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his head. “Not yet.”
Jasper was patently suspicious of Drex. Her reservations weren’t that steep, but she admitted to being intrigued by his reticence. Reading his book, even though it was fiction, could provide insight into the man behind the disarming dimple. But even as she had asked to read it, she’d known with near certainty that he would refuse. She didn’t try to persuade him. Rather, she said, “I Googled you this morning.”
His brow arched eloquently. “I’ve fantasized being Googled by a beautiful woman.”
Without acknowledging either the compliment or the innuendo, she set her bottle of beer on the table and crossed her arms over her middle. “Another joke, another deflection. Aren’t you going to ask me why I plundered the Internet in search of information on you?”
“I’m not that vain.” Then he seemed to reconsider. “Well, I guess I am. What about me sent you plundering?”
“Is Drex Easton a nom de plume or your real name?”
He formed a slow grin. “You didn’t find anything, did you?”
She didn’t admit it, but her silence confirmed his guess, and his grin widened.
“I told you last night, Talia. Even I’m bored with me.”
“Is it your real name?”
“Yes. Given to me by my dad.”
She hesitated, then asked softly, “What happened to your mother?”
“I haven’t the faintest.”
She flinched. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. It’s the God’s truth, and that’s all I’m going to say on the subject.”
“Why the secrecy?”
He set down his beer bottle hard enough to make a thump against the tabletop. “What difference does my past make to you? Or, for that matter, my present and future?”
“Because of Elaine.”
Chapter 10
Drex seemed taken aback by her answer, which wasn’t the whole truth, but it had moved them off the track that she’d been following—his past. It was the one subject that made him restive and annoyed.
Now, his forehead wrinkled with perplexity. “Elaine? Am I missing something?”
“Jasper told me you planned to invite her to dinner.”
He raised his shoulders in a silent So?
“I’m not sure…That is, I hope…” She stopped, pushed her fingers through her hair, and said, “I’m botching this.”
He placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head slightly. An attitude of impatient waiting.
She took a deep breath. “In the time I’ve known Elaine, she’s had a string of romantic disappointments. A man expresses interest, she tends to become infatuated very quickly and then falls hard, only to discover that he was less attracted to her than to her—”
He held up a hand. “I get it. You want to protect her from a man like me who has no visible means of support and is looking for a rich…” In search of an appropriate word, he twirled his hand. “Patroness?”
“I’ve insulted you.”
“No shit.”
“That wasn’t my intention, Drex. It’s just that Jasper and I have become very fond of Elaine. Because she’s innately affectionate and generous, she sets herself up to be taken advantage of. We don’t want to see her hurt.”
