"No. I'm talking aboutnow. What I said to Flynn, I meant every word." He gave a low scoff. "And a bullshit apology isn't gonna change a thing."
"You never know," I said. "It might."
"Not if I don't mean it."
Obviously, Jack still wasn't getting it. I tried again. "Do you realize, they try to pay for everything?"
Jack looked less than impressed. "Trust me. They can afford it."
"You meanFlynncan afford it."
He shrugged. "Same difference."
"Not yet," I said. "They're not even married."
"But they will be."
"Yeah, I know. But that's not even the issue. I don't want to bethatrelative – the one who can't stand on her own two feet. Do you want the truth? I wouldn’t have taken any help at all, except for the fact that Anna was so excited for me."
"Good."
"No. It'snotgood. And do you want to hear what Flynn said?"
"What?"
"That I wouldn’t need to worry about anything from now on."
"Good," Jack repeated.
"But don't you see? It doesn't work that way. Like what if I make a mistake? What am I supposed to do? Ask them for more money? That's not me. And it's not just about the money either. A couple of months ago, I ran into a problem on a date, and do you know what Flynn did?"
"What?"
"He almost kicked the guy's ass."
Jack looked at me for long moment before saying in an eerily calm voice, "Oh yeah? For what?"
From the look in Jack's eyes, I was almost afraid to say. I offered up the briefest explanation possible. "The guy just got a little aggressive, that's all."
"Yeah? And what's the guy's name?"
"If you think I'm gonna say, you're crazy."
"Why?"
"Because you've got that same look Flynn got after he learned what happened."
"Which was…?"
"Not as much as you'd think."
When Jack's only reply was a long, silent look, I sighed. "All right fine. The guy got handsy when I wasn't interested. And then, when I left in a hurry, I forgot my purse, which wouldn’t have beensobad, except that the guy refused to give it back."
Jack's gaze darkened. "Is that so?"
"Yes. But I'm sure he would've eventually. I think he was just giving me a hard time. But anyway, that night, I mention it to Anna, andshementions it to Flynn, and the next thing I know, Flynn's knocking on the guy's door."
"So, you were there?"
