“Should I be worried?”
“No.” He slowly uncurled her fingers from his biceps. “So how you doing at Cash’s? Is he being a gentleman?”
His transparent attempt at deflection annoyed her. “He’s being very hospitable.”
“He hasn’t put the moves on you, has he?”
No, I put the moves on him.
“Of course not,” she replied, but only because she’d promised Cash she wouldn’t say anything.
Still, the lie left a bitter taste in her mouth. She was twenty-six, for God’s sake. Her brother had no say in her love life. Her safety, fine, she’d give him that, but she’d only bended to Carson’s will and agreed to move out of her apartment because he’d raised legitimate concerns. What if Brendan did violate the restraining order and show up at her door? That wasn’t so farfetched anymore, considering he’d just confronted her parents.
But while her brother’s concerns about Brendan were valid, she didn’t agree with his high-handed attitude about Cash.
“I’ll talk to you later.”
Jen snapped out of her thoughts in time to see her brother’s retreating back. Rather than call after him, she let him go, unable to fight the feeling of foreboding climbing up her spine. What on earth was up with her brother?
And why the hell had he called some other woman angel?
“I swear to God, if you’re cheating on your wife…” She couldn’t even finish that sentence. The thought of Carson stepping out on Holly made her blood boil.
Squaring her shoulders, she marched to the front door and practically sprinted outside. She slid into the waiting SUV, then slammed the door so hard Cash jumped.
“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately.
“Nothing.” She buckled her seatbelt. “Can we stop at my sister-in-law’s restaurant on the way home?”
“Sure. Why?”
“I just want to say hi to Holly.”
As Cash started the engine and reversed out of her parents’ driveway, Jen fixed her gaze out the window, still troubled by the conversation she’d overheard.
The idea of Carson cheating on Holly continued to burn a hole in her stomach, but she didn’t want to share her suspicions with Cash. Maybe if she didn’t voice them out loud, they wouldn’t feel real.
Angel.
Who had Carson been talking to?
Shit. Whoever it was, this didn’t bode well for her brother’s marriage. At all.
By the time Cash pulled up in front of Primrose, the restaurant where Holly worked, Jen was anxious to see her sister-in-law and make sure everything was okay.
“You can wait in the car,” she told him. “I wouldn’t mind some girl time.”
A perplexed groove dug into his forehead. “All right.”
She hopped out of the SUV and hurried toward the restaurant’s entrance. When she strode inside, she had to let her eyes adjust to the dim lighting. As usual, she was taken aback by the elegance of the restaurant. Primrose was a five-star establishment, owned by a renowned West Coast chef, and Jen remembered Holly having to endure a three-month-long interview process to snag the prestigious sous-chef position.
The lanky young man at the hostess stand waved her in the direction of the kitchen once she told him Holly was her sister-in-law. Thanking him, she bypassed the main room and made her way down the wood-paneled hallway.
She hesitated in front of the swinging doors, then stepped through them and entered the enormous kitchen, where she earned a few quizzical looks from the kitchen staff. She immediately spotted her sister-in-law by a gleaming stainless steel counter across the room.
“Hey sis,” she called.
The petite brunette spun around, her catlike green eyes filling with surprise. “Jen? What are you doing here?”
“Just stopped to say hello,” she said lightly.
Holly saw right through her. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she lied. “I really came by to say hi.”
Wiping her hands with a red dishrag, Holly stepped away from the counter, abandoning the onions she’d been mincing.
“Don’t you have to finish those?” Jen asked as Holly barreled toward her.
“It’s just prep work. It can wait a few minutes.” Untying her white apron, Holly tossed a glance at the dark-skinned man standing by the grill. “Luis, I’m taking a break.”
“Sure thing, sweetie.”
Holly took Jen’s arm and practically dragged her out of the kitchen and into the employee break room, a large space with two couches, a kitchenette and a bank of lockers spanning one wall.
Under Holly’s piercing gaze, Jen felt like a little kid again. She and Holly were the same height, but the brunette instilled the same urge to cower that the admiral evoked in her.
“Are you okay? Did something happen with Brendan?” Holly frowned. “Wait, did you come here alone? Because Carson said you weren’t supposed to go anywhere without Cash. What’s wrong?”
Jen had to smile. “I’m fine. Nothing happened with Brendan. Cash is outside waiting in the car. And nothing’s wrong.” She gave Holly a pointed look. “Not with me, anyway.”
“What does that mean?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you and Carson were having problems?”
After a beat of stunned silence, Holly’s shoulders sagged. “You talked to Annabelle.”