Page 24 of The Christmas Cover Rule
His eyebrows pinch together, but then he looks down at the screen and has the fucking gall to laugh. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t want to hearanyof the things that have been said since arriving here.” I turn on my heel, but then stop—I’m not quite done. “And for the record, when I asked why you were still single, that would have been the perfect time to tell me that you are, in fact, not.” I throw my hands up, but don’t trust myself to continue, so I turn to go back inside. My foot hovers in the air, and I don’t even make it one step before the warmth of Jonas’s hand engulfs my wrist, and freezes me to the spot.
“You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
“I’m—”
“I mean, you’re cute all the time, but right now.” He pulls me to stand between his legs, and I rest a hand on his bare shoulder for balance. “Gorgeous,” he says, trailing the palm of his hand up my outer thigh. “Sexy.” His forehead is warm against my stomach, and his hands slide around until his fingers are tracing the underside of my ass.
I melt into his touch, and his answering moan hypnotizes me. His hair is shorter on the sides, but I run my fingers through the top, gripping it at the root as his hands knead into my backside and he pulls me in closer to him. I’m already slick between my legs, and as soon as that realization hits, I push against his chest and out of his hold.
“We-we can’t.”
“Stella.” He says my name like it’s a plea on his tongue. “You’re too fucking smart to think I would be doing any of this if I had a girlfriend.”
“What?”
He smiles, completely disarming me, and my knees are so weak I practically fall into the chair across from him.
“That call was from Taylor,” he says, picking up his phone. “She’s one of my best friends. And this—” he turns his phone to show me a photo of the stunning blonde getting a piggyback ride from a man four times her size, “—is her husband.” His thumb swipes right to a photo of Jonas and the extra-large man, each holding the world’s largest and darkest glasses of beer I’ve ever seen.
I tug at the spaghetti straps of my top, avoiding eye contact when he hands me his phone, and tells me to swipe through the photos of his last trip to Stoney Meadow, Ireland. I feel ridiculous for having such an extreme reaction. And then I’m overwhelmed with the reality of how serious my feelings have become.
“As for the reason I’m single, I just haven’t met someone who’s interested in more than just a Saturday night.”
I am.
The thought of only having a limited number of days left with Jonas physically makes my chest ache.
“Every woman I’ve met sees me as the short-term fun guy, not the long-term relationship guy.”
Now doesn’t feel like the right time to point out that, yeah, I’m sure some women do only see him for a right place, right time situation, but the fact is, the rest probably count their lucky stars from the one night and don’t believe they have a shot in hell with anything beyond that.
He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and his calloused hands cover the tops of my thighs.
“Are we good?”
I bite back my embarrassment and lift my chin slightly.
“Good.” He leans back, taking a slow sip of his coffee before handing me his mug, and says, “Trust me, Mrs. Jonas, you’re my onlygirlfriend.”
CHAPTER 14
jonas
It’s been twenty-four hours since I’ve spoken to Miles, so I’m not surprised when I opened my computer this morning to find I’ve been bombarded by emails from him. I’m not one to show up without new information, and I don’t plan on telling him that my only plan of action at this point is to stage a run-in at the wedding Diego is supposedly attending.
My phone buzzes again, rattling against the wooden table but I ignore it, eyes fixated on Stella. Satin clings to her body in shades of purple, and the hem of her matching shorts barely brushes the tops of her thighs.
“So, no run today?” she asks, reaching for my coffee cup.
“Stella, darling, I’ve already run, showered, and had my coffee this morning.”
“You do too much.” She rolls her eyes and playfully kicks my leg with her bare foot.
I catch it between my hands and press my thumb to her arch. Her head lolls back, and her eyes threaten to close.
“What’s on the Clarke family Christmas vacation agenda today?”
