Nicole grimaced apologetically at Jake, then swiveled her head to peer at her brother. “I’m fine, Joey. There’s no need to call Mom.”
Joey glared at her, phone at the ready and breathing heavily. He then stepped closer and hissed by her ear, “We need to talk. Something isn’t right here. I want you to come with Melly and me. You can stay at our hotel with us until we get this straightened out.”
“Melly?” Nicole asked, glancing around. “Is she here?”
Even as she asked the question, Nicole spotted the beautiful redhead standing by the couch. It wasn’t hard to believe she was a model, Melly was gorgeous; large exotic eyes, a straight nose, full, pouty lips, flowing red hair and stick thin. The woman looked like she was born to walk the runways of Europe and grace magazine covers.
Nicole was suddenly very aware that she was dressed like a bum, completely makeup free, and that her hair was a damp mess stuffed into a ponytail. Damn, she thought, life could be so unfair at times. Pushing that thought away, she produced a perfectly sincere smile and crossed the room to greet the woman her brother loved.
“Hello, Melly. It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, taking the woman’s cold hand in her own and shaking it warmly.
“It’s Melanie,” the woman said, with a cool smile as she retrieved her hand. “Only Joey calls me Melly.”
“Oh.” Nicole smiled uncertainly, glanced toward the men and then turned to head for the kitchen. “I’ll put coffee on.”
“I don’t drink coffee,” Melly announced. “It ages you prematurely.”
“Well then I’ll put water on for tea,” Nicole said, moving a little more quickly.
“Tea is as bad as coffee,” Melly announced as if she should know that and added, “Just hot water with lemon for me.”
“Right,” Nicole said through her teeth as she escaped into the kitchen.
She only realized that Jake had followed her when he said, “I’ll make the coffee and put the kettle on. You go visit with your brother and Melly.”
Nicole grimaced. “I’ll just get out some of that cake I saw in the refrigerator earlier.”
“Cake?” Jake asked with surprise.
“Mmm-hmm. I think Marguerite bought it while she was here.” Grinning, she added, “She has a sweet tooth.”
“What kind of cake is it?” Jake asked with interest, moving over to peer into the fridge over her shoulder. “And why the hell didn’t I see it when I was making our snack?”
“It’s double chocolate,” Nicole answered, pulling out a large carton of orange juice, another of milk, and a couple of creamers to reveal the covered cake at the back of the refrigerator. “Because I hid it so the boys wouldn’t gobble it down. They have a tendency to inhale everything.”
“Yeah, they do. They were always like that,” Jake commented, stepping back to get out of the way as she pulled the cake out and turned to set it on the counter.
Nicole started to take the lid off, and then paused and frowned. “I suppose if she won’t drink coffee, Melly probably doesn’t eat sweets either.”
“Yeah, she does,” Jake assured her absently, his attention on the cake. “She plans to puke it back up afterward.”
“What?” Nicole turned to him with surprise.
“I read her mind,” he explained, glancing to her and then smiled crookedly and added, “She doesn’t know you’re serving chocolate cake, of course. But when you said you were putting on coffee, she hoped you would serve a sweet too. She’s starved, wants to gorge on two or three pieces, and then slip away to the bathroom and purge it to avoid the calories.”
“Geez,” Nicole muttered, peering at the cake. It seemed a terrible waste to feed it to Melly just to have her puke it up afterward. “Maybe I won’t put it out.”
“Good. Save it for later. We can watch a movie and eat cake,” Jake said with a grin.
Nicole smiled faintly, but then her expression turned serious and she said, “Please don’t read Joey and Melly while they’re here, Jake. It’s kind of rude.”
His grin died slowly and he nodded. “You’re right. I hated it when my mother and the others read me. I shouldn’t do it. I’ll try not to.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, reaching out to place a hand on his chest to balance herself as she leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. At least, she meant to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head at the last moment so that her lips landed on his.
“Is that chocolate cake?” Joey said behind them just as their lips brushed across each other’s.
It was probably a good thing, Nicole admitted as she turned to smile and nod at her brother. The way Jake affected her, she very well might have tried to climb him right here in the kitchen.
“Good,” Joey said grimly. “Chocolate is Melly’s favorite.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Nicole murmured with a sigh. It looked like she was serving it after all. Forcing a smile, she suggested, “Go sit down and relax, Joey. We’ll be out in just a minute with coffee and cake . . . and water and lemon,” she added quickly when he frowned. Truly, it had just slipped her mind.
“You’re right. We shouldn’t leave Melly alone. It’s rude,” Joey said with forced cheer. “Besides, you should get to know her. She’s going to be your sister-in-law someday.”
“Oh—” Nicole glanced to Jake.
“Jake will bring out the coffee and cake when it’s ready,” Joey added grimly and then arched an eyebrow and added, “That’s what he’s here for, isn’t it?”
Annoyance slid through Nicole at the comment. Jake was more than just a cook/housekeeper to her now, but she wasn’t sure just what that more included yet. However, Dante and Tomasso’s talk had convinced her to give this . . . whatever this was, a chance.
“Then he can come back in the kitchen and cook or clean or whatever while we visit,” Joey added firmly and Nicole felt herself stiffen.
“Actually, then he can visit with us so that you can get to know him,” she said sharply, and then mimicked him, adding, “You never know, he might be your brother-in-law some day.”
The minute the words were out of her mouth, Nicole wanted to pull them back in. Jake had stiffened behind her, and Joey looked horrified, but no more than herself. She’d said them out of anger . . . but they were too much. She’d agreed to give Jake a chance, not accept him as a life mate. She wasn’t ready for—
“Go visit with your brother,” Jake said quietly, his hand landing on her shoulder and squeezing gently before he urged her forward. “I’ll bring everything out when it’s ready.”
When Nicole glanced over her shoulder to him uncertainly, he smiled reassuringly and nodded her on. Letting her breath out on a sigh, Nicole followed when her brother turned sharply and strode out of the kitchen.
Melly was lounging on the couch, and lounging was the only description; she looked like she was posing for an ad for some exotic tropical resort. Nicole smiled at the girl, but before she could say anything, Joey caught her arm and pulled her close.
“What’s going on, Nicole?” he asked in a low, worried voice. “When I arrived just a couple days ago, Jake had just started on as your cook/housekeeper and you hardly knew him. Now he might be my new brother-in-law? What’s going on? Has he drugged you? Hypnotized you? Are they holding you hostage and forcing you to say this stuff?”
Nicole sighed and shook her head. “I didn’t mean that, Joey. I was just annoyed that you were treating him so badly.”
“He was naked and coming out of your room,” he pointed out grimly. “You aren’t the type to sleep with someone you barely know. And they haven’t been letting me speak to you. Something isn’t right here, and I’m worried. Please tell me what’s going on. I’m your big brother. I want to help you.”