something. Once he returned to the living room, he turned on the stereo. Right now, he needed music to soothe his soul. His phone buzzed with a new email.

He tapped the icon to check the message. It was from Tony, the realtor. According to the message, he’d been given time slots to view each of the five houses he’d sent inquiries in for and Tony would be happy to help him.

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