“How long you been dating him?” she asked.
“Three weeks. But it’s like I’ve known him forever,” Sylvie said defensively.
“Three weeks and he’s asking you to go to Hawaii with him? Max moves fast.”
“Don’t be snippy, Daisy,” Sylvie snapped.
She wasn’t aware she was being snippy.
“So, can you lend me the money?”
“To go to Hawaii?” Daisy squeaked. Before she could say anything more, her phone was snatched from her hand.
“Hello, Sylvie? This is Jed.”
She lunged for the phone but he swung away.
“Yes, that’s right. No, your sister can’t come to the phone.”
She glared up at him. “Jed! Give me the phone back!”
“One minute, Sylvie.” His only reply was to put his hand over the receiver then stare down at her calmly. “No.”
No? No!
She glared up at him. He pointed to the couch behind her. “Sit back down. Your sister and I are overdue for a chat and I don’t want to be interrupted.”
“She’s my sister. It’s my phone. I want it back.”
“No. Sit down.”
“It’s none of your business.”
“It became my business when you became mine. She’s your family, which means she’s mine too. Or is that not how this works?”
She chewed her lip. Damn it. He had her there.
“I wasn’t finished talking to her.”
“Your conversation wasn’t going anywhere good. I see something that’s going to cause you pain or stress, it’s my job to intervene. So, sit your bottom down and stay there or you can listen while standing in the corner and afterwards you’ll be sitting on a very red bottom.”
Ooh, he was infuriating sometimes! But she sat. She also crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him to let him know she didn’t appreciate his dictatorial behavior.
Damn man just looked amused. “Sorry about that, Sylvie. What’s this about Hawaii? No, she can’t come to the phone. I’m part of Daisy’s life now. That means I’m part of yours. So, tell me about Hawaii.”
She bit her lip. Sylvie didn’t stand a chance when Jed used that voice.
“Uh-huh. How long you known this guy? You run a check on him? No? What’s his last name?”
She knew that soon after he ended this call, Jed would have one of the guys run a check on Max.
“And you called your sister to tell her you were going?”
He was silent for a moment. She squirmed, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. Jed knew that her sister only called her when she wanted something. She blinked back tears.
“That the only reason you call? To ask your sister to fund a vacation with a guy you met three weeks ago?”
She winced, wondering what Sylvie would say to that.