Purposefully Accidental

Chapter Forty-seven

Freddie leads me out of the ballroom and into the hallway. It's quite empty out here—night's not quite over for everybody else. We sneak through it, finding a way toward the lobby and hoping that Jonah still hasn't left.

Some guy in a plain black suit offers us assistance, but Freddie waves him away as we continue walking along the hallway, as fast as we can with me in these stupid heels.

To my relief, we find Jonah as he walks out of the restroom, fixing the cuffs of his suit jacket. He looks up and widens his eyes in surprise at the sight of us.

"Are you guys leaving?" he asks as I cross the distance and stop myself from crushing him into a hug.

"I thought you left," I say, almost in desperation.

He shakes his head. "No, I just... went to the restroom." He looks behind my shoulder and nods slowly at Freddie. "Everything okay?"

"Yep," Freddie answers. "Hey, I'll go fetch your coat. I'll... leave you kids to it. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

I flip him the bird and let his chuckle fade away as he disappears toward the lobby. Jonah stares at me curiously as I approach him.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Nothing. Just... you're still here."

"I am."

"I thought you left without saying goodbye."

He tilts his head to the side with a small smile. "I just had to step out for a moment."

"Why?"

He shrugs and slips both of his hands into the pockets of his dark grey sleek pants. "I thought... watching you two..." He shakes his head a little. "You know. Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought I was."

Oh. He was watching us in the middle of the ballroom. And got the impression that we were being... romantic and intimate, which was exactly what Freddie and I wanted the rest of the room to believe. It's what we always do every time we show up together at these public events.

Quietly, I ask, "Were you... were you jealous?"

Jonah makes a small affirmative noise from the back of his throat, like he's maybe ashamed to admit it. He then shakes his head unconvincingly.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. "It was just a bye-bye kiss."

His lips arc into an amused smile. "A bye-bye kiss."

"Yeah. You know." I don't really know how to explain this to him.

"Right."

I click my tongue. "He wanted to see if he had any... unresolved feelings for me. Obviously, it was ridiculous."

"Obviously," he hums.

"It was nothing. He felt nothing. I felt nothing."

"You look good together."

I scoff at that. Freddie and I fit as well as two mismatched socks. "You can't be serious."

"It's fine, Hannah. He's your husband. Of course you've both got feelings for—"

I interject, "It's not—we're not like that. This isn't what you think it is. I'll explain to you like I promised."

"Okay." He just smiles at me then. "Later. Not here."

"You're not—" My voice catches in my throat. "You still want this, right?"

His eyes soften. "I do. I just want you to be sure that this is what you want."