Her eyes drift back to me. I grin, then shrug. “I am going to run upstairs and put some clothes on right now,” I giggle nervously.
“I’ll be here. I can’t wait to hear what you’ve been up to,” she sasses.
My cheeks turn pink, and I avert my eyes, then spin and practically run from the kitchen. Behind me, I hear Kristopher chuckle.
Upstairs, I shower, taking my time and pulling my thoughts straight. Jess knows about the marriage now. What else do I tell her? Do I tell her about my heart? No. It would be silly. It would be embarrassing, because Kris doesn’t feel the same way.
When I come downstairs again, Kris is dressed in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, and he and Jess are busy making pancakes.
He winks at me and my heart somersaults.
We eat breakfast at the kitchen table, chatting about nothing in particular.
Kris stands and stretches. “I’ve got to go into work for a bit. Are you two going to behave?” he raises his brows at each of us.
“We’ll behave,” Jess laughs.
“Please, I don’t want either of you out of this mansion. Not right now, after what happened last night.”
Jess scrunches her face. “What happened?” she blurts out.
“Georgie can update you. I’ve got to go.” He hugs her, then walks over to me, and with his hand behind my head, he gently kisses my cheek. My face flushes red and my heart does the somersault thing.
“I’ll see you later,” he whispers, then leaves us alone at the table.
“Um. So….” Jess says, grinning and picking up her coffee.
I pick up my tea and smile, looking into the mug. “I guess there’s a lot to tell.”
“Well, why don’t you start with how you are? I’ve been worried about you. I know you said you were okay after being kidnapped and all, but come on, Georgie, you can talk to me. It must have been terrifying.”
“Let’s go sit in the living room. It’s more comfortable there.”
She follows me to the sofa, and we sit together. I tell her about the experience of being taken by Koskos, and she listens, sometimes horrified, sometimes furious. We talk about that, and about what happened afterwards at the auction, how Kris traded his territories for me.
Then, finally, with her curiosity becoming too much, she asks me about the marriage.
“Was it for your safety? To protect you?” she asks.
“Yes. He said it was the only way he could keep me safe.”
She nods slowly, but her smile is sneaky. “It wasn’t aboutanything else?” she grins.
“No. No, it’s not like that,” I answer quickly. The way Jess looks at me, it’s like she’s seeing straight through me.
She tilts her head to the side, watching me carefully. “I always suspected, you know.”
“What?” I ask.
“You don’t know this, but I’ve always been aware of it. My brother has been keeping a very watchful eye on you for years. He had security guys undercover and following you at all times. He kept his distance, but he kept you safe.”
“Um, sure. He did it because he knew we were best friends. He wanted to make sure nothing happened to me because it would hurt you,” I explain, remembering what Kris told me. But it is surprising to hear he went to such extreme lengths. I had no idea.
Jess giggles. “No, Georgie. It was more than that. It was more than just what a ‘best friend’s brother’ would do. And now, seeing how he looked at you, it’s even more obvious to me. What I saw this morning confirms it.”
She smiles a crooked smile, one corner of her mouth curling upwards as she watches me closely.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” I reply, my heart beating fast enough to burst from my ribs. I want to believe it. And I do understand what she’s suggesting, but it can’t be that.
