Page 48 of You Don’t Kiss Your Brother's Best Friends

She nodded, holding onto my shoulder as she leaned forward over the sauce pan I had going on the stove. The Alfredo was thickening, but still not ready. She took a whiff.

“Do it then,” she said. “I’m not promising them anything until we know.”

I stepped back as she left the room, pointing with my spoon for Bishop to take over my station. He looked frazzled already, and we were just getting started.

“Is she here yet?” I growled.

He looked over his shoulder and shook his head.

“You haven’t seen her?” I implored him. “Where the fuck is she?”

“Your guess is as good as—”

At that moment, Jocelyn hurried in, her face as white as if she’d seen a ghost. Relief flooded through me, followed by anger as I thrust the spoon into Bishop’s hand.

“Watch it carefully,” I warned. “And don’t stop stirring it.”

She made it halfway to whatever she was doing by the time I intercepted her. Grabbing her by the wrist, I pulled her into the pantry and closed the door violently behind us.

“Ummm… hi.”

The slam of the door resonated, then faded, divorcing us from the chaos outside. Jocelyn stared back at me, knowing exactly what I was about to say. But there was defiance in those hazel eyes too.

“I… I just can’t believe it,” I said sharply. “When Bishop told me you’d talked your way back here, I thought he was fucking around. And then sure enough, you’re on the roster. Andre confirmed it. And now you’re tying on an apron, like you’re about to help with the dinner rush at the Oakwood Diner.”

“The Oakwood Diner’s been closed forever,” she noted.

I threw up my arms. “Jocelyn, you’re going to get yourself killed!” I practically shouted. “These people aren’t playing around. You don’t know them. You don’t realize what’ll happen to you, if they suspect even the slightest thing is off about this.”

“I know,” she said apologetically. “And I’m sorry. To an extent.”

“To anextent?” My blood was boiling.

“Coming back here the first time was a mistake,” she acknowledged, “but so was not telling me anything. The three of you had all week to tell me what was going on. You kept me completely in the dark.”

“You should still be in the dark,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, well I’m not. I’m here to help, and you need to accept it,” she said fiercely. “So stop pouting, and stop treating me like a child. You’re only a chef, remember? A chef in a world of millionaire mercenary captains.”

That took me aback. Mostly because of her vehemence, but also because she was right.

“You’re playing along on this, just like I am,” she went on. “We’re both trusting in Bishop and Andre. We’re putting our lives in their hands, regardless of whether you like it or not.”

She paused, then looked at me scornfully.

“Or maybe you were too busy fucking around with Evelyn to realize all this?”

The look on Jocelyn’s face was unlike anything I’d seen before. She wasn’t angry, she was hurt. Hurt and miserable and still trying to help. My anger drained. Maybe leaving her out of the loop had been a mistake.

But it was just one of the many mistakes I’d been making lately.

“Look,” I said. “What you saw with Evelyn…”

“Meant nothing, right?” she lashed out. “Yeah, sure. I know. The guys already told me.”

“But you don’t believe me.”

“I believe what I saw, Kayden. In the pool. Just a few hours ago.” She folded her arms tightly. “Everything’s so serious and on fucking schedule here, you had time for a swim?”

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