Jane went from smirk to . . . unsure? And Charlotte’s heart kicked for another reason altogether. She was a worrier, always had been, but with Jane, she was also somehow a warrior. She leaned in. “What does he need from you? Do I have to kick his ass?”
“No!” Jane let out a small laugh. “Ohmigod, we’re both out of our minds. But no ass-kicking necessary! Stand down, Dr. Dixon.”
“You sure? Because you know I’d do it.” She flexed. “I’m tiny but mighty.”
This won her another rough laugh, which coming from Jane was the equivalent of a belly laugh. “I never doubt you,” Jane said. “But what Levi wants, it’s, um . . .” She squirmed.
Fascinating. Jane never squirmed. Jane never gave herself away like that. At least not to anyone except Charlotte, which was a huge source of pride for her. Jane had been a tough nut to crack, but Charlotte didn’t know how to take no for an answer. It’d taken her six years, but she was fairly confident Jane finally considered her family. “It’s what?” she pressed.
“Personal.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Jane said on another low laugh. “But it’s not that. When Levi and I were on that gondola and we thought we were going to die, he called his mother to say goodbye.”
Charlotte gasped, a hand to her chest. “Oh my God,” she whispered, trying to imagine calling her mom to say goodbye. She couldn’t imagine it, not without her throat tightening and her eyes burning with unshed emotion.
“Yeah.” Jane let out a breath.
“I really can’t fathom making that call,” she said softly, reaching for Jane’s hand. “Oh, honey.”
“The thing was, he couldn’t actually do it. He told her he was happy and in a relationship.”
“Sweet. But I can’t help but notice I didn’t get a call.”
Jane shook her head. “I couldn’t do it, not to you.”
Charlotte took a moment to just breathe past the image of losing her. “Next time I want a call.” She squeezed their fingers together. “But let’s not have a next time, okay?”
“Agreed.” Jane took a breath. “Anyway, now Levi needs a pretend girlfriend for some big family dinner in three weeks.”
Charlotte took this in. Jane was . . . blushing a little. And not making eye contact. Fascinating. “You going to do it?”
“He brought me my locket back.”
Charlotte felt a smile crease her face. “You’re going to do it.”
“I don’t know. Wait— How do you know I sat by his bedside? You were in surgery.”
“Someone told me.”
Jane stared at her. “Dammit. Now I’m going to have to kill Mateo.”
Mateo. The only man who could make her feel like she didn’t know what she was doing. At any given moment of any day, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to wrap her fingers around his neck and squeeze or climb him like a tree. Not that she would admit either under threat of death. Nope. Her ridiculous little crush on the man who was sexier than the legal limit was going to stay her own personal secret. For a whole bunch of reasons, not that she could name one at the moment.
“I knew it!” Jane pointed at her. “See, you don’t want him dead.”
“Well, I never said I wanted him dead, did I? I said I wanted him to stop flirting with me.” A total lie.
“Admit it,” Jane said. “You have no idea how to deal with a good man trying to get your attention. I mean, you’re not quite as screwed up as I am, but you’re close enough.”