Authors: Tessa Dayne
This was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up, but she would feel much better if he were in the states when the baby came. They had talked about it and he had promised he would be home, but there was no guarantee. She knew that. Filming on
El Dorado
wasn’t slated to be complete until mid-June. The baby was due the beginning of July.
“You’re worrying again, aren’t you?” Jonas asked, noticing the faraway look on her face. When she nodded, he leaned over and wrapped an arm around her neck. Leaning in to place his forehead against hers, he sighed. “I will do whatever it takes to be here before the baby comes. I will fly home when I can. Even if it’s a long weekend. You can fly to Spain up until the doctor tells you that you can’t. We will make this work.”
Paige nodded, feeling so much like a child. She knew that Jonas was doing everything in his power to make things right for her and the baby. She knew she shouldn’t be making this so hard on him.
“I’m sorry. I know this is hard on you, too.”
“This has nothing to do with how hard things will be on me. This is about how much I love you. I promise you, everything will be okay.”
Paige forced a smile to her face. She knew that Jonas couldn’t promise something like that, but it made her heart fill with joy that he tried.
~*~
Chapter T
wo
~*~
Just before lunch, Jonas carried their bags to the front door. He turned and looked around the apartment, smiling at the new memories they had created. They had eaten Chinese out of carryout boxes, opened their fortune cookies, and laughed at the funny messages inside. They had watched the snowflakes fall, made love in front of the fireplace and then christened the new bed.
“Having second thoughts?” she asked, dropping another bag by the door.
Jonas raised his eyebrow. “No, I was reliving last night. What about you, you having second thoughts about introducing me to your family?”
Paige smiled, and shook her head. “Nope, I am not worried at all. I know they will love you.”
“You’re sure about that, are you?”
Paige opened the front door and picked up the smallest bag. “I’m sure. Besides, I love you, and that really is all that matters, isn’t it?”
Jonas smiled. “Of course it is. But it would be nice if they at least liked me,” he said, grabbing the other bags, following her out into the hallway.
“I’m not worried about Marcus or Ryan. They will adjust to it all rather quickly. Of course they will do the over protective, older brother act, but that’s all it is, an act. Dad on the other hand… well, he’s nothing like your father, or even Gray. But he will come around eventually.”
“Sounds like I had better put my best foot forward.”
“You’ll do fine. But we should go.”
Jonas screwed up his face, and then laughed at the look Paige gave him. “Okay…okay. Let’s go,” Jonas said, slipping into the elevator.
~*~
After a quiet lunch at a local restaurant, Paige drove west out of the city toward one of the suburbs of Chicago. River Forest was one of the western suburbs and was close to Oak Park, where famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, created some of his famous prairie-style designs. It would only take about twenty minutes to get to her childhood home, but that was long enough to finish filling Jonas in on what to expect from her dad and brothers.
“Tell me again about your brothers. I want to be able to get them straight in my head,” Jonas said.
Paige rolled her eyes. He was acting as though this was a role he had to prepare for, but she humored him anyway. “Marcus is the oldest at 43. His wife, Maria, was my babysitter when I was a little girl.”
“He married your babysitter,” Jonas chuckled.
“She is Marcus’ age, JD! He didn’t rob the cradle, if that’s what you are thinking!”
“Like I did?”
Paige laughed. “I’m almost thirty-four. What are a few years?”
“Almost a decade, Paige. Your father will have a fit.”
Paige laughed, keeping her eyes on the road. “My dad has no room to talk. He was fifteen years older than my mother was when they married. Now do you want to know anything else before we get there?”
“Do Marcus and Maria have children?”
“They have three, all boys. Adam is seventeen, Liam is fifteen and Jon is fourteen.”
“And your other brother?”
“Ryan is divorced. His ex-wife, Patrice and he have two daughters, Jaclyn and Michelle. They’re twins and fifteen.”
“So that’s why you were able to get along so easily with Ian. You have teenage nieces and nephews.”
Paige shrugged. “Ian is easy to talk to. My nieces and nephews aren’t always so open.”
“So that tells me about your brothers and their families. What about your dad? What can I expect from him?”
“Dad is complicated. He’s old school. He believes a woman’s place is in the home, taking care of her family. He was in his early thirties when he met my mother. She was only sixteen. He was a throwback to the fifties, even though when they were married it was 1962. Marcus came along a year after they were married, Ryan a few years later. And of course, I was the unexpected surprise.”
“I bet you were the apple of your dad’s eye.”
Paige shrugged. “He didn’t dote on me, if that’s what you mean. I didn’t get any special treatment from him. Mom made up for that, though. She made sure that I had everything a little girl needed. I had a great childhood, filled with happy memories.”
Jonas noticed the tears forming in the corner of her eye and sighed. He hadn’t meant to bring up unhappy recollections. “Paige…”
“No. It’s okay. Mom was so alive, so vibrant. She died so young, Jonas…” her voice trailed off. “God, I miss her…especially now.”
Jonas reached his hand out and placed it behind her head, massaging the back of her neck. He wished there was something he could do, but there wasn’t.
“Ah…we’re here,” Paige said, pulling in front of the house.
Jonas looked at the house and smiled. It was a beautiful house, with a long front porch. A huge pine tree graced the corner of the front yard, Christmas lights strung on its branches. The shoveled walk led to the front door, a huge wreath welcoming visitors.
“Ready?” Paige asked, turning the car off.
Jonas looked at the house, noticing the curtain drawn aside in the front window. “We’ve been spotted. I guess we can’t make a run for it.”
Paige laughed. “Come on. It won’t hurt a bit. I promise.”
~*~
Jonas sat across from Paige’s father, on the edge of his chair, waiting for the man to speak. They had been at the house for close to thirty minutes and he had yet to say two words. Even when Paige had introduced them, the only thing her father had said was a muted grunt. Now, sitting in the living room alone with the man, the tension was mounting.
Paige had disappeared into the kitchen to make iced tea and had yet to come back out. Her brothers hadn’t arrived yet and Jonas’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point. He needed her father to say something to him, anything. Rant at him, rave over the suddenness of their romance, grill him over his past, anything. This quiet staring contest was driving him mad.
At least it gave him a chance to study the man. The wrinkle lines on his face, the calloused fingers; he had worked hard in his life, nothing coming easy. William Harper appeared to be in his late 60’s, with white hair cropped close to his head and blue eyes that sparkled with curiosity.
“You an actor, huh?” Mr. Harper asked, finally breaking the tense silence. “You do them sex films?”
Jonas gulped. What the hell did that mean? Yes, he’d done some hot sex scenes in the past, but he hadn’t done anything like porn flicks. How was he supposed to answer that? Should he tell him that he had appeared nude in some of his earlier films?
“Daddy…Jonas is not that kind of actor,” Paige said, returning from the kitchen with a pitcher of iced tea and some glasses.
Jonas sighed. He had never been more relieved to see a woman carrying a tray. Discussing sex scenes with Paige’s father was a topic he really wanted to avoid at all costs.
“Daddy, Jonas played the lead role in
The Jacobite
. You know, the movie about the Scottish battle at Culloden.”
“Hrmff…” he muttered, reaching for the glass she offered him. “One movie does not make him an actor.”
“He’s done other movies, Daddy,” Paige said, handing a glass to Jonas.
“None I’ve ever seen,” her father grumbled.
“Yes, Daddy, you’ve seen several of Jonas’s movies. One of Momma’s favorites was
The Argo
. Jonas played in that.”
Her father raised his eyebrow. “I don’t remember him.”
“I didn’t have a speaking part, Sir. It was my first film. I played one of the Argonauts. I died within the first thirty minutes.”
“Mmm…”
Paige rolled her eyes and held Jonas’s gaze for a moment. “Daddy, we aren’t here to analyze Jonas’s acting career. He also paints, writes poetry, takes photographs, and is in a jazz band. He’s well rounded.”
“He’s really busy. When have you had time to get to know each other? And don’t tell me you knew him all along.”
“We got together at Sara’s wedding. He is her new brother-in-law,” Paige said. “You remember Sara, Dad.”
“He’s too old for you,” he complained. “What do you see in him, anyway? I know why he wants a younger woman on his arm. He wants to prove he still has it, that he can still run with the young bucks.”
“Is this how Grandpa Ellis treated you when you and mom got married? Jonas loves me, Daddy,” Paige said, her face turning red.
“This has nothing to do with me and your mother, Paige,” he said, pointing a crocked finger at her. “Sit down and let me handle this.”
Paige sat down beside Jonas on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest. This was not going the way she had hoped. She had hoped that her father would like Jonas instantly, the way his family had liked her. Maybe that was too much to hope for.