by West, Dahlia
Behind them, someone laughed and Jonah saw Abby, in Tex’s arms, grinning and blushing furiously. Jonah wasn’t certain what he’d said that was so funny, but he gave the couple a smile and a nod anyway.
Sienna followed his gaze. “You know them?”
“Sure. They came into the shop not long ago.”
Sienna wrinkled her nose and Jonah didn’t like it, not one bit. It was more than obvious that she was eyeballing Abby, mentally comparing herself to the tall, curvy redhead. It was also more than obvious that Sienna was somehow finding herself lacking. Jonah couldn’t have that. “Sienna—”
“Him or her?” she demanded.
Jonah bit the inside of his lip and wished she wouldn’t ask. It didn’t matter. He didn’t care. “I said, they both did.”
“Yeah, but who got what?” Sienna pushed.
He sighed. “She did. I pierced her. At his request,” he added, to make sure Sienna knew Tex had been in the room.
Sienna’s jaw dropped. “You pierced her? Where? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Oh, God.”
“It’s just a job, Sienna. It means nothing.”
“They get naked for you, you touch them. Everywhere.”
Jonah leaned down and rested his forehead on her. He looked right into her clear green eyes and said, “You are the only one I want naked. If I haven’t made that clear, I’ll just go ahead and do it now, before we start. You are The. One. Sienna.”
She blushed, hesitated, but then asked, “Before we start what?”
“Hmm?”
“You said before we start. Before we start what?”
“Our story, Sienna. The story of us.”
“Our story’s already started, Jonah. It started the night my snow globe broke.”
He cupped her face in one hand and ran his thumb along her cheekbone. “Well, now we’re getting to the good part.”
Jonah pulled her close and breathed in her scent. Sandalwood, warm and dark. Memory flooded his mind and he closed his eyes; the scene in his head was better than the one before his own eyes. Because in that one, they were alone, dancing together in the dark. The twinkle of lights above them became stars and the flooring below their feet turned to grass.
Chapter Seventeen
Sienna was crying and it was breaking his heart. Jonah lay across his bed and listened to her sob in Ava’s bedroom. Over fucking Aaron Granger, no less. He hadn’t shown up, wasn’t answering his phone. Sienna had begged her mother for the prom dress, had run across the yard twirling and laughing, excited to be the only sophomore invited to the prom. “The senior prom!” she’d proudly told Ava. “Not the skanky old junior prom, but the senior prom. With Aaron Granger.”
Ava did a good job hiding how jealous she was. And Jonah indeed thought she was genuinely happy for her friend. And genuinely miserable now, sharing Sienna’s heartbreak that Granger hadn’t come yet to pick Sienna up.
He wouldn’t be coming. Not tonight, not ever. Jonah had made sure of it.
It was tempting to get up and barge into the room and tell her why. The only thing that bothered Jonah more about the crying was who she was crying for. That bastard wasn’t worth a single tear. A kick in the nuts maybe, and though Sienna wasn’t the type to deliver it, Ava definitely was.
So, Jonah wouldn’t make a full confession, not even to save Sienna’s tears. It wouldn’t work anyway, because once she knew the truth, she’d be crying for a different reason. And Jonah wouldn’t allow her to be hurt any more than was absolutely necessary.
Hard to know where Granger was right at the moment. He might still be in the ER for all Jonah knew. Jonah had heard the crunch of bone when he’d body-checked Granger into the row of lockers. Tomorrow, he’d be sporting a cast on his arm. No telling what excuse he’d give as to how he’d gotten hurt.
Jonah was confident the truth wouldn’t come out. For lots of reasons.
He’d successfully ignored Granger for the last five years, not out of any kind of fear of a second round. After the fight on the basketball court, Jonah had hit the gym. Almost every day. He outweighed Granger by a hell of a lot more than just twenty-five pounds now. But Jonah had promised Mom no more fighting and he meant to keep that promise as best he could.
It was just the shitty circumstances of Jonah’s fucked-up life that Granger just happened to be interested in Sienna. There was no way the asshole could know about Jonah’s special interest in her. Jonah was content to let the dickhead go about his daily life, scumbag that he was, without ever crossing paths again, but once he’d overheard them talking about Sienna, all promises were null and void.
Granger was a cherry hound. He’d added four to his collection since starting his senior year. It was two more than Matt Bennett, and that gave him something to crow about. But he was tied with Tommy Boyles for the lead and Granger’s four-wheeler was on the line. Jonah didn’t know what the other two had offered up in the bet.
In an effort to tie things up, Granger’s latest conquest was a seventh-grader who now kept blowing up his phone. He’d called her a slutty little bitch and hung up on her.
That alone was reason enough for Jonah to do what he did.
But Granger had now set his sights on Sienna to pull ahead in the game. He thought she was shy, but she was just preoccupied, dealing with her mother and her mother’s recent bout of job-hopping. Granger thought she was a virgin, and he was right about that. Not that Jonah had tried to find out, but the walls in the Stark house were thin and the girls sometimes talked all night. Granger thought she’d be an easy lay, impressed by his status as a football player and maybe even Prom King.
Granger also thought Sienna was unprotected, but he was dead wrong about that one.
Jonah had fought the urge to kill the asshole outright. He’d beaten Granger’s ass, though. And afterward, he’d made sure that Sienna never, ever found out that she had simply been a pawn in a sick, fucked-up game. Boyles and Bennett had witnessed the entire beat down. Jonah had made it crystal fucking clear that if anyone said a single word about what had happened or why, he’d be back for the two of them as well.
Boyles had raised his hands in surrender, had declared himself a lover not a fighter.
Jonah very much doubted the dude’s prowess at either but took him at his word. Now he was stuck, though, listening to Sienna cry over being stood up and not knowing why or what she’d done to deserve it.
“I can kick his ass,” Ava offered.
Jonah thought she’d change her mind once she saw how Jonah had left him. He’d been right about Ava trying, though. Jonah had no doubt that Granger would’ve taken a swing at her, and Jonah would’ve had to beat him anyway.
Either way, Granger had dug his own grave by involving Sienna.
“Forget it,” Sienna said loudly. “Forget him!” She didn’t sound very convinced, though, and Jonah felt bad. “I’m going home.”
“You could stay,” Ava offered.
Jonah admitted to himself that he preferred it when Sienna was under the same roof. He slept better for knowing it.
“No. I just want to be alone.”
Jonah’s jaw twitched as he heard the bedroom door open next to his own. Sienna shouldn’t be alone. Jonah should be alone. Ava could be alone, if she wanted, which happened sometimes. But Sienna wasn’t built to be alone, she just wasn’t made that way. When Linda stayed out too late drinking, Sienna sometimes snuck across the yard and stayed with Ava.
He didn’t want her to be alone again.
Jonah got up off the bed and opened his bedroom window.
Sienna had already gone out the Starks’ back door and was halfway across the shared lawn, headed toward home.
Jonah climbed out and jogged through the short grass after her.
“Sienna,” he called softly, hoping she heard him.
She did, though he’d startled her. She swiped at her cheek and looked away.
Jonah looked down at his sneakers as he approached her, to give her time to pull her
self together. By the time he reached her, she’d smoothed out her hair and dried her face. He stood in front of her awkwardly, unsure what to say now that he had her here.
Sienna also seemed unsure. “He ditched me,” she said, stating the obvious because there wasn’t much else.
“He’s an asshole, then.”
True enough, Aaron Granger was a certified asshole and Sienna could do much, much better. She would, too, Jonah knew. Standing here in front of her, even in the dark, he could see how pretty she was in her green ankle-length dress. Any guy would be lucky to have her.
Sienna didn’t seem to think so, though. “Was it a joke?” she whispered.
“What?” he asked, stunned.
She shrugged like it didn’t matter, but her eyes flashed angrily. “A thing that seniors do. Ask a sophomore to the prom and then make her wait all night.”
Jonah was silent a moment, considering his words carefully. “If it is, then the joke’s on him… because he missed out on you.”
She shook her head and tugged at her dress. “I feel so stupid.”
Jonah watched her pluck anxiously at the fabric. It had cost a fair bit, he knew, and though she had no date, she did look amazing in it.
He hadn’t looked at her this way before, had never allowed himself. She’d gone from kid-next-door to knockout under his watchful eye. “Well, you look beautiful,” he told her.
She scoffed at him. “There’s no one to see.”
“I see you.”
She gasped and looked up at him.
Jonah bit down on his lip. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I didn’t mean that. I didn’t mean to remind you of that.”
She searched his eyes. “You saved me.”
He took a page from her book and shrugged, even though he felt the familiar anger rising up. “Anyone would have done it.”
“But no one else did. Only you. You saved me, Jonah.”
It was true that Paul had never come back to the Rhodes’ house after that morning. He’d summarily dumped Linda and disappeared from their lives. Even though he was gone, and had been for years, Jonah stood vigil—or sat at his desk, rather—night after night, watching her bedroom light, making sure that no one ever hurt Sienna.
He’d failed tonight, because she was crying, but she’d gotten the lesser of the two evils and that was the best he could do.
Maybe.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t go,” he told her. And he was, sort of. He wanted good things for her, he wanted her to have fun.
“I just wanted to dance,” she replied. “That was all I wanted.”
Jonah couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so he said the dumbest thing possible. “I’ll dance with you. Right here.”
She didn’t laugh and he thought that was nice of her. But she did say, “There’s no music.”
“Sure there is.” He put a finger under her chin and lifted it so she could see the sky above them. It was the first time he’d touched her in a long, long time. The first time he ever felt anything other than simply protective of her. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
“Did you know stars have music of their own?” he said quietly. “If you point a powerful-enough microphone at them, you can even record it.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Electromagnetic waves. People have their own song, too.”
She stepped closer and put her head on his chest.
Jonah wrapped his arms around her waist and gently swayed with her.
“Do we have our own song?” she asked. “Standing next to each other like this?”
“I don’t know. Probably.”
She sighed. “I bet it’s beautiful.”
Jonah closed his eyes and let her nearness wash over him. She was in front of him, touching him, holding him. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had gotten this close.
“I wanted him to kiss me,” she said suddenly.
Somehow, Jonah knew from the tone of her voice that it would’ve been her first one. Or it might have been just wishful thinking. He wanted it to be true, so he pretended that it was. He leaned down slowly, tilting her head toward his.
Her eyes closed as she waited. Her cherry-red lips parted a tiny bit in anticipation. Her breath was soft and sweet—nervous, too.
He hesitated, barely resting his lips on hers. It felt wrong and right, fated yet foolish. She was too young for him. He was too damaged for her. The tip of her tongue touched his bottom lip, testing, curious.
Jonah pulled back. He was curious, too, but other feelings won out. He stepped away, putting some distance between them. He hoped it had been good anyway. He hoped it was good for her.
He hoped she couldn’t guess that it had been his first kiss, too.
“You’re too good for him, anyway,” he whispered. “Wait for someone better.” He wasn’t sure if he was talking about Granger or himself, but it was good advice either way. “Wait for someone to say that they love you and mean it. It isn’t hard to do, Sienna. Actually… it’s harder not to love you.”
Chapter Eighteen
For a long moment, they were the only two people at the wedding reception. The music and the laughter and the conversations of everyone around them became so much white noise as Jonah lifted Sienna’s face to his. “You remember?” he asked, and she nodded.
“The stars have a song,” she told him. “And people do, too.”
He pressed his lips to hers, a gentle whisper this time. Not the frenzied lust of the changing room, but a soft touch, a mingling of breath, a shared sigh.
Jonah could have stayed like that for a thousand years; he might have stayed there all night, at least, if Adam hadn’t tapped him on the shoulder. Jonah turned to his older brother, slightly irritated, but Adam held up an envelope. He nodded and stepped back from Sienna. “I’ve got to go give Daisy her gift,” he said.
He was reluctant to leave her, but he joined his family in greeting the newlyweds. Adam presented the Stark gift to Daisy who stared at the thick envelope wide-eyed. “Geez, Adam! Did you guys rob a bank?”
Adam laughed. “Not quite.”
She looked at Easy, who shrugged, but looked equally curious. She tore at the flap, peeked in and frowned. Then she glanced up at Adam. “What…?”
Adam smirked at her. “Just open it.”
She did and pulled out a sheaf of folded documents. Tucked inside was, indeed, a small pile of bills, but probably much fewer than she’d been expecting when they’d handed her the envelope.
“Consider it a signing bonus,” Adam told Daisy as she passed the cash to her husband and studied the papers.
Finally, she’d read enough to understand what she was looking at. And she shrieked. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Really? Really?!”
Before Adam could nod, she threw herself at him. Her right hand groped for Jonah, found him, and pulled him in, too. “Oh, my God!” she repeated.
“Daisy?” Easy asked.
She turned to him and waved the papers triumphantly. “It’s a contract!” she told him, and everyone else in the ballroom. “An apprenticeship! I’m finally going to start at Stark Ink!”
The guests cheered and Daisy clutched the papers to her chest. “Adam, Jonah, just—all of you,” she amended, looking at Dalton and the girls as well. “Just…thank you. Thank you so much! Adam, this is going to change our lives.”
“Kind of the point,” Adam told her. “And it seemed like a perfect time. The shop can support you now, and we’ve got your workroom all stocked and waiting for you when you get back from your honeymoon.”
She thanked Adam again and then spotted Maria just a few feet away. “Maria!” she called. “Oh, Maria.”
The blonde shook her head and took Daisy in a hug. “Oh, don’t you worry about me. The bar’s been there before you, it’ll be there after you.” She sighed heavily, though, and brushed an errant tear. “There are always more girls. Of course, none of them will know their way around my shotgun as well as my Daisygirl.
”
Daisy stepped back, turned to Easy and threw her arms around his neck. She covered him in kisses. “I’m going to cover you in ink, baby!” she declared.
He laughed and lifted her off the floor. Jonah marveled at how rock-steady the man’s balance was. From walking, to dancing, to lifting his new bride, you’d never know that Jimmy Turnbull was missing a leg. He twirled her, saying, “Go to work on me, Picasso. My body is ready.”
Jimmy and Daisy got a lot of gifts, but none were quite as well received as the Starks’. As far as Jonah was concerned, he was happy for her. He liked Daisy, and she was right, the increase in income would change the couple’s lives. No one deserved it more, though. Daisy was honest and a hard-worker and a great artist in her own right. Stark Ink was as lucky to have her as she was to have them. Frankly, Jonah was happy that Daisy had waited until they had enough business to support her. She certainly could have gone to any shop in the city and gotten hired. But she stayed loyal to Adam until he was ready.
She already felt like family.
Jonah found Sienna again and she settled back into his arms like she’d always been there.
She sighed and smiled. “They look so happy.”
“Even rough starts can have happy endings.”
The reception finally wound down and Daisy snatched up her bouquet off a nearby table. “All right, girls!” she hollered. “Who’s next?”
A veritable stampede of single ladies headed out to the grand staircase. Apparently, no one had made it clear that every man from Burnout was already taken. They jostled each other and jockeyed for position. Daisy stood on the steps, grinned, and turned her back to the small gathering below her. With a whoop, she threw the bouquet over her head. It arced spectacularly (for flowers) and soared through the air. It landed in the arms of one of Maria’s bar girls, who elbowed the others ferociously to keep it.
Jonah glanced at Sienna and saw the corners of her mouth turn down slightly. He put his arm around her and pulled her to him. As everyone was wishing Daisy and Easy a good honeymoon, Jonah whispered to Sienna, “Doesn’t matter about the bouquet. If I do this right, you’re only going to need one.”
