"No." His voice hardened. "Now are you gonna get dressed or not?"
Still, I hesitated.Maybe this was some sort of test?
Or maybe a punishment?
I frowned.A Shirt of Shame?
Given Jack's personality, I could almost see it.
But if he wanted to watch me cringe and shudder – well more than I had already– he was in for a rude awakening, because I refused to give him the satisfaction.
So instead I summoned up a cheerful smile. "Sure. I'd just love to put it on, as soon as you leave."
He was gone before I'd barely finished the sentence – like the mere thought of my flesh made him want to run for the hills.
Well that wasn't humiliating or anything.
Unfortunately, my humiliation was far from over.
Chapter 26
Becka
The book signing started out surprisingly well.
After a brief introduction by one of the event's organizers, I leapt into action, guided by a list of instructions provided by the publishing company.
It was a good thing I had them, too, considering that Jack had given me nearly no direction at all.No.Allhe'dsaid was, "Remember, it's not your job to keep the peace."
It's not like I'd needed the warning. The crowd, even as big as it was, looked peaceful enough. They'd even formed an official line in front of the table where Jack would be signing his books.
Sure, the line was obscenely long, but I saw no reason to worry. The process was nice and simple. Someone would come up with a book – or sometimes multiple books – and I'd greet that person while Jack finished up with the previous person.
In short, he manned the table while I manned the line.Easy-peasy.
I had to admit, Jack was a lot friendlier than I might've expected – not tome, of course, but to his fans.
But his fans were nice, too. In fact, some of them were a littletoonice. By the end of the first hour, Jack had been propositioned three times already – once by someone old enough to be his grandmother and twice by girls younger than me.
And then, there were the guys.The way it looked, they practically worshipped him, treating him like some sort of rock star or something.
I was watching Jack sign a paperback for a guy named Maurice when the next guy in line – someone who'd given his name as Bradley – asked, "So, who areyousupposed to be?"
"Me? I'm Jack Ward's assistant." With a sheepish smile, I added, "Well during the tour, anyway."
The guy frowned. "No. I meant your costume. Are you like a clown or something?"
I looked down. Okay, my shirtdidhave a certain clownish quality, but it's not like I was wearing floppy red shoes. "Nope. I'm just wearing plain ol' regular clothes."
His frown deepened. "You sure?"
I considered my shirt. "Um…Maybe?"
He eyed my outfit up and down. "Nah. I don't think so."
"Well, myskirt'sregular." I pointed to my feet. "And so are my shoes."
The guy studied my outfit for another long moment, and eventually gave a slow nod. "Ohhhh, I get it." With a sudden grin, he announced, "You're a half-clown hybrid, like inCircus House 3."