"Right, Jack?"
"Huh?"
"The new house," Penny said. "It's big. Plenty of room for everyone to come and visit us, right?"
"It is. But don't you think that's up to your sister?" He looked to Lys. "It is her house after all."
"Yeah, but you're married now so it's kind of yours too, right?" Her gaze flicked from him to Lys and back. "You're moving in with us, aren't you?"
He glanced at Lys who had gone still. "That's the plan."
"We have to work all that out later," Lys said. "Are you finished? Why don't you go get freshened up so Maryn can take us out and show us around?"
Penny eyed her sister and Jack could almost see the thoughts and arguments racing through her mind. "Right. Sure." She pushed back her chair and stood. "Thanks for lunch, Jack."
No one spoke until Penny closed the bedroom door on the other side of the suite.
"Something I should know?" he asked Lys.
"No. Not now." She looked around the table. "We can talk about it later."
He wanted to push her, but he wouldn't do it in front of everyone. And not where Penny could overhear. "Okay." There were quite a few things they'd deal with later.
"What time do you want us to come back for dinner?" she asked, getting up and stacking her empty plate on top of Penny's.
"You can leave those. I'll get them."
"No. It's fine." She lifted both plates and moved over to the service cart. "What time are you planning to fly back to Sunnyville?"
"How does dinner at six, then flying out around eight sound? That will put us back in Sunnyville before nine-thirty."
"Sounds good. I'll make sure we're back here before six." She headed for the room she'd slept in earlier.
A heavy dose of disappointment filled him. He'd give anything for her to kiss him goodbye. The peck she'd allowed during their wedding ceremony wasn't worth the label of kiss. She'd pulled back so fast he hadn't had time to do anything except sit there wondering if he'd imagined it and wishing they had exchanged vows for different reasons. Ones that would allow him to grab her and kiss the hell out of her.
Oh sure, he loved her, there was no doubt in his mind about that. It was Alyssa's feelings he wasn't sure of. He knew she liked him. Hell, their chemistry was off the charts, and before Penny arrived, he thought they'd built a stronger relationship than friends with benefits.
Except now he couldn't help wondering if maybe he'd gotten the wrong impression. Maybe he had read her wrong and all they'd had between them was sex.
"Stop worrying about it."
He turned to Maryn. "What?"
She tipped her chin in the direction Lys had gone. "The marriage. You'd have to be dead to miss the sparks you two put off."
Jack frowned. "Yeah, but good sex doesn't make a marriage."
"It's a start." She took a sip of her drink. "And, if you ask me, there's more than good sex between you."
"How could you possibly know that? You've barely spent any time with us."
"I've listened to you talk about Alyssa for years. I have no doubt how you feel."
"My feelings aren't in question."
"Yeah, well, I'll have a better read by the time we get back here for dinner. Which, yes, I'm inviting myself to. But I'm not concerned because that girl"—she pointed to the other side of the suite—"doesn't lie."
"Penny? What did she say?"
