Page 49 of The Making of Marnie Jones

“Your uncle wants you to speak with me.” She tightened her ponytail. “What you choose to do is your affair.”

Olivia eyed her warily. “He said he’d let me leave the hospital if I agreed to come here and talk to you.”

“You're an adult, Olivia, you can walk out if you want. But know this—Jake has your best interests at heart. He loves you, and he’s worried. He came all the way to British Columbia to ask me to come here to see you. If you don't want to talk, I'll happily go home. I won't stay where I’m not welcome.” Marnie held her breath. She was taking an enormous gamble, but Olivia needed to believe she had choices. The girl was an immature nineteen-year-old needing a firm hand. Forcing her to confide, however, was going to get them nowhere.

The sound of a key in the lock broke the standoff.

Olivia shot off the couch and moved back to the bedroom while Marnie headed to the door to greet Jake. She held it open as he maneuvered the groceries into the condo. Placing the bags on the counter, he eyed the condo warily.

“Olivia?”

She waved toward the bedroom. “She's probably in the bathroom again. She's eaten, and we had a brief conversation.”

“About?”

She raised an eyebrow while she put away two cans of tuna. “I get that you’re compelled to know everything, but you're going to have to give her space and give me your trust. Actually, the conversation was very innocuous. If Olivia's going to trust me, however, she has to believe I won't be continuously reporting back to you.”

“What do I do?” He rotated the jar of pasta sauce he was holding. “I feel powerless.”

“Trust, Jake. Trust when there’s something you can do, I'll come to you. Trust that if I'm worried about her safety, I'll reach out.” She tightened her ponytail again while trying to exude a confidence she didn't feel. “I gave you my trust, now I'm asking you for yours.”

“Touché.” He didn't look thrilled. But a wry grin broke out across his weary face. He turned when his niece entered the room and stiffened. “Where did you get those clothes?”

“From the closet.” She implied theduh.

“Without permission?”

Her eyes flashed. “I couldn’t wear those scrubs all day, and she—” She flicked her hand at Marnie. “—is way too short.”

“Her name is Marnie, and you’ll speak about her respectfully.” His eyes narrowed. “I planned to give you sweats until we can get you your own clothes.”

“These fit.” The young woman spat out the words defensively. “It's not like Jessica’s going to care.”

Marnie watched the byplay helplessly. Why was Jake so angry?

“I’ll wash the clothes first thing in the morning.”Make this right.“If Olivia and I order clothes in the morning, they can deliver them in the afternoon. Maybe when she's up to it, we can go to Yorkville.”

“Yorkville?” Olivia's eyes widened, and her eagerness couldn’t be missed. Posh, hip, and trendy Yorkville was known for high-end designer clothes.

They might acquire a few items delivered from those stores, and fill in Olivia's wardrobe with more practical items. That lanky figure was model-perfect and, especially with her height, she was a designer's dream client. She was made for off-the-rack designer duds.

Marnie's offer and Olivia's enthusiasm seemed to soften Jake's stance. “You're right, Jessica probably won't mind. It caught me off guard.”

The buzzer went off with a raucous noise, and Marnie jumped.

Jake moved to the intercom.

She pivoted to Olivia. “Help me put away the rest of the groceries?”

The young woman opened one bag and pulled out spinach. They worked in silence as Jake dealt with the pizza delivery.

Even as her nose twitched at the scent of the food, Marnie’s stomach sank, and her mind whirled. Jessica? Who the hell was Jessica? Why had she assumed Jake was single? Although, aside from the moment of awareness earlier today, he never said anything to lead her to believe there could be anything between them. And even the notion had given her a minor panic attack.

It ought to relieve her to hear about Jessica.

Except she wasn't.

“Marnie?”

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