"I'm not doing anything."
"Exactly." His thumb presses into the small of my back, and I arch into it without thinking.
My phone rings.
"Ignore it," West says against my neck.
"It could be important."
"It's not."
It buzzes again. Insistent.
I reach over, fumbling for it. I sit up slightly, pulling the sheet with me. Answer. "Hello?
"Jane?"
The voice is soft and familiar.
Natalie Ashford.
I lock eyes with West. Mouth her name.
I tap the button. "Natalie. Hi. Are you—how are you?"
Stupid question. Her wedding is tomorrow and she just found out her fiancé is a serial cheater who thinks she's a business acquisition.
"I'm…" A pause. "I don't know, actually. But that's not why I'm calling."
West's expression sharpens. Focused.
"Okay," I say carefully.
"The bridesmaids showed me everything. The timeline. The recordings. The footage from the bachelor party." Her voice doesn't waver. It's almost eerie how steady she sounds. "Thank you."
"You don't have to—"
"I do. You could have walked away. You didn't have to care whether I married him or not. But you built a case like youwere trying to protect someone you actually knew."
My chest tightens. "Natalie—"
"Especially the contingency notes. The 'if he tries to manipulate her' section. The part where you wrote out responses I could use if he tried to gaslight me." She pauses. "That wasn't in the job description, was it?"
West's hand finds mine under the sheet. Squeezes once.
"No," I admit. "That was just… I didn't want you to be alone in it."
"I know. That's why I'm calling."
I wait.
"I need to tell you something," Natalie says. "And I need you to understand it before I ask you what I'm going to ask you."
West leans closer. His shoulder presses against mine.
"I already knew."
"You—what?"
