“He told you?”
Jonas reached for his water and shrugged nonchalantly. “Hey, I’m his brother. He tells me everything.”
Sandra snorted. “Since when?”
“Since he told me he’s in love with you and I told him to get his ass to Boston and tell you.” He reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “He means it, Sandra.”
“He certainly thinks he—”
“Hey, there!” A young waitress came beaming over to their table. “How are you two doing on this sunny Monday?”
“We’re fine.” Sandra shot Jonas a look. She loathed hyper-cheerful waitresses.
“Oka-a-y! My name is Amanda, and I’ll be taking care of you today!”
“I can take care of myself, Amanda.” Sandra accepted her menu wearily. “From you, I just need lunch.”
“Oh. Well, okay, sure, no problem, I can do that.” She giggled nervously, took their orders for iced tea and fled.
Jonas nodded pointedly toward Amanda’s retreat. “Nice.”
“I’m not feeling very nice today.”
“You look very nice.”
She smiled. “You’re adorable. I wish I could marry you and be done with all this.”
“Huh?” His brother must have rattled her badly. The Sandra he knew would have either patted Erik’s head and sweetly told him to go away, or she would have laughed until he left on his own. “What did you do when he told you he loved you?”
“What any closeted romantic would do. I freaked the hell out.”
“In a good way or bad?”
Sandra dropped her eyes. “Both.”
Really. How interesting. “How did Erik react?”
“Like any Meyer out for what he wants. He shrugged and said I might as well get used to it because he wasn’t going anywhere.” Her features softened. “I’m feeling doomed.”
“There are worse fates.” He grimaced playfully. “Though given Erik, I’m not sure I want to know what they are.”
“Ha!” She sipped her iced tea, blushing.
Blushing! Sandra! Jonas grinned, suddenly able to imagine Sandra as a future sister-in-law.
“So...” She looked at him expectantly. “Allie. What’s going on there?”
“Nothing at the moment.”
“Wait, why?” Her anguish was genuine. “I thought you guys were perfect for each other.”
“I thought so, too. Until Friday.”
“Oh, God.” Sandra lifted her iced tea. “Hell of a day for lovers. What happened?”
“She told me things about her past.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to explain.”
Across from him Sandra stiffened. “What kind of things?”
“She grew up poor. Really bad. Her dad left the family for a rich woman, her mom slid into alcoholism, her five brothers ran wild, it was really...tough.”
“Sounds it. So what was the problem?”
“She never told me. It was like she didn’t trust I could handle it. What kind of person does that make me?”
Sandra looked at him through narrowed eyes for so long that he started to wonder if she’d been listening. “Got a cigarette?”
“Huh?” Her request startled him. “I don’t smoke. And neither do you.”
“Used to. Gave it up when I gave up amphetamines and stripping, which I started after I left my abusive husband whom I married to escape my billionaire parents, the McKinleys of Greens Farms, Connecticut.”
He waited for her to laugh, to let him in on the joke, and when she didn’t, he could only stare. Had she lost it? “Sandra...”
“It was a while ago.” She picked up the menu, clearly having a hard time. “What looks good to you here?”
“Wait, are you serious? About all...that?”
She met his eyes. “Deadly.”
He sat back in his chair, bewildered. Two bombshells in three days from the women he was closest to. What the hell? “You never told me.”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not the kind of thing you just tell someone.”
Jonas winced. Her words were nearly identical to the ones Allie had used. “It is the kind of thing you tell a close friend.”
“I just did.”
“But—”
“Jonas, it was a long time ago, it sucked, now it’s over.”
“Yeah, but...” He narrowed his eyes, trying to put all these crazy pieces together into something that made sense. “Have you told Erik?”
“Friday.”
“Why him? Why Friday and not before?”
“I think I’ll have the BLT burger.” She stabbed her finger at a spot on the page. “I need to ingest fat and protein in large quantities.”
“You told him...” Jonas felt like the wheels were only just starting to turn in his brain. “Because he was a lot more than a good friend.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“Holy moly, Sandra.” He stared at her, alternating between disbelief and happiness for both of them. “I’m speechless.”
“Actually, you’re still talking.” She closed her menu and set it down carelessly, but he saw her trying to hold back a smile.
“Hey, there! How are those iced teas working for you?”
“How are they working for us?” Sandra feigned confusion. “Oh, wait, you mean how do they taste?”
“They’re fine, Amanda, thanks.” Jonas shot Sandra a cut-it-out look, wanting Amanda gone so he could take his conversation with Sandra to the next logical, amazing, wonderful step.
“Good! Good!” Amanda’s smile had finally lost some of its wattage. Jonas would give her a huge tip. “May I take your orders?”
“I’ll have the BLT cheeseburger, medium, with the seasoned fries and coleslaw.” Sandra handed the menu back and blinked sweetly at Jonas—See? I wasn’t mean that time.