When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 13

Nelly was genuinely surprised. She’d known Jonah was prepared for this meeting, but she never expected him to know her so well.

At Garland Inc., the projects she worked on had nothing to do with fashion, but she’d always been passionate about it. If it hadn’t been for Brody, she probably would have become a brand designer by now.

Nelly licked her lips, almost without thinking.

She decided not to continue the conversation, and instead waved down a waiter to order. Food first. She was hungry, but she also wanted to ease into things with Jonah. It was a trick she’d learned from work. Once the business side was mostly sorted, it was time to connect on a personal level.

“I’ve been here lots of times. Their steak is amazing. You have to try it,” she said.

When the conversation moved away from business, Jonah went quiet. He just nodded and started eating, barely saying a word.

Nelly watched him, smiling. “Well? What do you think?”

“It’s good,” Jonah replied, wiping his mouth, his tone calm.

Hearing that, Nelly pushed the rest of her sliced steak onto his plate. “Then have some more. You only ordered a salad. That’s definitely not enough to fill you up.”

She meant it, too. Jonah was tall and lean, the kind of guy who looked like he was strict with himself. He probably skipped meals sometimes.

“I’m not hungry,” Jonah said, pausing for a second.

Nelly grinned. “You don’t have to stand on ceremony with me. I just heard your stomach growl.”

The comment made Jonah’s face flush a little. His hand went to his stomach, almost without thinking. Nelly was right. He was always strict with himself, always following some routine for fitness and meals. Today’s lunch hadn’t even been part of his plan.

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

That caught Nelly off guard. He didn’t seem like the type to apologize, especially over something as small as this. It was almost… cute.

She laughed. “Come on. Technically, we’re family now. Siblings, right?”

“I’m a bit older than you,” Jonah said.

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