I rolled my eyes.Give me a break.
And now Darbie was saying, "The author signed it personally, you know."
Her point was obvious. Apparently, Jack had given Darbie a new book as a replacement for mine. And he'd signed it, too.
I gave a silent scoff.Big whoop.
Still, I had to wonder, if Jack had been willing to give them a signed book, why on Earth hadn't he simply done it at the book-signing? I mean, he'd had a whole stack of brand-new copies underneath his table for just such an emergency.
And then it hit me.Probably he'd wanted an official reason to meet up with the girls later on, away from prying eyes, including my own.
I frowned.What a total faker.To think, he'd actually made a pretty good show of giving them the brush-off.
And me? Like a total idiot, I'd fallen for his act.
Talk about stupid.
It didn't help when Darbie crouched down and reached into the outside pocket of her carry-on. She retrieved an oversized paperback and gave it a little wave. "Oh look!" she said. "I have it right here."
As I stared at the thing, I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. The bookwasn'tnew.Far from it.In fact, it looked exactly like mine, right down to the original cover and all of those tell-tale creases along the spine.
My stomach sank.Oh, no.
With growing mortification, I recalled that tense scene in the elevator, along with our argument after the Q&A. That book he'd been carrying – ithadn'tbeen mine.
And this meant what, exactly?That Jackhadn'tseen Darbie again?
Shit.
No wonder he'd been so angry. Forget killing her, or even theotherthing. The way it looked now, he hadn't seen her at all.
I might've been thrilled at the discovery, if only I didn't feel like throwing up.Or strangling someone, maybe even myself.
And now Darbie was saying in mock sympathy. "Oh no. Someone looks unhappy."
Yes. Because I was.
I wasveryunhappy, not because of their little show, but because I'd made an ass of myself,repeatedly, over that stupid book. And now, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
Not from the girls.
From Jack.
I gave Darby an annoyed look. "I don't get it," I said. "Why would you evenwantthat book, anyway?"
With feigned innocence, she replied, "What do you mean?"
"It's not even signed to you. So why would you want it?"
She smiled. "Better me than you. And besides, I can write in my own name later on."
Seriously?
And yet, in some twisted way, I could actually see it. There was just one detail missing. With a bitter scoff, I said, "And the two e's – where do they go anyway?"
She frowned. "What e's?"
"The ones in your name."Dumb-ass.
