Chapter 6

Jennie

I cannot believe I had feelings for that asshole.

A mere few hours ago, at that. Am I stupid for reading too much into last night? We talked. We bonded. We felt like friends, and for once I thought Lisa looked at me like I was more than just Jinwoo's little sister, who she puts up with solely out of loyalty to her friend.

"Jennie!" Kara squeals, walking through the foyer with open arms. "Thank you again so much for helping today!"

"Of course," I tell her as she hugs me. "It was fun."

And it was, other than the ride home from the grocery store where Lisa did her best to act like I wasn't even there. I don't get it.

And they say women are complicated.

"Everything looks great. The food smells amazing and those drinks are to die for!"

"I had them at a party in Chicago once. They're too complicated for me to make, but that's why we invited Donghyuk and Jinhwan, right?"

Kara laughs. She's had one or two drinks already, I can tell. She was nervous for tonight she admitted while we were cooking, and hates being the center of attention. She actually suggested to Jinwoo they elope just so she can avoid opening presents in front of everyone at her bridal shower.

"And you look amazing," she goes on, looping her arm through mine. We head to the appetizer table. "I'm seriously jealous of your boobs."

I look down at my cleavage and laugh. "I could tell you how annoying these boobs are and how I'd kill to trade with you, but I'd be lying."

"Thanks for the honesty. I've been thinking more and more about getting mine done."

"If you want it, then do it."

"Really?" Kara picks up a plate.

"Sure. It's your body."

"You're the first person to not try and talk me out of it."

"Why would I?" I grab myself a plate as well. "If it's what you want, then go for it. Besides the obvious—going under the knife—I don't see how it's any different than getting up and doing your hair and makeup every day. You're changing your appearance that way as well."

"Right? That's what I told my sister."

I start filling my plate when Jinwoo walks over. Lisa is with him, and I don't have to look up to know. The scent of her cologne fills my nose, causing me to tense. Not because it smells bad, but because it reminds me of last night.

"What are you talking about?" Jinwoo wraps his arms around Kara.

"Boobs," Kara responds.

"This is a conversation I can get behind." Jinwoo slides his hands up Kara's waist.

She takes his hands in hers. "I was specifically talking about Jennie's. I'd kill for a set like that. I mean, they're perfect, aren't they?"

Jinwoo's face contorts and he shakes his head. "She's my sister. As far as I'm concerned, she's never had any."

I roll my eyes. "I've had nice boobs since I was thirteen. It's the Kim curse."

"That's not a curse," Kara laughs. "Oh, there's my aunt Jessica. Remember, she's the one who's going to try to get you to campaign with her."

"The conservative one?"

"Yes. And if she asks—and she probably will—we're waiting until marriage."

"For what?" Jinwoo asks, looking at Kara like he's serious.

"You're lucky I love you," Kara mutters before putting on a fake smile. She takes Jinwoo's hand and goes to greet her aunt.

"Want a plate?" I ask Lisa, casting my eyes up to her for half a second. Her face is set. I might not know Lisa Manoban at all, but I know for a fact she's not one to turn down food.

"Sure."

I hand her one and move around the table. The tension between us is thick and heavy, and I don't understand why it's there at all. I look at Lisa again, wishing I could crack her open and take a look at her internal codes to find out what makes her tick. And to also find out what the hell is wrong with her.

There's a reason I like to work with computers and not people.

I take my plate and turn on my heel, ignoring the sexy woman in front of me, and almost run over my grandma. She's headed in the direction I just came from and wants company. I don't want to step back into the ice storm Lisa has raging around her, but it's my nana.

"Hi, Mrs. Kim," Lisa says, offering a polite smile. "It's been a long time. How have you been?"

Nana smiles. "Lisa Manoban. My, it has been a while! I've been good, busy with my garden and the choir."

"Has Shelly stepped aside yet and let you take the lead?"

Nana beams. "You remembered! And yes, she has, but only because she got cancer."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

Nana leans in. "Between you and me, she deserved it!"

"Nana!" I say, eyes widening.

"The stories I could tell about that woman!" Nana turns to me. "But not here. We'll save those for the bachelorette party." She gets herself a plate. "I hear you're a doctor now, Lisa."

"Yes, I am. I finish my residency this year."

"Are you hoping to start your own private practice?"

"No, ma'am. I'm a surgeon, so I'll be staying at a hospital."

"Ohhh," Nana coos. "A surgeon. You must be good with your hands." She winks at Lisa. "And I bet you look dashing in that white doctor coat. You know I'm single, don't you?" Nana puts a few appetizers on her plate. "Oh, Barbara, dear!" She waves to one of her friends and takes off.

I push a stuffed mushroom around on my plate. It's too hot to eat but standing here without something in my mouth leaves me at risk of talking. Lisa steps closer. Speaking of things to put in my mouth…

"Maybe I'm reading into this too much," Lisa starts, looking perturbed. "But was your grandma just hitting on me?"

The effort to control my smile fails me. "She's gotten a little, how should I say it—crude. Her memory is all there and she drives and lives alone, but she kinda says whatever is on her mind now."

Lisa laughs. "I'll take it as a compliment then. And you do look nice tonight, Jennie." She swallows hard, looking me over for a brief moment.

"Thanks. And you do too." I look at her and she looks away, and we're left standing there in awkward silence.

"Everything turned out nice."

"Yeah, it did," I agree, internally wincing. I didn't think anything could be worse than not talking but making forced small talk is.

"The stuffed mushrooms are good."

Shoot me now. "It's Nana's recipe."

Lisa nods. "Well, I should go find Jinwoo."

"He's right there, still talking to Kara's crazy aunt."

"Oh, right." Lisa steps back from the table, letting another partygoer get some food. My mind flashes to my dream about Lisa last night, and as annoyed with her as I am, there's no denying how fucking sexy she looks right now.

"I should, uh, go check on the chickens," I blurt.

"The ones outside?"

"Yeah." Cursing myself, I go into the kitchen and pour myself a glass of wine. I get a mouthful down when Mom comes in, carrying a stack of dirty plates.

"This is so much fun," she says with a broad smile. "Just think of how much more fun it'll be when it's you getting married. I get to plan the whole thing!"

Kara threw Mom a bone by letting her plan tonight's party since it'll be her family taking care of the bridal shower and then the wedding.

"Someday."

"Oh, it'll happen, sweetheart. You are looking for someone, right?"

"In a sense."

"Whatever happened to that guy two floors down?"

"Our first date didn't go so well."

Mom raises an eyebrow. "Maybe you're being picky."

"He ate nachos with a fork. A fork, Mom. You can't stab a chip with a fork."

"He didn't want to get his hands dirty." She smiles then quickly changes her mind. "What kind of first date did you go on where you were ordering nachos?"

"A Cubs game. He has really good seats too. I might have been able to let the fork thing go, but then he put ketchup on a hot dog."

"Chicago has changed you. What about your new intern?"

"Mom, he's my intern."

She opens the cabinet and takes out her own wine glass. "So he's not good enough for you because he's an intern?"

"He's a lot younger than me because he's my intern."

"A younger man isn't a bad thing, you know. Men typically die first. This could be your insurance you don't end up a widow."

I take another gulp of wine. "You're not much better than Nana," I mutter and set my wine down and wrap my fingers around my wrist. "Do you have any Advil?"

"There's some in the cabinet next to the fridge. Is your wrist hurting again?"

"Yeah, that dull ache is back and it's traveling up my arm when I extend it." I make a face and shake out my hand. "I'm sore from being on my computer for hours every day."

"You should get it checked out. My girlfriend Gloria had something similar, always in pain, then had some sort of surgery done. I can ask her—wait! We have a surgeon here with us! Let me go find Lisa."

"Mom, no, she's not here—" And she's out of the kitchen. "To work," I say to myself. I grab the Advil and pop a pill in my mouth, washing it down with wine.

"Are you taking painkillers with alcohol?" Lisa gives me a smug smirk.

"Relax, Dr. Fuddy-Duddy. It's just an Advil."

"You still shouldn't do that."

"Noted." I raise my eyebrows.

"Your mom asked me to come in here because you're in pain."

I wave my hand in the air. "I'm fine. It's just random shooting pains in my arm that go up to my shoulder."

"Which arm?"

"I'm not having a heart attack," I sass. "It's my wrist and really, I'm fine."

"I can take a look."

"I guess it won't hurt anything." I set my empty wine glass in the sink and cross the kitchen. My heart starts to speed up and heat rushes through me, settling between my thighs. I stand before Lisa, left arm extended, fighting off the insane attraction I'm feeling.

Lisa gently takes my wrist in her hands. "It's not swollen. Does it hurt now?"

"It's off and on. Like a dull ache."

"What makes it hurt more?" She turns my arm over and runs her thumb down my forearm. I suppress a shiver, licking my lips as I watch her fingers slide over my flesh. I tear my eyes away from her hand to look up at her face, but that only makes things worse.

Her brow is furrowed, and there's genuine concern in her eyes.

"Extending my arm and being on my computer."

"Do your fingers feel tingly?"

"Actually yeah, they have a few times when the pain gets bad."

"You have carpal tunnel syndrome, which is quite common for someone who types or is at a computer all day."

"I figured so." Her hand is still around my wrist. "A handful of my co-workers have it. They're a lot older than me, but it is what it is, I guess. So, am I damned to live like this forever, doc?"

"No, there are treatments. Start with ice and Advil for the pain and try a wrist brace."

"I will. Thanks."

Lisa steps closer and hasn't let go of my wrist yet. "You said it makes your shoulder hurt?"

"It does, but I think part of that is bad posture. I know I slouch at my desk." I put my free hand over Lisa's. "It's not something a massage can't fix, right?"

The floor in the butler's pantry creaks and Lisa drops my wrist and steps back. Jinwoo emerges into the kitchen.

"Are you guys hiding too?" he asks.

"Why are you hiding? This is your party. And no," I say. "We're not hiding. Mom's overreacting—surprise, surprise, I know—and made Lisa look at my wrist."

"What's wrong with your wrist?"

"Carpal tunnel. It's seriously no big deal. Lisa told me what to do and I'll be fine."

Jinwoo gives Lisa a nod. "You're a good friend for putting up with our mom."

Lisa laughs. "She's not that bad."

"She can be a bit overbearing," Jinwoo grumbles.

"Go back to your party," I tell him. "Before Kara notices you're missing."

"She's the one I had to get away from," Jinwoo admits.

"You're hiding from your fiancée at your own engagement party?" I hike an eyebrow.

"She's still going on about your boobs. And then Mom came over and was talking about her boobs." He shudders. "I had to leave or throw up."

I laugh. "Watch out, Jinwoo, we might start talking about our uteruses next." I give him a sweet smile. "I hope you two only have girls."

"As long as they're not twins. Twins do run in our family."

"It doesn't matter on the guy's side," Lisa explains. "It only matters on the girl's side, and identical twins aren't hereditary anyway."

"Really?"

"Really. Identical twins are a random event."

"Well, that's good news," Jinwoo says. "I guess I'll go back out there. Might as well enjoy the party you all threw in my honor, right? You're my best man," he says to Lisa. "You gotta come save me. I mean join me. Keep me away from Aunt Mary. She thinks modern medicine is witchcraft so she'll avoid you."

"Best man," I repeat as Jinwoo walks out of the room. I turn my gaze back to Lisa. "I wasn't sure how that was going to go. Jinhwan and Donghyuk were taking bets on which one of them Jinwoo would pick. You are Jinwoo's oldest friend. It makes sense."

"Yeah…we have been friends a long time." Her brow furrows again, and she flicks her eyes up to me, looking at me almost as if I'm suddenly offensive.

"So…I'll, uh, try to have better posture. Would that help my wrist pain?"

"Maybe. I'm a surgeon. I don't deal with this sort of thing. Make an appointment with your general practitioner." She turns to leave.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I snap.

"Nothing," she retorts, whirling around. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Seriously?" I ask.

"Yeah." She inhales deeply, and I'm not sure if she's going to tell me off or push me up against a wall and kiss me.

"It's like you're a rescue dog and I don't know if you're going to let me pet you or if you're going to bite. At least I can understand the dog's unpredictable behavior, but you…I haven't got a clue with you and you are driving me nuts."

"You want to pet me?"

"Yes. No. Kind of. It's a figure of speech." I throw my hands up. "Whatever, Lisa. I don't know what I did to offend you."

She strides forward so quickly I take a step back, pinning myself against the fridge. Lisa's hands land on my waist and she moves in, legs spread, so her hips are against mine. I inhale the scent of her cologne, heart beating so fast I think it might explode. So many times I've imagined her hands on me. For years, I've yearned for her touch. Begged and pleaded with the universe to have her look at me and not see me as Jinwoo's little sister.

And right now, she's not. I'm not her friend's sibling to put up with, but she's not looking at me the way I'd hoped. She stares at me with a combination of hatred and lust, more intense than anyone has ever looked at me before. It turns me on and terrifies me.

I'm hot and cold up against her.

I want to push her away and bring her closer.

She leans in, taking one hand off my waist to move my curls over my shoulder. She licks her lips, and the light above us shines off the trail of wetness left from her tongue. The heat between my thighs intensifies, and my pussy begs to be touched. Stroked. Fucked hard.

Just like in my dream.

I swallow my pounding heart and turn my head up to Lisa, refusing to let her see how close to coming undone this is making me. She tucks my hair behind my ear and traces the outline of my jaw with her thumb, bringing it up to my mouth. I part my lips, feeling intoxicated by her touch.

"You didn't offend me, Jennie." She spits each word out, eyes narrowing. Then she blinks and her face softens. Her hand trails over my collarbone and down my arm until our fingers meet. She intertwines hers with mine for a brief moment. "You didn't. But I should go."

She pushes off me and goes back to the party like nothing happened. I lean onto the counter for support, heart racing and nerves tingling. That asshole did it on purpose. She knew she could get that reaction out of me. Knew she could easily unnerve me with a few simple touches.

Fuck her.

If I never see Lisa again, it would be too soon.