When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 286

Nelly couldn’t help but notice how Jonah kept glancing at his phone during dinner. She leaned in, her voice soft. “Hey, is something up? You seem distracted.”

“It’s nothing.” Jonah looked up, and just like that, the distant look in his eyes faded away. He smiled, gentle and warm. “What about you? You called me out all of a sudden. Is there something you want to talk about?”

His eyes lingered on her bare face, and his smile was so warm it felt like spring. Nelly, though, was focused on cutting her steak, not meeting his gaze. She was too busy trying to figure out how to ask about Teddy.

Jessie didn’t even know for sure if Teddy was Casey, so she’d warned Nelly to be subtle about it. If she just blurted everything out to Jonah, Jessie would probably die of embarrassment.

“Well… kind of.” Nelly took a bite of steak before finally looking up with a quiet answer.

“Hold still a second.” Jonah’s voice was suddenly low.

Nelly froze. A beat later, he reached out and gently brushed something from the corner of her mouth with his fingertip.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Her face went bright red. She grabbed her napkin, wiping her mouth again. “Is it clean now?”

She’d been so caught up thinking about Jessie that she hadn’t even realized she’d gotten sauce on her face. And of course, Jonah had to see it. Could it get any more awkward?

Jonah nodded, then steered the conversation back. “You seem really out of it tonight. What’s going on?”

Nelly twisted the napkin in her hands, voice soft. “Um, Teddy… you and he are pretty close, right?”

“Teddy? Why do you ask?” Jonah’s eyebrow shot up. There was something in his eyes she couldn’t quite read.

“It’s nothing, really. He just helped us out a lot, and I wanted to thank him properly. I’m not sure how, though, so…”

“So you want my advice.”

She couldn’t help but feel like Jonah was a little annoyed.

“Of course I am. I can’t just let you handle everything by yourself.”

Jonah’s expression softened just a little. “So you’re worried about me?”

“…Yeah,” Nelly replied, not quite sure how the conversation had ended up here. She nodded quickly.

Feeling a bit guilty, she added, “I know you and Teddy are close, but if I don’t do my part, I’ll feel bad. We’re in this together, right? You can’t just cut me out.”

Her words sent a gentle warmth through Jonah. He ducked his head slightly, the smallest hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

He seemed to give it some thought before saying, “Honestly, I’m not sure what he’s into these days. Back when we were in school, he liked mystery novels and traveling. That’s all I know.”