After a messy divorce, Joe Jonas finds himself lost within the inability to move on with his life. That is, until he unexpectedly starts to feel a love he never thought he'd experience again, let alone with a stranger.
First Installment of Trilogy
The water ran from the kitchen faucet, soaking my hands as I washed the girls' plastic cups while Joe put them down to take their nap on my bed.
"I can do that," he said once he walked over behind me, placing his hands on my hips and kissed my neck.
"It's okay. I'm almost done," I replied, turning the faucet off and wiping them thoroughly with a dish towel before placing them on the side to fully dry, "See? Done."
"They seem to have taken a liking to you," he leaned against the counter casually, but there was nothing casual about it in my mind. Even the smallest of gestures made me fall harder for him.
"I could say the same thing," I allowed myself to lean closer into him, wrapping my arms around his neck loosely, "You're an amazing dad. They're literal angels."
"That means a lot," he smiled, "Thank you."
"Do they know?" I questioned, "About us?"
He shook his head, "No. I wanted them to know you first. And truthfully, I wouldn't even know how to start a conversation like that with them."
"You never introduced them to another woman?" I asked. It was hard to believe I was the first woman he introduced them to since his divorce.
"I didn't see a reason to," he answered, "I saw one other girl before you, but it wasn't official or serious. You're my first that I can actually see a future with. Which, speaking of, there's something I need to talk to you about."
That sentence was never a good thing, but paired with seeing a future with me, my mind wasn't worried, "Sure. I'll pour us some wine and we can head into the living room."
He waited, watching me pour two glasses of red wine. I grabbed one of the glasses and started walking to the living room. His stare could be felt behind me as he stood in the kitchen, his glass still on the counter.
"You coming?" I glanced back at him, his eyes gazed down lost in thought.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
He looked up and smiled, "Yeah. Just admiring you." He grabbed his glass and followed me to the couch.
I laid back, relaxing as I took a sip. "So what's up? You planning to disappear, move to another country and write songs under an alias? Because you came to the right person with picking out awesome names," I joked.
He looked down, his finger running along the rim of the glass before setting it down on the coffee table.
"That was a joke," I stated, now sitting up at his silence, "You're not serious, are you?" Please tell me I didn't predict this.
"Partially," he finally responded quietly, being careful not to wake the girls.
I didn't know what to say. Putting my glass down on the coffee table, I asked, "Can you please elaborate? Because my brain is going through so many directions and emotions right now."
"I'm putting my condo on the market," he started to explain, "I'll still have another place here in New York. I've been looking in Dumbo, which is just five, ten minutes away max."
"Okay," I automatically replied, knowing there was no way that was it. There had to be more he was scared to tell me.
He went to speak, but shut his mouth as he fidgeted with his bracelet.
"Where exactly are you moving to?" I gulped, feeling a lump in my throat.
"Technically, nowhere. Nothing feels like a permanent home for me. I feel like I'm living in a suitcase more than anything. But..." he paused, taking in a breath, "I'd do anything to be with my girls more, and the only thing that I can think of doing that would fix that is partially living in London."
"Are you sure this isn't to be closer to your ex?" I asked without skipping a beat.
"Sophie? No," he furrowed his eyebrows, "The last thing I want to see is her play house with the guy she was having an affair with. I won't be staying with her. I'd either rent a place myself or stay at Nick and Pri's London home."
"Why are you talking to me about this though?" I kept my tone calm, "You already seem to have made your decision."
"Because you're becoming a big part of my life, Tay," he assertively said, "I want to bring you in these serious conversations, because I know it'll affect you too. I don't want you to feel like I'm hiding anything from you."
My heart rate slowed down with all my insecurities disappearing, "No one's ever made me feel included like that before. Or cared about how their decisions would affect me."
"Well I care," he affirmed, "I want you included. I don't want to be with Sophie. I want to be with you. I am with you. We just... I won't be here as much."
I grabbed both his hands in mine, "So we'll make it work. There's such things as a phone and planes. We will work it out, okay?"
He rubbed his thumb on the top of my hand and smiled, "We will work it out."
