“Pretty much. A lot of the guys around town are insecure about him. You’ve seen him.”
Oh, yes, she had. Dani remained silent.
“Plus—” Kelley Lynn started the car again. “This is also about all the time that you’ve been spending with Jonah.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Kelley Lynn wiggled her eyebrows in a knowing manner. “You think people don’t notice? People notice. They talk, too. They’ve noticed that you and Bannon are spending a lot of time together. And you should prepare yourself, you know.”
“For what?”
“You’re Jonah’s new girl. You’re going to be treated differently by a lot of people. People know Jonah. Guys secretly love him and secretly hate him. And all the females—they either adore him in a sisterly fashion because they know they could never have him…like Kate…or they outright lust after him.”
“Kate’s not like that.”
“Yes, she is.” Kelley Lynn leaned forward, starting the car. “If Jonah were mine, I’d keep him happy and wrapped around my pinkie.”
“Because that’s what you do.”
Kelley Lynn heard the bite in those words. She turned the car off again. “Is that what the watching’s for?”
Dani looked out the window. “You haven’t changed much from high school. You and Erica had everyone wrapped around your finger. That’s what I remember.”
“Not Jonah,” Kelley Lynn pointed out. “And Erica couldn’t hold him either, remember that? So you one-upped her.”
“That’s great. That’s why I came back—to one-up my dead little sister.”
“Erica wouldn’t care anymore.”
“Or maybe she would. Maybe she’d roll over in her grave.” Dani knew she was baiting Kelley Lynn, but she couldn’t stop. “Or maybe I should drop the guy who dropped Erica and take my revenge. I could have Jake back.”
Kelley Lynn searched Dani’s closed features. “I don’t know what you want, but I’m not doing this. I’m helping out Jonah because I care about him. If you want to pick a fight with anyone who cared about your sister or Jonah or whomever this is actually about—then go and fight with them.”
Dani forced herself to relax, making a concerted effort to loosen her shoulders up. “I’m sorry. You’re helping, and I’m grateful.”
“I’m not helping you.”
“I know. Jonah. You’re helping him.”
Dani kept quiet through the rest of the afternoon. Aiden was right. Kelley Lynn impressed Dani with her resources, and she pulled out all the stops. By the end, the pool table was delivered, and the Jacuzzi had been rejected graciously since Robbie already had two. All the beds were changed and readied by the time Aiden arrived to Robbie’s mansion with a chandelier in her backseat.
Jonah found Dani and Kelley Lynn in the kitchen where they were packing Robbie’s non-extravagant dishes to make room for the extravagant ones Mae offered up.
“Hey,” Jonah grunted a hello, holding some boxes. “Where do you want this?”
Kelley Lynn pointed to the table. “Leave it there. We’ll put it away when you bring all of the boxes in.”
Jonah nodded, and as he left to move another box in, he walked behind Dani. His fingers caressed her backside. Dani watched him go, feeling a spark. He glanced back just before he turned the corner, a cocky smirk in place.
She rolled her eyes, but she had to admit that he got to her. She was already thirsting for him, wanting his hands on her body. He only held her last night. Her body was reminding her of that fact.
“Hmm huh.” Kelley Lynn harrumphed.
Dani gritted her teeth. “I don’t get why everyone cares about my business.”
“Are you serious?” Kelley Lynn placed the last of Robbie’s dishes into a crate.
Aiden bounced into the room, but stopped short. Her eyes skirted between the two.
“Yeah. I’m serious.” Dani ceased caring that Jonah’s sister stood in the room. “I’m a little tired of having people care who’s in my bed and who isn’t.”
Aiden’s mouth formed an O.
Kelley Lynn snorted. “Get used to it because it’s never gonna go away, especially when you have who you have in your bed.”
Jonah stopped behind his sister. Neither Bannon commented.
“Are you actually doing this for Jonah, or are you doing this for Erica? A little bird told me that Erica made you promise to be nice to me.”
Kelley Lynn went still, then slowly moved her box aside before she faced Dani. Her petite shoulders lifted up, taking in a pocket of air. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay.” Kelley Lynn nodded. “You’ve been pissed at me ever since you saw me in the bank. Let’s do this.”
“Do what?”
Kelley Lynn stopped the riddles. “I’m not doing this for Jonah, and I’m not doing this for you. You’re right. It’s because of Erica, because of a deathbed wish she forced out of me.”
Dani was suddenly wary.
Kelley Lynn shook her head, her eyes grew haunted. “Erica wanted you to feel included and not left out, like what she did to you when you were growing up. That was her dying wish to me. I was supposed to do that.” She skimmed over the Bannon siblings. “It’s not ironic that the group that never liked Erica welcomed you first.”