“I’m fine, Joey, really,” she assured him with a touch of exasperation. He was like a dog with a bone.
“But they said you were sick when I called,” Joey said with a frown. “Were you? Or were they just not letting me talk to you? If they’re making you do something you don’t want, or are here against your wishes, Nicki, we can leave now and—”
“No, no,” Nicole assured him quickly. “It’s nothing like that. They—I—” She blew her breath out on a sigh. Either she told him that Dante and Tomasso and whoever the woman was who’d answered one of his calls had lied, which would just freak him out further, or she lied to him now. As much as she hated to do it, her lying now seemed the best option to calm him down. Joey was already freaked out and suspicious, unreasonably so and she had to wonder what Dante or Tomasso had said or done to cause it.
“I’m fine now, but I wasn’t . . . myself the last few days.” Nicole smiled as she finished that, proud of herself. She hadn’t had to lie, after all. She really hadn’t been fully herself while Marguerite, Dante and Tomasso had been playing with her head.
Joey frowned. “Well, what was wrong? Was it the flu, or what?”
“Oh, just some—” she waved vaguely, and finished, “thing. I’m fine now though.”
“And these men who are here?” Joey asked.
“You know who Jake is, and Dante and Tomasso are his cousins. They’re visiting from out of town. Jake was very sick for several days and they came to make sure he was all right.”
“He was sick too?” Joey asked with surprise.
“He was very sick,” she assured him.
“With what?” Joey asked suspiciously.
“He had a bad reaction to the chemicals in the hot tub,” she said, and then frowned and murmured, “Which reminds me, I need to get someone in to empty, clean, and refill it.”
“I’m bored.”
Nicole glanced to Melly with a start at that announcement.
“I want to leave,” she added, and Nicole was sure her jaw dropped to the floor. The woman made the announcement like she was some royal princess and expected everyone to start jumping to please her . . . which Joey did. Much to Nicole’s amazement, her sometimes selfish and annoying brother was immediately on his feet, and moving to take her hand to help her up.
“Okay, we’ll go, baby,” he said soothingly.
Nicole stood uncertainly, eyes wide. “But Jake is making coffee and—”
“I don’t drink coffee,” Melly reminded her.
“Well, he’s boiling water for you,” Nicole said grimly.
“I don’t care. I want to leave.” Melly said simply and then turned to Joey and demanded imperiously, “Take me shopping, Joey.”
“Of course,” he said quickly, taking her arm to usher her to the stairs. “I’ll buy you something shiny and pretty.”
“And expensive. It should be expensive to make up for this,” Melly informed him.
“Of course,” Joey assured her.
Nicole stared after them with amazement as the couple descended the stairs out of sight. She couldn’t believe what she’d just seen and heard. Good God—
“She must give one hell of a bl*w j*b.”
Nicole jumped and turned at that dry comment from Jake. He stood behind her, hands on hips, a disgusted look on his face. Eyes wide with amazement, Nicole asked, “What?”
He shrugged, his mouth twisting. “Well, it’s true. She must be beyond amazing in bed for Joey to put up with that crap. She’s a bitch and he grovels and panders to her like a peasant in the presence of a queen.”
“Yes,” Nicole agreed on a sigh, glancing out the large front window as Joey ushered Melly to his car in the driveway. “She’s perfectly horrid.”
“Hmm.” Jake nodded, watching the couple as well. They both simply stood there, silently watching until Joey had Melly in the car, got in himself, and backed out of the driveway. As the car drove out of sight along the road, Jake announced, “The coffee should be done and the cake is sliced up. Want some?”
“Oh yeah,” Nicole said with feeling, turning to lead the way into the kitchen.