"Imogen?"What did the floozy have to do with this?
His jaw tightened. "You know, the girl you thought he was screwing."
I didn't appreciate his tone. "What was I supposed to think?"
"Not that."
"Oh come on!" I protested. "I go to Flynn's house, and I see a half-naked chick in the doorway, when my sister's out of town, no less. You've got to admit, it looked pretty bad."
"So you think he's a cheater."
I couldn't help but notice that Jack hadn't phrased it as a question.So, who was assuming things now?I coldly informed him, "I never said that."
"You didn't have to," he said. "Now answer the question."
"What question?"
Speaking very clearly, he said, "Do you think he's a cheater?"
Under his penetrating gaze, part of me wanted to wilt. But the other part? Well,thatpart was getting just a little bit ticked off.
"Just so you know," I said, "you didn't phrase it as a question."
Jack frowned. "What?"
"The first time you asked, you forgot the question mark." Lowering my voice, I did my best Jack Ward impression. "So you think he's a cheater." I gave him a stiff smile. "See, that's not a question. It's a statement.And, it just seems to me, as a writer you'd know the difference."
From look on his face, he wasn't amused. "Okay, so I'maskingnow, do you think he's a cheater?"
Damn it.For reasons that I couldn’t quite fathom, I didn't want to answer. Still, I grudgingly replied, "No."
Oddly enough, this was true. I didn't think very highly of movie stars in general, but Flynn was different. He was scarily tough and more reclusive than any person I'd ever met. And Iknewbeyond a doubt that he was crazy about my sister.
But didn't Jack get it?That was part of the reason I'd been so angry. I'd been so shocked, I could hardly think.
Jack made a forwarding motion with his hand. "But…?"
"But what?"
"But you still thought he was cheating."
When I made no reply, Jack said, "So, what were you gonna do? Call your sister? Get her all worked up for nothing?"
"Wait a minute," I said. "Wasthatwhy you wouldn’t tell me anything? Because you thought I was going to cause some sort of trouble?"
"No," he said. "Iknewyou were gonna cause trouble."
Well, someone was overly sure of himself."Oh yeah?" I said. "How?"
"By selling your sister a load of garbage."
"In case you didn't notice," I said, "I didn't 'sell' her anything. No. WhatIdid was come up to the freaking door and demand some answers, which your 'non-girlfriend' refused to provide."
Jack's eyebrows furrowed, but he made no reply.
Undaunted, I continued. "Oh yeah. I asked her flat-out what she was doing there. And what does she tell me? She says that it's none of my business, evenafterI tell her who I am and who I’m looking for. I mean, seriously, she could've said, 'Oh hey, no need to worry. I'm here with Jack Ward. I'm screwinghimand not your future brother-in-law.' But does she do that?No.Whatshedoes is act all sly and sneaky, like she's got something to hide."
At the mental image, my voice rose to a new crescendo. "Which, when you think about it, is pretty ironic, considering that she wasn't hiding anything, including her shaved pussy!"
