Page 134 of Kiss Me Like You Mean It

‘After we spoke on Friday, it felt like something was up with you. I was worried,’ Jack frowns. ‘So we came as soon as we could make it work. Now I know why you were being so weird, I guess.’

I have no idea what’s going on in his head, but he definitely doesn’t look happy.

Cynthie comes forward, bundling first me and then Lee into a hug. ‘I’m so pleased for you two!’ she beams. ‘It’s about time!’

‘What do you mean it’s about time?’ Jack asks her, his frown deepening.

Cynthie rolls her eyes. ‘Please. I saw all this coming the second I met them.’

‘You saw them secretly getting married in Maine and not telling anyone about it?’ Jack’s eyebrows arch sarcastically. He’s going what Lee refers to as ‘full-Darcy’ now. Definitely angry.

Cynthie crunches thoughtfully on more kettle corn. ‘Fine, that part was a surprise.’

‘Hey!’ Someone grins at Cynthie as he walks past. ‘Nice costume, you look just like her!’

Cynthie smiles back at him, adopting a flawless Southern drawl. ‘Thank you so much!’ She holds the bag of kettle corn out to me. ‘Want some? It’s really good. I’m obsessed with this place, by the way. Did you know there’s a woman selling banana and broccoli ice cream?’

‘Can we get back to important matters?’ Jack continues to look furious.

‘Yeah, like why didn’t your brother know you were married, Lee?’ Frankie turns to her. ‘I knew something wasn’t right.’ Then he turns to me. ‘If you’ve tricked her into anything, you’ll have me to deal with.’

‘Who is this guy?’ Jack growls, and then he takes a small step back when Frankie fixes him with a glare.

I can’t help smirking at him, yeah, you weren’t expecting that. ‘Jack, this is Frankie Martelli,’ I say, and Jack’s eyes widen. ‘He’s your sister’s friend, and the head of the Martelli family.’

‘Retired,’ Frankie says around his cigar, in a way that makes it clear he’s still active enough to break Jack’s kneecaps should the whim take him.

‘Okay,’ Lee says, and I realise it’s the first time she’s spoken since Jack and Cynthie arrived. Her calm voice is back, the serene mask falling into place, and nobody but me seems to even notice anything is wrong. To anyone actually paying attention it’s clear she’s feeling overwhelmed. It’s all too confrontational, and I’m not helping by winding Jack and Frankie up.

‘I’m going to take Frankie and fill him in on what’s happened,’ she continues smoothly, as I watch the pulse hammer in her throat, ‘while you catch Jack and Cynthie up. Then I’ll find Charles and the others to make sure everything’s okay.’

‘Who the fuck is Charles? I don’t understand any of this.’ Jack sounds annoyed again, clearly deciding Frankie’s presence isn’t going to deter him, and he’s radiating tension. Lee’s shoulders tighten more. She looks between me and her brother and presses her lips together.

‘I’ll explain it in a second,’ I say to Jack, but my attention is on Lee. I reach out and pull her towards me, wrapping her in my arms. Her body is still tense, and I gently pinch her chin between my thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up to mine. Her big, blue eyes swim with anxiety.

‘Nico—’ she starts helplessly, but I drop my mouth to hers. I hear Jack make a huff of surprise at the same time as Cynthie squeals.

When I pull back some of the strain has left Lee’s face. I smile, brush her hair back.

‘It’s fine,’ I say softly, and I take off the white lab coat I’m wearing and pull it around her shoulders. ‘I’ll take care of it, you go and handle Frankie. We’re good, Daisy. I promise.’

‘What the fuck was that?’ Jack asks when Lee and Frankie leave.

‘That was you stressing your sister out,’ I say. ‘Next time you see her you could at least say hello, for fuck’s sake.’

Jack blinks. ‘I thought I did say hello.’

I shake my head in disgust.

‘Look, there was a lot going on and I’m trying to process it all.’ There’s some colour in his cheeks now. ‘I didn’t even know the two of you spoke to each other, and now it turns out you’re married? Excuse me for being a bit thrown.’

I exhale. ‘Fair enough,’ I agree. ‘I should have told you. I’m sorry about that.’

‘I’m sorry too.’ Jack tucks his hands in his pockets. ‘And I didn’t mean to upset Lee. I’ll talk to her about it.’

‘I’d appreciate that.’

‘So now you two have had that moving heart-to-heart are you going to explain what’s going on?’ Cynthie asks, taking Jack’s hand in hers.