I drop his phone and grab mine from him. “You have three seconds to tell me what your text said or, so help me, I will tell Madi you tried to seduce me.”
His eyes widen, a panicked look in them. “You wouldn’t.”
“Three, two—”
“I told her you begged me to come with you to take over for André.” The words spill out of his mouth.
“What?” I sit up, and Jack follows suit, putting up his hands defensively.
“She won’t get mad at you. She loves you. You’re her best friend.”
“And you’re herbrother.”
“We both know she’d choose you over me any day.”
I stare at him, not sure whether he’s serious or kidding. But there’s no time to delve into that murky mystery. I take a deep breath, and still holding his gaze, I swipe to answer.
“You’re awake!” Madi says with surprise. “I thought I’d be leaving a voicemail.”
“Jet lag,” I explain, tilting away from Jack as he leans to try to listen. “How’s the wedding going?”
“Exhausting,” she says. “But alsoreallywell! It’s been so fun to see Laura and John again. We head to London tomorrow. We’ll have some time to see more of the city before we fly out to Paris Sunday.”
“Sounds like a blast,” I say, feeling weirder by the minute that I’m with her brother and she doesn’t know it.
“I can’t believe you’re in France, and I’m in England! I owe you so big for all you’re doing. Which brings me to the reason for my call.”
I glance at Jack, whose eyes plead with me.
“Soooo,superweird question,” Madi says, “but… Jack isn’t there with you, is he?”
My heart goes wild, wondering if she somehow can sense that he’s right beside me, or that he paid me a midnight visit without a shirt on, or that, if she had called a minute sooner, we both would have been breathless from wrestling on the bed. My cheeks are heating up, and Jack’s giving me a quizzical look.
But I’m rational enough to know that’s not what Madi means. She’s just asking if he’s here in France with me, so I take a breath. With Jack’s intent eyes on me, though, I’m feeling as nervous as I did watching the primary votes roll in.
He leans in so his ear rests against my hand holding the phone.
“Yeah, he is.” I try to keep my tone on that balance beam of neutrality—not overly enthusiastic about Jack’s presence, but also not growling with annoyance.
There’s silence for a few seconds. “You’rekidding. Oh my gosh, Siena! I was convinced he was messing with me when I got his text. I feel terrible! If you were overwhelmed with things, you could have told me. Rémy showed me the spreadsheet today, and I could hardly believe how much stuff you’re doing.”
I pull away and shoot Jack a look to let him know he will pay for this. The last thing I want is for Madi to be stressed aboutmystress levels. “No no no. I’m not overwhelmed. It’s just that, when he came over to bring those boxes that day, he seemed like he could use a bit more purpose in life.”
Jack’s eyebrows draw together like I just hit below the belt.
I don’t feel like my argument is quite strong enough yet. “I also figured he’d be better at planning a bachelor party than me.”
Jack smirks, nodding like he approves and agrees.
Why can’t I just throw this fool under the bus? I should’ve done it seven years ago when he hung me out to dry.
Jack leans in to listen again, and no matter how much I pull away to avoid him, he follows, putting his ear against my hand.
I pull the phone from my ear and tap the speaker button, letting Jack know by my facial expression how I feel about his tactics.
Madi laughs. “Don’t be too certain. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he’s there to help you. Surprised, but glad. But… double check his work, you know? And if he’s bothering you, for the love of all that is holy, let me know.”
My brow raises threateningly, and his eyes plead with me.
