“You can’t just order me around,” she muttered.
One dark eyebrow lifted. “Can’t I?” That shouldn’t have made her thighs press together. It absolutely shouldn’t have, but her body reacted instantly to him anyway. Jonnas seemed to notice—of course, he did. His eyes darkened slowly as realization flickered across his face, and Dani’s entire body went still. Oh no—he knew. Maybe not everything, but enough.
“You remember more about that night than you’ve admitted,” he said softly.
Dani looked away immediately. “That’s not your business.”
“It became my business when you got pregnant with my child,” he growled. Her pulse jumped hard. The possessiveness in his voice should’ve irritated her. Instead, it wrapped around her like a heated blanket.
Jonnas brushed a strand of hair behind her ear again, gentler this time. “Did you eat today?”
She blinked. “What?”
“Food, Dani. Did you eat?” he asked again.
The question caught her completely off guard. “No,” she admitted quietly. His expression immediately turned annoyed. Not angry, but concerned.
“You’re carrying a baby and getting sick in parking garages because you haven’t eaten?”
“I’ve been stressed,” she insisted. “Plus, food and I are not getting along right now.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said. The subtle firmness in his tone made her stomach flip. God help her.
“You sound bossy,” she mumbled.
“I am bossy,” he admitted as though it wasn’t a big deal. That shouldn’t have made her heart race, but it did.
“You can’t just decide you’re going to take over my life because I’m pregnant with your baby,” she insisted.
“I’m not taking over your life.” His gaze locked onto hers. “I’m taking care of you.” The sincerity in his voice nearly broke her, because no one had ever said things like that to her before and meant them.
Dani swallowed hard. “I don’t know how to do this,” she admitted finally.
For the first time since walking into that parking garage, Jonnas’s expression softened completely. “You don’t have to know yet.” A tear slipped down her cheek before she could stop it, and Jonnas wiped it away with his thumb. “Easy, baby girl.” The nickname shattered something inside her. She looked up at him helplessly, and for the first time in a very long time, Dani wanted to let someone else carry the weight for a little while.
Dani had made exactly three mistakes in her life that she considered catastrophic. The first was taking out student loans at eighteen without understanding how badly they’d follow her around after she graduated from college. The second was getting blackout drunk at a hospital mixer. And the third was letting Jonnas Black drive her home. Because now she sat in the passenger seat of his ridiculously expensive SUV while he drove through town in complete silence, and somehow that felt far more dangerous than any of her other mistakes.
“You don’t have to take me home,” she muttered for the third time.
“I know,” he said.
“Then why are you?” she asked.
“Because you’re pale, shaky, and haven’t eaten,” he said.
She crossed her arms. “I’m pregnant, not dying,” she insisted.
“Today isn’t over,” he said. Despite herself, a tiny laugh escaped her. Jonnas glanced over briefly, clearly pleased with himself for managing to get a reaction out of her, and that annoyed her almost as much as how safe she felt sitting beside him.
His SUV smelled like cedar and expensive cologne. The inside was spotless. Meanwhile, her car had a fast-food bag on the floorboard and made a weird rattling sound every time she turned left. Their lives couldn’t have been more different, and now, they were going to have to figure out how to become coparents.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” Jonnas said suddenly.
She blinked. “What?”
“You get this wrinkle between your eyebrows when you’re upset,” he said. Her hand immediately flew to her forehead, and his mouth twitched.
“Oh my God,” she groaned. “You’re making fun of my face now?”