Authors: Tessa Dayne
Paige laughed with him, her eyes twinkling with glee. She read off a few more of the things she remembered and they spent the afternoon going over her journal.
~*~
Jonas headed through the halls, a light step in his stride. He had just spent the last two hours with Paige, reliving her memories, their memories, together. She had remembered more than he had expected and yet, there was so much more that she had yet to discover.
She still didn’t remember their wild love affair, being engaged, or the baby. But the pieces were starting to fall into place and soon enough she would return to him. He really wanted to tell her everything, to push her memory to the brink and make her remember, but he couldn’t do that. It would be too detrimental to her health, or so the doctors believed.
With all the traumatic events that she had endured those few weeks during the last of December, she had blocked it all out. The knowledge of Darren’s affair, the sordid business with the paparazzi, the lies about the baby. It was all too much for her to handle and once the accident had happened, her mind had done the only thing it could to allow her to cope. It shut down and repressed those memories. How he wanted to grab her by her slender shoulders and shake her, yell at her to remember him and their love affair.
Sighing, he flipped open his cell phone. Two missed calls, both from John. Just a few more feet and he would be out of the lobby and he could call him back. He could also have that cigarette he had been craving for the last two hours.
Stepping out into the crisp spring afternoon, he lit a cigarette, drawing deeply off it. He pushed the speed dial assigned to John and waited for it to dial, taking another drag from the cigarette.
“Hullo?”
“John, it’s JD?”
“Hey! How’s the princess?”
“She’s doing better,” Jonas said, dragging his boot through the dirt at his feet. “She’s remembering more.”
“Your love affair?”
John asked, hopeful.
“Not yet. But I think it’s just a matter of time. She remembered Rockefeller Plaza and seeing the Christmas tree. She remembers the burger joint and us dancing.”
“That’s great JD. I think you’re right. It’s just a matter of time before she remembers something significant.”
“So how was your trip home?”
“Uneventful until Ollie decided to surprise me at the airport. He caused a huge ruckus. All these screaming girls and women wanting autographs from him.”
Jonas chuckled, imagining the riot Ollie would’ve caused with his luscious curly hair, those sweet, sexy smiles and his twinkling chocolate eyes. “He missed you.”
“I wasn’t gone that long! Just a few days!” John said, irritably. “Besides, he was supposed to be in Malta.”
“So he delayed going back to the set. Admit it, you missed him too.”
John laughed. “Yeah, I did.”
“They’re going to let Paige out of the hospital day after tomorrow. I was hoping to talk her into coming to Spain with me. What do you think of that idea?” Jonas asked, running his idea by John.
“I think it’s a great idea. You going to stop here so I can meet her face to face?”
“I was going to ask. I want her to meet you. I just wish Ollie was going to be there too. It’s too bad he’s going back to the set tomorrow.”
“He will miss seeing her, but I am sure we can get him on the phone at least. Keep me informed of your plans.”
They chatted a few more minutes, and then JD hung up. He tossed his cigarette to the ground and ground it out using the heel of his boot. He glanced up at the bright, blue sky and took a deep, calming breath before heading back inside.
He really needed to make a few more phone calls. One to his mother and Ian back in New York and another to William, but he wanted to spend as much time with Paige as he could without Darren Armstrong around. He never knew when he was going to show up or what he would say or do if he did.
So far he hadn’t seen him today and the only sign of him had been the flowers he had delivered to Paige’s room. She had mentioned they were from him, but she hadn’t brought him up after that. He was immensely grateful that she didn’t dwell on Armstrong while he was around.
Jonas approached Paige’s door, finding it cracked open. He knocked on it, peeked inside and found Paige writing furiously in her diary.
“Remember something else?” he asked, easing into the room.
“I’m not sure. It was a dream I had the other night. I don’t know if it was just a dream or if it was a memory trying to surface. I thought I should write it down, just in case.”
“Care to share?” JD asked, setting on the corner of her bed.
“Um….well…..it’s…um….that is….it’s rather personal,” she stammered, a slight shade of pink rushing over her face.
“Ah….I see…” JD said, tugging on his earlobe. He loved when she blushed, the light hues lighting up her features. It must’ve been a good dream, if she was blushing like this.
“JD? Can I ask you a very personal question?”
“Sure. What is it?” he asked, knowing what she was going to ask.
“Well, I know we spent a lot of time together before Sara’s wedding. I’ve remembered many of the things we did and the places we went. And the more time we spend together the clearer it’s all becoming.”
“I’m sensing a ‘but’ in there,” he said, wondering if she was going to ask him after all.
“But I’m getting snippets, just flashes really, of…..well, some really…..intimate moments. But I don’t know if they’re from times with Darren or…..”
“Or?” JD asked, wanting her to ask. He wanted to push her for more, knowing where this was headed. He wanted her to ask if they had been lovers, so he could answer with a resounding yes.
“….well…..did we ever…..I mean…” she blushed even more as she stumbled over the words. “Did we….you know…?” she said, the pink creeping delicately down her throat as she waved her hands.
“Did we sleep together?” he finally asked, filling in her unanswered question.
“Yes! Did we sleep together?” she asked, relieved that he understood what she meant.
Jonas wanted to tell her the most intimate details of their love affair. He wanted to describe to her the way she sounded, her moans so husky, when they made love. He wanted her to remember the way she whispered his name in his ear, the forceful way she raked her nails over the skin of his back. The way she traced her tongue along his tattoo, making him shiver. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her legs wrapped around his hips, drawing him further into her heat.
“Is that what you remember?” was all he said.
“Oh, I see,” she answered, suddenly unsure of herself. Had she been a fling, a one-night stand for a famous actor? If that were the case, why was he here?
Jonas wanted to reassure her that it had been beautiful, that she had already ended things with Darren. But he’d promised himself that he wouldn’t confirm or deny anything unless Paige had remembered on her own first.
“Hey? You okay?” he asked, placing a hand on her leg.
Paige tried not to, but she flinched slightly at his touch. She saw the hurt in his eyes as he pulled his hand back and instantly regretted the involuntary reaction. She reached for his hand and squeezed his fingers between hers.
“I’m fine, just confused. Can you answer some questions for me? Will you tell me more about our time together? Please?”
“I…I can’t Paige. Dr. Gates wants you to remember things on your own,” Jonas said, moving from the edge of her bed to the window. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted her to remember everything so they could get back to their lives.
“How the hell am I supposed to know the difference between you and Darren if you won’t tell me anything about the things we did together?”
Jonas sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I know you’re frustrated…”
“You don’t know a damn thing! You aren’t the one lying here trying to remember your life! Why can’t anyone understand how I feel?” Paige yelled, throwing her diary at the wall.
Jonas jumped, remembering the morning he had thrown his cell phone in a fit of anger. He had startled Paige that morning and now he turned to look at her, wondering if this had bridged the gap in her memory.
He found her, tears of frustration streaming down her face, her chest heaving. “At least it didn’t break like your phone,” she said to his amazement.
“What did you say?”
“The morning you threw your phone, it shattered. At least my diary is still in one piece.”
Jonas waited a moment for what she said to register in her head. The moment it did, her face lit up and she wiped away the tears.
“I remembered something else! Oh Jonas. I am sorry I lost my temper.”
Jonas reached for her outstretched hand and curled his fingers around hers. He covered the short distance from the window to the bed and eased onto the mattress.
“I know you are frustrated. But I want you to remember the things between us in your own time. I don’t want to color your memories. If you happen to remember something between you and Darren instead, well then we will just have to be patient. As long as you are remembering your missing weeks, that’s all I care about.”
Paige threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She was remembering bits and pieces of her life and she couldn’t be happier.
~*~
Darren stood in the hallway, listening at the door. Paige had remembered more of her life with Jonas. And hearing the man that was also vying for her affections tell her that all he cared about was her getting her memory back astounded him. How could one man be so perfect? How could he compete with that?
~*~
Chapter
Twenty
~*~
Darren knocked on the opened door and peered inside the room. Paige was sitting up in bed, the diary she wrote her memories in, resting in her lap.
“Hi…can I come in?” he asked, smiling at her.
“Darren…thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful. But what did you mean by the card?
‘I’m sorry. For everything.’
”
“Things haven’t been all that great between us and I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for all the things that I have done wrong. You see we fought before the wedding…”
“Oh Darren…all couples fight once in a while,” she said, patting the side of her bed. “So, the doctor said I should be able to leave the hospital soon. My rehab is going well, and the memory should come back sooner or later.”
“That’s great, Paige. Did they tell you how soon?”
“Day after tomorrow. I am so excited! I spoke to Darcy and my job is waiting for me. There’s a new account that she says has my name written all over it. And I can’t wait to get home. I miss having my own space.”
“And what about us? Where do we stand?” Darren asked, hoping that she would give them a second chance.