“Why? You’re closer to Nataliya than Lisa,” he said, mentioning their youngest sister.
“Lisa and I are close.”
“I didn’t say you weren’t, just that you’re closer to your BFF.”
Jenna sighed. “I can’t talk to her about this. She needs stress minimized in her life right now.”
“Is she pregnant again?” her brother asked, no slouch in the thinking department.
“Yes.”
“So why not Emma then?”
“I just don’t know if being friends with their family is worth it.”
“Worth what exactly?”
“Being forced to lie.”
“About what?”
“This. All of it. I couldn’t tell you that your privacy had been breached, and you’re my brother!”
“So, Prince Dimitri made it so you could.”
“He probably expects me to be grateful.”
“Probably. He strikes me as the kind of man who thinks he knows what’s best for everyone else.”
“You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Her brother laughed, but they both knew that described him too.
“Maybe you should take some time off.”
“You think that will help?” she asked, not against the idea, just not convinced it would make any difference.
“You’re a dweller, Jenna. You’ve had to come into that office where that opportunistic piece of work planted a listening device every day since you found out. Tell me you don’t wonder if someone is listening in on your calls, if somehow somebody hasn’t breached the security on that laptop Nataliya tricked out for you.”
“I can honestly say that particular worry is a nonstarter.”
“And the other.”
“I hate being in my office. Hate it. And it’s an exercise in willpower answering the phone. Every single time.”
“Is that why you’re ignoring Prince Dimitri’s calls?”
“He told you that?”
“Sure. Everybody knows you two have feelings for each other. Just because you’ve never acted on them doesn’t negate their existence.”
Jenna gasped and flailed before sputtering out, “Lust is not a feeling.”
“Sure it is, but I’m not talking about lust, and you know it.”
“Who is everybody?” she demanded, rather than react to that bit of provocation.
“The family. And if our family sees it, I’m sure his does too.”