“Did you tell Melissa?” Caleb asked.
“Tell her what?”
He didn’t answer, and she turned to look at him. His expression made it clear where his thoughts had gone.
Jules fought annoyance. Then she fought arousal.
She bit down hard on the pizza. She wasn’t going to do this. They weren’t going to do this. Her tone was tart when she spoke. “Why would I tell her about something that never happened?”
“I thought sisters shared things.”
“Irrelevant information? No, we don’t share that.”
“You can’t seriously pretend it never happened.”
“Yes, I can.”
That had been their deal. It had been crystal clear, and he’d agreed to it.
“Okay,” he said, amusement in his voice.
“This is what I mean about your character,” she said, feeling the need to fight. “You say one thing, and then you do the opposite.”
“I’ve had a week to think about it.”
“You’re exactly like your grandfather. A gentleman’s agreement, a handshake deal means nothing to you.”
He lowered his voice. “You and I are not a couple of gentlemen, and we did a heck of a lot more than shake hands.”
“You’re certainly not a gentleman.”
“At least I’m honest.”
She huffed out an exclamation of incredulity.
“I can’t stop thinking about you, Jules.”
“Can we just eat our pizza?” She hadn’t stopped thinking about him either. But she had to stop. She had to find a way to get back on an even keel. Too much depended on her keeping her distance from him.
“Are you going to tell me it meant nothing to you?” he asked.
She desperately wished she could. “It meant what it meant. It was a thing at a time and a place, and that’s that.”
“I have no idea what you just said.”
“I just told you to back off. A deal is a deal, and we made one, and I expect you to honor it.”
“Circumstances change,” he said.
She got to her feet. She couldn’t do this anymore.
“Matt,” she said in a bright voice, walking toward him. “Thank you so much for helping today. I can’t believe how much work you guys got done.”
“My pleasure,” he said.
“It can’t have been a pleasure. It was eighty-five degrees out there.”
“I’m happy to help out. I’ll be back tomorrow to finish.”
“You don’t need to do that. You must have a lot of work at the marina.”
Matt’s glance went past her shoulder, obviously looking for a signal from Caleb.
“I insist,” Matt said smoothly. “We’re neighbors, after all.”
Feeling suddenly uneasy, Jules glanced to TJ to find he was closely watching the exchange. She turned sideways to catch Caleb in her peripheral vision. There was an undercurrent in the room.
She felt like she was missing something. She probably was. Nobody was this neighborly without an ulterior motive. Stopping by with a Bundt cake, sure, but reroofing a building?
They all looked innocent, maybe too innocent.
“It’ll save you a whole lot of money,” Noah said.
“You’re such a huge help,” Melissa put in cheerfully.
If there was an undercurrent, it was clear Melissa wasn’t picking up on it.
“We can’t impose on you,” Jules said.
Melissa moved to take her by the arm. “Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m not being difficult.” The real question was why Melissa was accepting their help so easily.
“They’re going to finish our roof.”
“They’re going to want something in return.” Jules moved her gaze to Caleb. “I don’t trust any of them.”
Melissa frowned in reproach. “Now, that’s just rude.”
“You’re looking for something that isn’t there,” Caleb said.
“No strings attached,” Matt said.
“All I did was bring pizza,” TJ said.
“I should pay you for that.” Jules moved from Melissa, glancing around the room for her bag. She’d tossed it somewhere this morning.
She felt Caleb’s arm slip under hers. “Stop,” he whispered in her ear.
She paused. She took in the four other faces in the room. TJ looked affronted. Matt looked amused. Melissa seemed embarrassed, and even Noah looked surprised.
She realized none of them knew about her and Caleb. None of them knew how precarious her hold on independence had become. None of them knew that with every second that passed he entwined himself more tightly into hers and Melissa’s lives.
He might have promised not to cozy up to her sister, but he was still being extraordinarily nice to her. He seemed to think that if he did it in front of everyone, he wasn’t breaking his promise.