Page 13 of Dumbstruck
The door is going nowhere, so I step back and turn to Dexter. “Who has a key for this thing?”
He shrugs. “Probably Myrna? She’s in charge of the props. But she’s in town with everyone else. I’ve never heard Jonah’s real name…”
I snicker, even though I should focus on getting Jonah out of his predicament. If he really is claustrophobic, this is not the sort of place he should be for long, and he’s probably been in there for at least an hour. “Sounds like it’s prized information. Jonah, how did you get stuck in there in the first place?”
There’s some sharp back-and-forth whispering inside, and then Richie—I think—says, “The ghost locked us in.”
“No,” Jonah says on a groan. “It wasn’t a ghost.”
“But it was!” Richie insists. “I heard her!”
That piques my interest. I’m not a believer in the supernatural, but whatever Richie heard could be helpful in figuring out what happened. “You heard the ghost?”
“We heardsomething,” Jonah says. “Right before someone closed the door behind us. There’s no evidence that points to a ghost. Any updates on getting me out of here, Harper? Dexter?Anyone?”
“What kind of something?” Dexter asks.
“She said we should leave,” Richie says. “Sounded like a banshee.”
“Banshees scream,” Jonah says. “They don’t give people orders.”
“It was a ghost!”
Leaving them to their bickering, I search the vicinity as if I might find a way to get them out of the trailer. Most likely, Dexter will need to go back into town to find this props person and— “Oh!” I say, catching a glint of silver in the dirt. I pick up the key on its little ring and tilt my head, wondering if it was really that easy.
Sure enough, it fits the lock on the side door, unlocking it and letting me pull it open to reveal Jonah lying on his stomach on the floor, his head turned toward us and his eyes brimming with relief. Richie steps over him and makes his escape, but Jonah doesn’t move.
He looks exhausted, and I wonder if Dexter wasn’t kidding about Jonah having claustrophobia. Not that I thought it was a joke, but it looks like Jonah just had the worst hour of his life.
Maybe it’s a bad idea, but I opt for a joke. “You stood me up, Jonah James.”
He manages a weak smile. “Sorry. Can I make it up to you? Maybe not today. Monday?”
I pretend to think about it, but it’s an easy answer. His vulnerability right now as he lies on the dirty trailer floor, sweaty and disheveled, is a good look for the Hollywood heartthrob. “I suppose I could give you one more chance,” I say.
Jonah’s smile is so genuine that I understand why he earned the title of heartthrob in the first place. He’s giving me all sorts of feelings in my chest, feelings I haven’t felt in a long time. He pushes himself up to his hands and knees and crawls over to sit in the doorway. Even in his post-panic state, he’s impossibly handsome, and there’s something new in his eyes that puts a crack in my shield that might be too big to ignore: remorse. Not only did he apologize for missing our date, but he genuinely feels bad about it and is taking responsibility when he doesn’t need to.
My ex apologized all the time, but he never meant it.
Jonah means it.
“I owe you my name,” he says.
“Do I get to hear it too?” Dexter asks.
Oh, I forgot he was standing right behind me.
Jonah chuckles and shakes his head. “Sorry, Dex. Gotta keep some secrets from you or you’ll literally run my life.”
“I already run your life,” Dexter grumbles and heads over to the golf cart, flopping into the driver’s seat.
“You should tell him your name,” I say at the same time Jonah stands and comes to my side.
He chuckles. “Maybe. Eventually. But I like having one or two secrets that he doesn’t know.” Moving slowly, he reaches up and brushes some hair out of my face. I think the slow speed of his movement is as much from hesitation as it is from his exhaustion. He’s being so careful, for which I am grateful.
My body is suddenly on high alert, and I can’t tell if I’m excited or terrified. The feelings are eerily similar, and I hate this uncertainty.
“If I tell you my name,” he says, “do you promise to keep it a secret?”
