I nod, the awe in Jo’s eyes for Allie’s brilliance sending warmth straight through me. “It does. Allie filed the patent for it, and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh bought it from her. She put the proceeds of the sale into the trust Molly set up, and when she died, the trust passed to me. It’s…kind of an insane amount of money. More than I would ever need. I have it because Allie dedicated her life to healing kids, and I wanted to do something with some of the money that would honor that.”
“So you donated it to the museum?” Jo’s voice is thick with the unshed tears in her eyes as I see her putting the pieces together.
I swipe my thumb along her cheek, wiping away a tear that escapes. “I donated it to your programs. What you created is incredibly special, Jo. You gave thousands of kids a safe place to learn and grow and explore. You made the museum accessible to kids who would otherwise never have the opportunity to step through those doors, and you made science fun. Some of those kids will become doctors who will make the next lifesaving discovery, and they’ll do it because you showed them they could. Six weeks ago, you told me your only hesitation about leaving the museum was that you wouldn’t be there to quarterback the enormous fundraising effort it takes to keep the programs running. Now you don’t have to worry about it, and you can focus on all the amazing work you’re doing now.”
“But…” Jo shakes her head. “That’s five years of operating expenses.”
I smile, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I know. I worked with the museum to structure the donation. This is just the first part of it. The museum shouldn’t have to fundraise for the operating expenses for your programs ever again.”
Jo closes her eyes, tears spilling over, clinging to her dark lashes. She has never looked more beautiful. “I love you so fucking much, J. You are the best person I have ever known. I can’t believe you did this.”
I wipe away more of her tears. “I love you more than you could possibly imagine. Jo Jo, some people don’t even get one great love of their life. I’m lucky enough to have two. Two brilliant, badass women who have done incredible things in their careers. It feels exactly right to use this money I have because of what Allie created to fund what you created with your brilliant, creative badassery. I think Allie would approve.”
“Damn right she would,” Jo says, leaning in and kissing me softly. “Let’s tell her next time we go see her.”
I smile, thinking of the trips we’ve taken together to visit Allie. The way Jo always gives me some time at Allie’s grave by myself before she joins me. The way we sit there together for a while talking about everything and nothing. The way Jo asks me to give her time alone with Allie before we leave.For girl talk, J, she always says. I never ask her what she talks to Allie about during those moments, and she never tells me. It’s for them and them alone. Maybe it should feel weird to go visit Allie with Jo, but it never does. It feels exactly, perfectly right.
“Definitely,” I say, taking Jo’s mouth in a longer, slower kiss that has lust shooting straight to my dick. Jo rocks over me, gasping into my mouth.
“How much time until the pizza gets here?” she asks, voice drenched in arousal.
I grip her hips, moving her over me, trailing my lips down her jaw, flicking my tongue over the spot behind her ear that makes her gasp again. “Enough time for me to get you off at least once. Twice if we really commit.”
“I am so committed,” Jo practically moans as she drops her hands to my hips, trailing her fingers under my shirt and tilting her head to give me better access to her neck.
She’s just about to tug my shirt over my head when the front door of the apartment flies open, dumping a proverbial bucket of cold water over us.
“Hey, neighbors,” Elliot says, barreling in with Noah and Cooper behind him.
“Shit,” I say against Jo’s neck. “Why did we think this was a good living situation?”
Jo laughs quietly. “Something something we really love your brothers?”
“Not right this minute I don’t,” I mutter, pressing another kiss to Jo’s soft skin, trying to ignore the fact that half my family is currently in my living room. “Maybe if we ignore them, they’ll just go away.”
“Jordan, honey, kiss the girl on your own time.”
“This was my own time,” I mumble, even as I smile at the sound of my grandmother’s voice. Glancing up, my smile spreads. She’s standing with her hands on her hips and a gleam in her eye as she looks at Jo and me wrapped together. Her gray curls are wild, and she’s wearing purple glasses and a brightly colored caftan despite the fact that it’s November and freezing outside.
“Cece!” Jo squeals, jumping off my lap and straight into my grandmother’s arms. They met a few weeks ago when Jo came up to Boston for a weekend and, surprising absolutely no one, they became fast friends.
“Cockblocked by your own grandma,” Noah says, plopping down on the couch and swinging an arm around me. “Super sucks to be you right now.”
Elliot drops pizza boxes down on the coffee table. “Thanks for ordering dinner.”
“I didn’t order it for you,” I say, giving him an unimpressed look, even though I actually did order two extra pizzas, assuming there was no way all my brothers would stay away on our first night here. After seeing them only sporadically for so long, and never in Boston, I can’t bring myself to be anything but happy about them being here right now, even though I make a mental note to lock the door more often.
It's a brother thing.
“Look at you,” Cooper says, massive smile on his face. “You’re practically beaming.”
I shrug, flipping open one of the pizza boxes and grabbing a slice. “What’s not to be happy about?”
Elliot hands me a real plate that must have come from his apartment because I haven’t found ours yet in the zillion boxes. “You’re a grown ass man, Jordan. Use a fucking plate.” He sits down on my other side, grabbing his own slice. “It’s really good to see you happy. And here.”
“Isn’t it?” Jo asks, grinning as she plops back in my lap and takes the plate Elliot hands her. “I think Boston looks good on Jordan.”
I wrap an arm around her waist and tug her back against me. “Boston looks good on both of us.”
