Wasn't it obvious?"Because I heard it earlier."
"Oh," she said with a little frown. "Iguessthat's okay."
Fine. Whatever.Again, I reached for the book.
Again, she made no move to relinquish it. Instead, she eyed me with obvious suspicion as she said, "I'm not sure I should."
Yeah, I knew the feeling.Through clenched teeth, I said, "What, you're worried someone will steal it?"
She gave a hard nod. "Exactly."
"Sorry, but that's the process," I said."Youhand me the book.Iopen it to the right page, and then I tell Jack Ward your name so he can sign it."
Her gaze shifted to Jack, and her eyes brightened. Reluctantly, I turned to look. He was still occupied with the guy in front of her – a teenager who was wearing a metallic shirt designed to look like chain mail.
When I looked back to Darbie, she informed me with a smirk, "I'll hand it to him myself, thank you very much."
Yeah, well, you're not welcome.Still, I gritted out, "Terrific. I'll let him know."
Next to her, the blouse-ripping brunette chimed in, "You bet your ass, you will." Leaning closer, she practically hissed, "And you should've told us that you worked for him."
I smiled. "And you should've told me you were a psycho."
I stifled a gasp.Damn it.
I hadn't meant to say that.
Now both of them were glaring, which was pretty rich considering that one of them was holding stolen merchandise.
Mymerchandise, to be exact.
The blonde said, "If anyone's a psycho, it's you." She glanced down at my chest, and her tone grew snotty. "Nice shirt, by the way."
Instantly, heat rose to my face.Ah yes. The Shirt of Shame.
Still, I summoned up the brightest smile I could muster. "Thank you. Jack Ward gave it to me."
She blinked. Again, her gaze shifted to Jack. "Really?"
I looked toward the table and felt my blush deepen. The teenager was long gone. But Jack was still there. And hedidn'tlook happy as his gaze shifted from me to the girls.
Great.On top of everything else, I'd been caught flat-footed.
Going for a recovery, I hustled toward him with the two girls on my heels. As I closed the distance, I told Jack, "This is Darbie. Andapparently, she's going to hand you the book herself."
The blonde gave him a winning smile. "That's Darbie with two e's."
Huh?I tried to think.Darbee? Derbie? Something else?
I looked to Darbie and suggested, "Maybe you should spell it on an index card? You know, so there's no mistake?"
As I spoke, I reached for the stack of blank index cards, helpfully provided by the event organizers. I was still in mid-reach when Jack's voice cut in, saying, "No need. I've got this."
I drew back my hand. "Oh. Okay." And with that, I turned and left the table to greet the next person in line – an older guy holding a hardcover book in each hand.
As I made a note of the new guy's name, I was overly conscious of the sounds emanating from the table behind me. Even now, Jack was saying, "So, Darbie, huh?"
"Right," she said. "And remember—"
