“And hello, elephant in the room,” Emma said.

Julie winced. “We didn’t know whether or not we should mention the sister thing.”

“I voted yes, we do mention it,” Riley said, raising her hand. “Just in case you needed someone to talk to.”

Mollie’s smile was slight. “I don’t even know what to talk about.”

“How about the fact that you’re getting rather fantastic sex from Jackson Burke?” Julie asked.

Mollie breathed out. “Mm-hmm, there is that. But as far as talking about it, I don’t even know what to think, much less what to say. I’m half eaten up with guilt, and half the happiest I’ve ever been. It’s confusing, to say the least.”

“Well, if you want my opinion…,” Riley said loudly.

“No,” Emma said. “Did you hear anyone say, ‘Riley, what’s your opinion?’ ”

“I like you way better than your sister,” Riley announced.

“Riley!” Julie exclaimed. “You don’t just say that to a person. And you’ve never even met her sister.”

“True. But I watched every single episode of the Housewives seasons she was on.”

“Yeah, because that’s the same thing,” Emma said.

“I know everyone thinks that Madison and Jackson were, like, a couple for the ages or whatever, but there was something shifty about that woman.”

“Riley.” This time Julie’s voice was gentler, but with a warning undertone. “You’re talking about her sister.”

“It’s all right,” Mollie said a little sadly. “Let’s just say the past few weeks have been eye-opening when it comes to Madison and Jackson’s relationship. It’s not quite the saint-and-sinner scenario I’d been led to believe. Not that it makes me love her less. I’m just…How the heck did I let myself get into something this complicated?”

“Could be worse,” Riley said, pointing her finger at Emma. “This one hooked up with a dude she once left at the altar.”

Emma batted Riley’s hand away. “You know full well I didn’t leave him at the altar.”

“I know. But you should tell it that way. It’s better,” Riley insisted.

“Anyway,” Julie said, shifting her attention back to Mollie, “does your sister know that you, um…”

“That I’m having a fling with her ex? No. That’s a big no,” Mollie said, taking a gulp of wine.

Emma Sinclair was studying her closely. “It’s more than a fling, though, isn’t it?”

To Mollie’s absolute and utter horror, her eyes filled with tears.

It was so much more than a fling. If she thought she’d been in love with Jackson Burke at twenty, that had been nothing compared to what she felt for him now. He was someone she could talk to. Laugh with. The sex was amazing, true, but she could no longer let herself pretend that Jackson Burke was a glorified booty call.

He was more. He’d always been so much more.

“Oh, sweetie,” Riley said, rubbing Mollie’s arm. “Does he know?”

Mollie shook her head. “We haven’t really talked about what we are. Where we’re going. I mean, we can’t go anywhere, right? It would be the end of holidays with my sister. The end of everything with my sister. I can’t even imagine the level of awkwardness. And if the press finds out he’s hooked up with me…”

“But maybe that doesn’t matter as much now, right?” Julie said. “I mean, he’s still famous, but that will fade the longer he’s out of the spotlight. He may never be able to go completely unrecognized, but eventually the media will find someone else to focus on.”

“Julie’s right,” Emma said. “It won’t be easy at first, but if you two wanted to make it work, eventually people would accept it.”

“I don’t know,” Mollie said. “Even if I could mend things with my sister, wouldn’t I always be the girl who broke up America’s golden couple, or whatever?”

“Probably,” Riley said bluntly, in what Mollie was quickly realizing was her default manner of speaking. “So then I guess you’ll have to decide.”

“Decide what?” Mollie asked warily.

“If loving him is worth it.”

Chapter 26

By the time they’d seen the last of their friends out the door—the last being a chattering Penelope who wanted to know what Jackson had been thinking on every play he’d ever called—Mollie was exhausted.

While she’d enjoyed herself thoroughly, there’d been a lot to keep straight. Names, who worked where, who was partnered with whom.

That, and Riley’s question, which continued to weigh heavily on her.

Was loving Jackson worth it? Was it worth the risk of her reputation? Of his? Or the risk of losing her sister? God, she couldn’t even think about that.

And perhaps most gut-wrenching of all, was it worth breaking her heart?

Because not once had Jackson implied they were anything other than friends with benefits. And temporary ones, at that. She knew that he cared about her—she’d never doubted that. But in terms of him feeling the big L? There’d been no hint. No sign. No talk of tomorrow, much less next week or a year from now. And certainly no talk of forever.

Give the guy a break. He’s recently divorced, and this thing with you is new.