Page 68 of Beg, Borrow, or Steal

Annie and I walk in together like nothing of incredible life importance just took place in the parking lot and go to our usual table. Noah, Amelia, James, and Will are already here.

“Hiya!” I say, grabbing a seat and slinging my purse over the back of the chair as Annie makes a beeline for the seat next to Will.

All eyes turn toward me, and no one says anything.

Noah folds his arms.

Amelia leans forward, resting her elbows on the table.

Will grins.

Annie lifts a taunting brow like we didn’t already interact in the parking lot and all the way inside the building.

James taps his finger on the table.

It only takes me a second to realize what’s going on. I groan and tilt my face up to the ceiling. “Who told you about the coffee?”

“James,” they all say in unison. The man in question doesn’t even have the decency to look guilty.

He shrugs. “I heard it from Mabel.”

Bringing my gaze back to my smug siblings (and friend), I sigh. “Fine. Yes. I had coffee with Jack and his mom the other day. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s a very big deal considering he’s a man you’ve claimed to hate, and now, over the course of a month, are meeting his mom. Is there something we should know about?” says Noah.

“No. There’s not.”

Annie tilts her face and narrows her eyes. “Maybe we should call Madison and see if she can get it out of you.”

“She can’t tonight. I already texted her earlier to see if she wanted to be on FaceTime for this, but she’s out on a date tonight. She said she’ll be busy…all night.”

James suddenly stands up from the table. “I’m going to go get another beer. Want me to grab you one, Emily?”

Odd.I mean—it wouldn’t be odd if this were the only time James has removed himself from a conversation when we started talking about Maddie and her life in New York—but it’s not.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Once he leaves, my siblings get right back to business. “Okay,” says Amelia, “catch me up. We’re talking about your neighbor who you patched up during our girls’ night, right? And we are only freaking out that Emily met his mom because they used to be enemies?”

“We’re not freaking out,” I say quickly and firmly hoping my siblings will get it through their heads once and for all that my life is not open for debate. “This is a non-issue. I walked in while he andhis mom were having coffee and they invited me to sit. There’s nothing deeper here.”Lie.That coffee felt significant. It was Jack letting me into his life a little further—something I know isn’t easy for him.

“We’re just…sort of…friends,” I say, hoping this pacifies them.

Will tries to trick me. “But how are his abs?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I say firmly. Except I do know. And he has a fantastic torso. It’s the stuff of dreams. My dreams every night this week, in fact. But I am not ready for my siblings to know that I have feelings for Jack. Because I don’t even know what to do with them yet, and getting these nosy Nellies involved would only further complicate the situation.

“When you find out, tell us,” says Amelia with a wide smile. “Don’t leave any detail out. Take a picture if he’ll let you.”

Noah glares at Amelia, but there’s a playful twinkle in his eye that I don’t miss. “We’ve only been married a year and you’re already drooling over other men?”

Amelia lays her head on his shoulder. “I just like to see you get jealous. You get frowny and…”

I tune out.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to hang out with my siblings and their significant others. Because while Noah and Amelia are doing some sort of weird public conversational foreplay, Will and Annie are kissing. I’m not kidding. This happens more than you’d imagine. They look at each other, fall into their own little world, and thenbamthey’re making out in public. If you had told me a year ago before they started dating that my sweet baby sister Annie—the wholesome, sugar-cookie sister—would be making out in public with her tattooed retired bodyguard boyfriend, I’d have laughed in your face and assumed you were drunk.

James has the right idea, so I get up and leave my overlyaffectionate siblings alone to make out like weird teenagers at the table and join him at the bar.

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