Sweet Liar (Candy #2)(89)

He thought it was his fault, and I wished I could say something to make him understand that no one blamed him other than himself.

“Why did you come back?”

He turned and looked at me again. “You. I missed you. And if you missed me half as much, then I knew I was still hurting you. I don’t want to cause you any more pain, Candy.”

Jonah looked at me with so much uncertainty that my eyes filled with tears.

“I think I missed you twice as much. I love you, Jonah.”

His gaze held mine. “Still?”

“Always.”

Jonah stared at me as my heart beat for him, and I could sense some of the weight lifting from his shoulders before his hand came up to caress my cheek. It was something he did before he kissed me, and my chest warmed with anticipation. His eyes were no longer clouded with doubt, and when his lips touched mine, my whole world tilted, changing once again.

My eyes closed as I concentrated on his touch. The fact that he still wanted me seemed too good to be true. I’d dreamed it so many times, only to wake up disappointed. But my dreams never felt like this. Even though Jonah still had a lot to work through, I intended to help him because I loved him. We’d help each other.

“Do you want to come up and see my new place?” he murmured near my ear as he trailed kisses along the side of my neck.

I nodded, unable to answer, too swept up in the sensation of his hands on me. Those warm hands were everywhere, beneath my coat and up my sweater, smoothing over my sensitive skin. My heart was so full, I hardly recognized the sensation, but I wanted to give myself over to it. I wanted to fall into this happiness and stay there forever.

For so long, I’d dwelled on the things I’d lost, taking the constant ache I felt out on anyone who hurt me. But taking revenge never eased that ache, not completely. The cure came from the very last place I expected, from the people in my life who loved me. There were more of those people now than ever before. The loneliness that once hollowed my heart was becoming a memory, one that I wouldn’t forget because I wanted to appreciate what I had and never take it for granted.

Like a wish come true, Jonah and I were together. Wasn’t together the very opposite of alone?

Together.

I liked that word.

***





Two months later





I ran up the steps to Jonah’s apartment and banged on the door.

“Come on,” I muttered, bouncing restlessly on the balls on my feet.

The lock clicked, and the door opened a moment later. I pushed past him to rush inside, and nudged him out of the way so I could close the door and lock it behind me.

“What the hell?” He blinked in the darkness. “It’s after midnight. Is everything okay?”

“Define okay.”

Jonah shot me an exasperated look.

He looked adorably rumpled in sweats and a T-shirt, so I couldn’t help but grin, even though my heart was racing out of control from what I’d just done. Without thinking, I rubbed my sore hand, drawing his attention to it without meaning to.

Jonah closed the distance and took my hand to examine it. “Why are your knuckles raw? Did you deck someone tonight?”

When he moved to turn on the light to get a better look, I cried out, “Stop!”

Freezing, he eyed me sharply. “This has something to do with the training program, doesn’t it?”

After a hesitation, I nodded, knowing he would disapprove. When I thought of what happened tonight, I could still smell the man’s stale breath and picture the tribal tattoos that circled his biceps.

“Talk, Seaborne,” Jonah said, folding his arms over his chest. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Nerves bounced around inside me. “Sure, I’ll tell you. I’m just going to get a glass of water first.”

Turning away, I walked through his shadowy apartment into the tiny alcove kitchen. Too bad it had happened so close to Jonah’s place. If I’d had anywhere else to go, I would have.

Jonah eyed me warily, resting his arms on the bar that separated the kitchen from the main room.

“So, what was the assignment?” he asked. “For my first training exercise, they had me follow some Russian ex-pat who was planning a bank robbery to fund his terrorist activities in Chechnya, or so they thought. Turned out, he was only trying to cash a hefty check a relative sent him. Back in Russia, when you cashed checks that big, the government would lock you up on some bogus charge and confiscate your money.”

“How did you figure that out?” I asked, as the knowledge that I’d botched my first training assignment sank like a rock to the bottom of my stomach.

Jonah shrugged. “After a couple of days, I got bored and just asked him what he was up to.”

I burst out laughing. “Seriously?”

He nodded with a reluctant smile.

Sipping from my water glass, I wished I had Jonah’s laid-back attitude. He had an easy confidence about him that came naturally. My brand of confidence was a lot more abrasive, or so I’d been told.

“Following people is still how they start trainees off,” I explained. “They’ve got me watching the owner of that bowling alley downtown, Living on a Spare. I have no idea why I’m watching him, but he’s seriously creepy.”

“Is that who you decked?”