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“Yes.” Her voice came out husky. She wet her lips. “He…he…”
“What?”
She lowered her head, took a deep breath, and, in a nanosecond, reversed her previous decision. “You asked if anything happened that day when I went over to his apartment.”
“Anything improper.”
“It wasn’t improper, but something did happen. I offered to read his manuscript. He declined. No, not declined. Refused. Outright.”
“Probably because he feared exposure as an imposter.”
“Possibly. But the point is, when I arrived at Elaine’s townhouse last night, found him there, learned that he had given her his manuscript to read, I behaved childishly. I was insulted that he had solicited her opinion over mine. That was the source of the tension.”
“He rejected you, but was paying court to Elaine. You were jealous.”
“Resentful, at least. I told you it was childish.”
“But not a stoning offense,” he said, chucking her under the chin.
Despite the playful gesture, his choice of words was troubling. In some cultures, one stoning offense was adultery.
“Remember to keep the lights off in the rooms within sight of his apartment.”
He was almost through the door when she stopped him again. “I think I’ll go to Atlanta for a few days.”
The spur-of-the-moment decision was made almost simultaneous to her declaring it. Jasper turned. His face was in shadow, but she sensed that his expression was inquisitive, if not suspicious.
She said, “That new boutique hotel I told you about? It sounds like something my clients would flock to. I think I’ll go and see if it lives up to the hype.”
He said nothing for an interminable time, then, “Ordinarily you plan your business trips well in advance. The suddenness of this one is uncustomary, but it’s in perfect keeping with your mood of late.”
“My mood?”
“You haven’t been yourself, Talia.”
Tartly, she said, “Neither have you, Jasper.”
“Me? In what way?”
“Not in a way I can put my finger on. But something.”
He retraced his steps back to her. “Is the honeymoon over?”
“I could ask you the same.”
“Why would you?”
“Because I suspect you’re having an affair with Elaine.” There, she’d said it.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“That’s what every cheating partner says when accused.”
“You’re being preposterous. I am not sleeping with Elaine. Good God.”
His denial didn’t prompt her to back down or withdraw the allegation. She held his self-righteous glare.
Sounding frustrated, he said, “I’m not having an affair, but you’re right. We need to get back on an even keel. A change of scenery would do us good. I’ll come with you to Atlanta.”
