“My name is Lissa. Lissa Wilde. I’m Jaimie’s—”
“Sister. Her older sister.”
“Only by a year,” Lissa said, just a little defensively.
“If something’s happened to Jaimie…”
“Nothing has.” Lissa paused. What the hell. “Except you.”
Zach yanked the phone from his ear and glared at it. When he put it to his ear again, he had gone from scowling to glowering.
“Why are you calling me, Ms. Wilde?”
“It’s Lissa. And I’m calling because I love my sister and she’s hurting.”
“Dammit, stop talking in circles. You said nothing’s happened to her. Now you said she’s hurting.”
“There are different kinds of hurt, Zach,” Lissa said quietly.
Zach sank into the leather chair behind his desk.
“Please. Tell me what’s going on. If Jaimie needs me—”
“You broke my sister’s heart.”
“Bull!”
“She thinks she was just another assignment to you…but I’m betting that she wasn’t.”
“Frankly, Ms. Wilde—”
“Lissa.”
“Frankly, Ms. Wilde, whatever happened between your sister and me is none of your business.”
“But something did happen.”
“I did a favor for a friend. End of story.”
“Mr. Castelianos. I’m going to be very direct here. Did you have an affair with my sister?”
Zach rubbed his hand over his forehead. “You’re out of bounds, Ms. Wilde.”
“Did you fall in love with her, Mr. Castelianos?”
“Jesus H. Christ, woman—”
“Because I’m pretty sure she fell in love with you.”
There was a long, long silence. Then, Zach sighed. When he spoke next, the irritation had left his voice. He sounded exhausted. Just like Jaimie.
“I thought so, too. Turns out, I was wrong.”
Lissa smiled, picked up the pencil a
nd turned the circle she’d doodled into a heart.
“Are you familiar with El Sueño, Zach?”