Lakeside Family by Jordan Lisa

Author:Jordan, Lisa [Jordan, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-04-05T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Josie poured milk into the metal pitcher, filling it halfway, and tried not to slosh it over the side. With the way her hands shook, it was a feat for a task she could normally do in her sleep.

Focus, girl. One step at a time.

Purge the steam arm. Stretch the milk. Texturize it. Thinking through the steps drowned out the unspoken words clanging inside her head.

Bubbles climbed the sides of the pitcher. The metal warmed in her hand. She turned off the knob and set the milk on the hot mat next to the machine. Grabbing a clean cloth, she wiped the steam arm.

She added a squirt of dark chocolate, followed by a shot of vanilla syrup, into a stout café mug, stirred in the steamed milk and added a mound of her homemade whipped cream.

The same question rolled around in her head for the four-hundredth time—why didn’t Nick tell her about Ross?

Blinking away the pressure building behind her eyes, she grabbed a spoon and carried the hot chocolate to the corner table where Hannah sat chatting with her dad.

Nick shifted to his feet when she approached. “Josie...”

“Don’t.” She set the hot chocolate on the table, wiped her hand on her apron and kissed the top of Hannah’s head. “There you go, sweetie.”

Hannah smiled up at her, blissfully unaware of the current of tension rippling between her parents. “Thanks, Mom.”

Ignoring Nick’s pleading eyes, she returned to the counter to clean up her mess. Spying the empty milk jug, she carried it into the kitchen and tossed it into the sink to be rinsed before going into the recycling bin.

Gripping the refrigerator handle, she pressed her forehead against the cool stainless-steel door. What was the big deal? So he didn’t tell her about what happened with Ross. Was it really any of her business? Still, her heart ached from his lack of trust in her.

“Josie.”

She pulled fresh milk from the fridge and turned to find Nick leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb, blocking her exit. Escaping through the back door and circling around the building to the front seemed a bit childish. But she pondered it. For a minute.

“We need to talk.”

“It will have to wait. I have work to do.” She attempted to brush past him, but he caught her arm.

His eyes begged her to listen. “At least give me a minute to explain—”

“Explain what, Nick?” Josie clutched the cold gallon to her chest, hoping it would soothe her throbbing heart. Her eyes burned. She wouldn’t fall apart in front of him. “That you don’t trust me enough to know about your brother?”

His shoulders slumped. “Trust has nothing to do with it.”

She wanted to believe him. With all her heart. But she couldn’t shake the fear that their relationship was more one-sided than she wanted to admit. “Could have fooled me.”

He rubbed a thumb and forefinger over his eyelids. “It’s not you, Josie. It’s...complicated.”

Josie rolled her eyes. “You don’t think I can handle complicated, Professor?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, feet shoulder width apart and a scowl etched his forehead.

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