Wicked Things We Crave

Chapter Fifteen

Astrid was reeling. She'd fallen asleep in his bed while he was halfway across town with her father, screwing up his entire life. Maybe she loved him. Hell, Astrid knew she did. But he hadn't known that at the time he'd gone over there. He threw his entire life away over sex.

"I was telling the truth when I told Travis I didn't need a month," Jonah said as he reached for the first slice of pizza. "As soon as we slept together, I knew my friendship with Scott was over. Lying to him every day for the rest of our lives was never an option."

While she didn't want him to have to lie to her father, telling him the truth was beyond terrifying. She'd been so worried about Jonah's friendship with her dad, she hadn't yet stopped to think of her relationship with him.

Ever since her mother walked out, Astrid, Jonah and the business were the only three constants in her father's life. Now all of that would go up in flames around him.

Astrid would be lucky if her father ever looked or spoke to her again. It wasn't just Jonah who was betraying him, but her. And this betrayal was unforgivable. She'd have to quit the garage, not wanting to force her father to fire her or face her every day. And once the men in the garage knew, it would spread through town like a wildfire. Whoever said beauty parlors in a small town was gossip central were sorely mistaken. Men could gossip with the best of them.

If she was fortunate to receive her father's forgiveness, she knew Jonah wouldn't be so lucky. That was a guarantee in all this. Not only would he not have her father's forgiveness, Jonah would have to live out his life with her father's hatred after twenty-five years of close bond. He'd be banished, lose every friend he'd made since childhood, and what he'd get in return was still not a guarantee.

That's why Astrid was so hesitant about love. She saw it in her mom and dad's relationship. Love made no promises to stick around. It could walk away at any time, leaving the two people who succumbed to it in ruins.

And now the business would suffer because of their actions. The business they built together from a tiny two-bay repair shop her grandfather had started. The business that had given their small family a good life, sent her to college, and employed her, kept a roof over her head all her life.

Astrid's shake of her head was frantic as she took it all in. "Tell my dad it was a mistake. You've figured your shit out, and you decided not to sign over the business."

"No," Jonah told her, dropping the uneaten pizza back in the box.

"Why the hell not?"

Jonah walked over to her and placed his palms on her cheeks. "Because this isn't a mistake, and I won't pretend it is. You told me you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me, and sweetheart, that's exactly what's going to happen."

Tears in her eyes threatened to fall, but Astrid was determined not to allow them to. "What if this isn't real?"

Figment love was her biggest fear; thinking she'd fallen in love with someone and giving her entire heart to them, only to watch it crush in the vice grip of reality.

Jonah's gaze grew dark at the question, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "This is real, sweetheart. This is the most real thing that's ever happened for either of us, and I won't run off like a little chicken shit because it's hard. Everything in life worth having comes with challenges and the great things come with sacrifices.

"If you walk away from this, I will still do the same thing I'm doing right now. I'll hand over the business to your dad, tell him the truth, and walk away. I'd rather do that with you by my side, so I'm walking toward something better."