Man, what a tangled web this was turning out to be.
Stifling a sigh, I made my way back to the elegant, gray leather couches as she set a plate of gingersnap cookies she’d baked on the low, wooden coffee table. I dropped onto the couch and rubbed my face. “I didn’t even know I liked Jack until recently. I mean, any woman with a pulse would want him, but then this past weekend—”
“You mean Saturday, when you left Millbrae in a hurry with him?” she drawled.
Gah. “You know his grandfather had a heart attack,” I grumbled. “It’s not like we eloped or anything.”
“Mm-hmm.” Ila snagged a cookie with paint-smeared fingertips and took a bite. “Ray, the most important thing is that he likes you.”
“Yes. He does, he told me so. But I’m working for Nigel, too, though Jack doesn’t like it—”
“But he’d rather have you safe there than at the bar.”
“Yeah.” I reached for a cookie, and took a bite. The sharp, spicy-sweet flavor flooded my mouth. Man, Ila made them so good. “La, can I take some of these with me for the kids who live near my dorm?”
She nodded. “Jack’s right, Ray. I didn’t like you working in the Mission area, but it was so hard in those days…” Ila sighed and pushed back a stray lock of hair from her face. “You don’t know how happy I was that Max watched out for you even before I knew him.”
“Actually, all three of them did. They saw me as a sister, and I thought they were pests,” I said with a wry smile, shoving the rest of the cookie into my mouth. “Though Jack says I was a pain in his ass, and he never saw me as a sibling. He’s quite happy to leave that role to Max and War. But they all made it known to the guys at the bar that I was off-limits.”
Ila burst out laughing. “That puts a new spin on everything, doesn’t it?”
“Perhaps.” I frowned at the high ceiling with its recessed lights. “I mean, all I saw were players. And Jack certainly didn’t see me inthatlight until the night I said I had a date—”
“Ah, right, the mysterious guy. You going to tell me who it was?”
“It wasn’t really a date…” I scrunched my nose. Ugh, might as well tell her. “It was a hookup with a hockey player.”
My sister’s chin nearly hit the floor. “A-a hookup? Why?”
I shrugged. “I wanted to see what all the excitement was about the O thing—the orgasm deal, I mean. The guys I were with before…let’s just say, they knew the basics, but left me wanting. As long astheycame, it was awesome—a success.” I snorted and pushed to my feet unable to sit still. “Sorry, sis, I know you thought I was on my way to a convent.”
Ila shook her head and then stared at me like an owl. “It’s only because you never showed any interest in dating or guys.”
“True, I wasn’t interested. But Jack...” I lifted my shoulder, though I couldn’t stop a smile from tugging my mouth. “He wouldn’t take no—”
“Wait, wait, wait!” She waved her hand, stopping me. “Did Jack know about this hookup plan?”
“No, not at first. But, yeah, he found out. The same evening. He put an end to it. We fought, and then he kissed me.” I flopped back onto my seat again. “Everything started snowballing from there.”
Ila remained quiet for several seconds. “So…” she began, her amber eyes glinting, her smile widening in a way I didn’t trust. “You and Jack, the king of players, eh? How was it? Tell me, tell me,” she chanted. “Did you get your O with him?”
Gah! Heat scorched my face, and I groaned that she’d tossed the name I’d crowned Jack with at me. I snatched the cushion from behind my back and threw it at her. She snagged it and set it aside, still grinning.
“This is payback, isn’t it? Because of the times I tormented you when Max came after you,” I grumbled.
She laughed. “Absolutely.”
I rubbed my fiery cheeks and exhaled a huge breath like a deflating balloon. “I like him, Ila. I mean, I really, really like him—”
“Huh-uh, got it. You’re falling for him.”
Sheesh. I gave her the stink-eye, jumped up, and started pacing the perimeter of the couch. “I never expected to feel this way about Jack, you know? I have plans for my future, and they didn’t include a guy.”
“Seems to me since he corralled you into living with him, he’s already proven how he feels,” she said. “And you can still do both, Ray, no matter who you’re with. It’s the twenty-first century, not the Dark Ages. Women aren’t chattel any longer, though some men would still like to think so.”
“I know.” I continued my restless roaming around the furniture.
“Besides, a guy like Jack won’t easily bend for anyone unless it’s whathewants,” she said. “And look, you even took a job being his grandfather’s companion.”
