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“An hour ago. Give or take.”
“I didn’t hear you.”
“You were virtually unconscious.”
She must’ve been. She felt as though she were coming out of a coma and discovering that while she’d been out, everything had gone awry. Nothing felt right or familiar, in particular this disjointed conversation with Jasper. He was prowling the room, stopping at every window to look outside.
She shook her head to try to clear the lingering cobwebs. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? What did you mean when you said we’re being watched? Watched by whom?”
“By Drex.”
Her heart gave a telltale bump. She’d returned home from their encounter in the parking garage shaken to her core by what he’d professed, by the kiss. She’d taken a mild sedative in the hope of sleeping off the conflicting emotions that assailed her. They’d run the gamut from fury—how dare he?—to shame. Even now, she felt the tingling, throbbing effects of that kiss.
She looked in the direction of the garage apartment and remembered standing at the living area window, looking through the branches of the live oak, and realizing that the rooms on the back of their house were open to his view. “Why would you think he’s watching us?”
“Let’s sit.” There was enough ambient light for them to see their way around. They sat adjacent to each other at the dining table. “I think Drex Easton is a fraud at best. At worst…doesn’t bear thinking.”
“Jasper—”
“Hear me out.”
Her heart was beating abnormally fast. Her hands had turned cold and clammy, made even more noticeable when Jasper reached for her right one and clasped it between his.
He said, “Elaine told me she’s reading Drex’s book, and that it’s dreadful.”
“She said that?”
“She put it a bit more kindly.”
“Does she intend to tell him that?”
“Elaine wouldn’t be that blunt. Even if she were, I don’t think he gives a damn about her opinion or anyone else’s. I don’t think he’s a writer at all.”
“But he works at it. I’ve seen him. So have you.”
He gave his head a hard shake. “He’s pretending. He’s only posing to be a writer until he finds someone, specifically a woman of Elaine’s ilk, to support him.”
While she didn’t want to believe it, she herself had virtually accused Drex of having those intentions. “He has been tight-lipped about his work.”
“About everything.”
“But why a writer? If he’s going for seduction, there are occupations much more fascinating and exhilarating.”
“But not as easy to emulate. It’s one occupation where he doesn’t have to exhibit any notable skills. All he has to do is sit on his ass all day.”
“I’ve seen him working. The day I went over to give him the list of restaurants, he was immersed in something on his computer.”
“Are you sure it was his novel?”
“He said it was.”
“Did you see what was on the monitor?”
“No. He closed the laptop.”
“He could have been immersed in pornography. Online poker. Anything.” He looked down at the hand he held in his. “Speaking of that day, Talia, did anything improper happen while you were over there?”
“No.”
