Chapter 19
Jonah hadn’t been back inside of a church since college. Every home game, the whole team had gone to mass in the basilica. Then, they’d paraded to the stadium cheered by fans who’d traveled from all over the world to see them play.
He’d always relished the time inside the church before they had to face the crowds—people who adored the idea of them as gladiators. The quiet had soothed him enough to play well. He’d never been comfortable with the press attention, and he’d been labeled as difficult. Just one of many reasons that reporter had written the first story about him, Tim, and Katie.
Now, in this church, he didn’t feel safe or at home. He felt like he was walking an endless gauntlet. Except, this time the fans weren’t adoring.
He sat in the back pew, hoping to avoid an interrogation from Carla’s father. Although he outsized Hector by a few inches and fifty pounds of muscle, his girl’s father had pure hatred on his side. Jonah had sensed it from the get-go. Jonah had less fear when it came to running across roadside explosives or suicide bombers than he did about running across Carla’s dad in a dark alley.
Part of him respected the man for wanting to protect her. Jonah couldn’t forget that Carla had had an acute broken heart when they’d met. She hadn’t been leaving the house, and she’d withdrawn from her busy social life. Watching her with her sister, her mom, and Maya had him wondering if she was in pain now. It had seemed like the pregnancy had displaced the breakup as her major source of anxiety, but what if it was just adding to it? After all, she’d only invited him here so she wouldn’t be without a date, not because he was really someone she wanted to spend her life with.
Until she’d opened the door to her apartment, he hadn’t known that he’d been willing to change his life to be with Carla. Before she’d told him about the baby, he’d known he wanted Carla, not that he wanted her forever. It should have scared him, but he felt relieved. All of it was so monumental that he couldn’t believe he wasn’t terrified. But he wasn’t. He was only scared that she wouldn’t want him just as much.
She probably wasn’t having the same yearning at all. He felt so stupid wanting to be up there with her. As more than her date. He wanted to belong to her in the same way that Cole belonged to Alana. The man looked at Carla’s sister like she was the sun. He wanted to be able to claim Carla the way that Javi claimed Maya—with some words whispered in her ear that made a filthy smile cross her face.
He wanted to be doing for his and Carla’s kid what Hector and Molly were doing for theirs. And it made no sense. He and Carla barely knew each other. They’d had two nights together, and insane chemistry, but they didn’t know all the annoying things about each other. She might know about his worst thing, but he didn’t know about all her best things. He wanted that, but could he really afford to stick around long enough to find out? Wouldn’t there be another job? Wouldn’t she get sick of waiting for him? Would she tire of how hard it was for him to open up to her?
But watching Cole and Alana practice for their big day had him wanting to try for everything he’d never known he’d wanted with Carla.
Jonah was an aching, confused mess by the time they made it to the restaurant. Everyone talked a lot, so he didn’t have to say much at all. He laughed at Alana’s stories about her little sister; he had a feeling it was some kind of payback.
And Cole, bless him, made sure his beer stayed full. Once he’d made small talk with the guy, he immediately liked him. Cole told him that he’d been a Navy SEAL and they got to bonding over some of the shittiest posts in the Middle East.
“Shouldn’t you be the nervous one, man? You’re the one getting married tomorrow.” Jonah was grateful that Cole was so welcoming, but giving a family orientation to his sister-in-law’s date would be the last thing on his mind if he was in Cole’s position.
“Ha. The last thing I have to be nervous about is getting married.” Cole took a swig of beer and winked at him. “But I was the new guy once, and it’s not easy to integrate oneself into this family without getting swallowed up whole.”
“It seems like you belong well enough now.” Cole even seemed natural around Hector, which floored Jonah.
“You’ll get there. At least no one took a swing at you.”
“Hector hit you?” Jonah wasn’t sure he could keep himself from hitting back if Hector came after him.
“Nah, it was Javier.” Javier looked up from his food after hearing his name. He pointed at his own face with two fingers and then at Cole, the international symbol for “I’m watching you.”
“Why’d he hit you? I thought you guys were friends.”
“Yep. We were. Such good friends that he knew enough to know that he didn’t want me anywhere near his sister.”
“You guys worked it out, though.”
“Yeah.” He pointed at Javi. “I let him beat me to a bloody pulp, then I slunk out of town, realized I was an asshole, and came back and got my girl.”
They both looked over at Alana, who had her head bent toward Carla. They had been talking almost nonstop since they’d gotten to the restaurant, and Carla needed to eat. He was a split second from getting up and trying to feed her when Cole whistled. “Any idea what’s going on there?”
Jonah had plenty of ideas. Alana was probably trying to talk Carla out of being with him, not that he could really blame her. But it didn’t change the fact that he was here, and he’d be here for as long as Carla wanted him around. “No idea. Probably dresses or some shit.”
“No, they’d be happy about dresses. I’m pretty sure they’re talking about you.”
Fuck. His heart sank.
Once they were done eating, Cole pointed out toward the patio of the restaurant. “Javier and I are going to smoke cigars. Even if you don’t smoke, you’re going to come with us. It’s really for your safety.” Cole laid a hand on his chest. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I left you alone with Hector.”
Jonah nodded. He’d smoke cigars until his lungs fell out to avoid a confrontation with Hector.
Javier had the patio bartender pouring scotch when they joined him. Three of them. When he turned around to hand Jonah his drink, he had a wolfish smile on his face that made Jonah nervous.
“Okay. Here’s the deal.” Javier handed him the drink. “You hurt my baby sister, I disembowel you. I know you’ve got about thirty pounds on me, but ask this one.” He pointed at Cole. “I pack a punch.”
“I’m not going to hurt Carla.” He was going to try his best not to hurt Carla or their kid.
“Okay then.” Javier raised his glass and nodded. “Salud.”
They all took drinks. Javier and Cole drained their glasses, but Jonah sipped. He didn’t want to get drunk; he had a feeling he’d need to be quick on his feet when Hector finally cornered him.
“Drink up,” Cole said. “Hector called me a pansy when I took ten minutes to finish a scotch at Christmas.”
“Nah, he called you a pansy because he was telling the story about Carla’s engagement party.”
Jonah didn’t want these guys to know that Carla’s prior engagement bothered him. He didn’t want to show that he had more than casual feelings for their sister. But, he couldn’t help his curiosity. “What happened?”
Javier and Cole shared a look, and then Cole said, “Carla and Geoff were fighting, and it was getting bad. Poor idiot never could do anything right.” Cole motioned the bartender for a refill. “Anyway, they were making a scene, so I did some karaoke.”
“He’s not a good singer.” Javier took Jonah’s glass and got them both refills. So much for not getting drunk. “And by that I mean he’s maybe the worst singer to try to sing ever.”
Cole punched Javier in the arm. “I’m no Bobby Brown, but at least I have moves. And she appreciated the gesture enough to take me back. So that’s all that matters.”
“You singing to her at the wedding tomorrow?” Jonah thought it might be nice.
Cole’s eyes got big, and Javier rolled his.
“That’d be so romantic. I should do it.” The alcohol had clearly started to kick in.
“If you do that, she’ll get the marriage annulled.” Javier was still seeing reason. Or Jonah thought so at least before he just motioned the bartender to hand him the rest of the bottle of scotch.
“We shouldn’t drink that.” Jonah hesitated, and both the other men raised their eyebrows.
“My dad’s coming out here with cigars and a mean look on his face.” All three of them walked over to a grouping of chairs and couches. Cole and Javier sat on the couch, which left him one of the chairs. So, he’d be facing down Hector. And Carla’s brother and brother-in-law would be spectators.
“Neither of you care about spending all my money.” Hector pointed at Cole and Javier. He seemed very concerned about how much this wedding cost. Jonah wondered if he would demand to see his finances when he found out about the baby and how serious Jonah was becoming about Carla. He did okay, had been good about saving money. He would have been in a much better position had he made it to the NFL, but he was flush.
“We’ve been kicking ass at making you even more money,” Javier said. “And all you have to do is walk around the house and drive Mom nutters.”
“We’ll pay you for the scotch, Hector,” Cole said, obviously still at the stage where he wanted to mollify Hector.
Hector handed Javier and Cole a cigar before he offered one to Jonah. Jonah had the feeling that this was a test. If he said no to the cigar, he would be failing some sort of contest of manliness.
He took it, and Hector nodded at him. “So, Jonah Kane, I’ve been looking into your past.”
Jonah’s stomach dropped, but he lit the end of the cigar and puffed anyway. He wouldn’t show weakness. Carla believed in him, and that had to be enough.
“Dad.” Javier’s voice had a warning tone.
“Carla’s my little girl.” Hector waved off his son. “I am entitled to keep her safe. She doesn’t make the best decisions for herself.”
Jonah wanted to fight him then. Carla had chosen Geoff in the first place to get her father’s approval. Blaming her for that and characterizing her as flighty now was unfair. She didn’t deserve it.
“I’m not a bad decision.” He said it because Carla needed defending right now, not because he actually believed he was right for her.
Hector took a puff of his cigar and blew out circles of smoke. With the scotch in his hand and the halo of smoke, he looked like an old-school gangster. “We’ll see about that.” He took a swig of scotch; Jonah knew Hector wasn’t done with him yet. “Just don’t get her pregnant and abandon her.”
Jonah didn’t know how he stopped himself from choking on the sip he’d just taken of his drink. If Hector only knew the truth, he doubted he’d still be standing—or breathing.
“You okay, man?” Cole asked him. “If you’re not used to them, these Montecristos are pretty killer.”
Cole’s question gave Jonah a chance to catch his breath. “Tasty, though.”