Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(45)

A moment later, he appeared in the entryway. “All clear.”

I glanced around hesitantly. “Are you sure?”

“He’s not the type to cower in the closet or hide under the bed, so I’m reasonably sure.”

My spine stiffened. “You’re making fun of me?”

He shook his head, but didn’t meet my eyes. “No. I’m making lousy jokes because I don’t like seeing you so upset.”

Raking a hand through his hair, he glanced down when Pumpkin walked past him on his way to me. I bent down and stroked the cat’s back, causing him to purr. When I stood up, Pumpkin went over to Jonah.

After giving me a look of surprise, Jonah bent down and skimmed his hand along Pumpkin’s back. “I think he’s getting to know me.”

Not missing the irony in the fact that Pumpkin seemed to trust Jonah now when I couldn’t, I took off my coat off and hung it in the closet. When I turned around, Jonah was staring at me.

“You look nice.”

“Thanks.” Self-conscious, I smoothed my hand over my skirt. Usually I preened happily when given a compliment, but with Jonah I got shy, maybe because it meant more to me.

His gaze moved from my body up to my face, his expression appreciative but wistful. “You also look exhausted. You should probably get some sleep.”

I was exhausted, but not in a way that any amount of sleep would cure. “So . . .” I hedged. “You’re going to sleep here?”

“I said I would. Is that okay?”

I exhaled with relief and nodded. “Do you want to sleep on the couch? Or there’s my father’s bed.”

He shook his firmly at my second suggestion. “I’ll take the couch.”

“If you don’t want to lie in his bed, you could still borrow some pajamas from him. I promise they don’t have cooties.”

With a small smile, he hitched up one shoulder. “Okay, as long as you promise.”

After leaving a pair of clean pajamas in the bathroom for Jonah and a new toothbrush I found in the cabinet, I brought some blankets and a pillow out to the couch. It was a long sectional that could easily accommodate his height, so I didn’t feel too bad about him sleeping on it.

I was still dressed when he came out of the bathroom in my father’s red-and-blue flannel pajamas, a button-down shirt and drawstring pants. But the pants were a few inches too short, as were the sleeves. I couldn’t help my soft giggle.

“Laugh it up, Seaborne. But I happen to know you wore Hello Kitty pajamas not so long ago.” He pointed to a picture on the buffet table. He was joking. I was only a kid when it was taken.

Jonah walked over to the couch and saw how I’d made it up for him. “Looks comfy. Thanks.”

He was being so nice about this. His niceness in the face of everything shouldn’t have surprised me anymore, but it continued to anyway.

“Thank you for staying. It’s just for one night, though. I mean, until you talk to your father and make sure he’s not planning any more surprise visits.”

His hazel eyes softened. “Let’s not worry about that yet. Right now, you look like you’re going to fall over if you don’t get some sleep.”

A yawn was my response. It made him smile.

“I think you’re right. Good night, Jonah.”

He looked at me, his gaze seeming to reach inside my chest and tug at my heart. I was filled with something that felt like longing. Was that what this was? Longing, regret, fear? They all seemed to be there, and if I wasn’t mistaken, his eyes telegraphed the same emotions to me.

It was hard to look away and walk into my bedroom. I wanted to stay and talk with him, to just be around him. Despite his telling me to go to sleep, if I stayed I knew I’d be welcome. But the same thing that prevented me from telling Jonah about my dinner tonight had me tearing my gaze away.

Lorraine was right about Jonah. He was under Victor’s thumb, and I could only imagine how Victor had accomplished that. Fear and years of brainwashing, maybe. Pretending to be someone he wasn’t in front of his son. Painting a picture of himself that wasn’t true, and manipulating the emotions of a boy who’d been injured by his mother before he lost her. I felt desolate just thinking about it.

Jonah had all of my sympathy, but unless he could break away from his father, I couldn’t risk giving him any of my trust.

***





It was three in the morning when a sound woke me. Pumpkin jumped off the bed and trotted toward my closed bedroom door. The events of last night came back to me, and my stomach jumped when I realized the noise was coming from the kitchen. As I stayed under the covers listening, I could hear the familiar noise of the coffeemaker burbling, and I relaxed. I doubted Victor would break in and stop to make himself coffee.

Awake now, I decided I might as well see why Jonah wasn’t sleeping. As I came out of my bedroom, I found him just settling down on the couch in the living room with a mug in one hand and the television remote in the other.

“Can’t sleep?” I asked.

He turned to face me. “No. Sorry if I woke you.”

“You didn’t,” I lied, not wanting him to feel bad.

As I walked around the couch to sit beside him, I was struck by how vulnerable Jonah looked. His hair was sticking up in the back, and he needed a shave. The pajamas he wore were too small, and his face was pinched, like worry was his new best friend.