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Jane resisted the urge to point out that she was a size eight on non-PMS days. “Could I have a little privacy?”
“Of course, but someone will need to stay in here with you to help with the zippers.”
Right, because she couldn’t possibly manage a zipper by her poor little self. “Heather stays.”
Jane avoided her mother’s gaze and began unbuttoning her blouse as the two women left the room.
“Why did you have to bring Mom along?” she whispered as soon as the door closed.
“Sorry, she insisted.”
“I thought we were supposed to talk today.”
Heather had been asking all week for them to find some time to get together and chat. They weren’t the closest of siblings, but Jane’s younger sisters did tend to view her as the fount of all knowledge when it came to their problems. They may not have liked reading books, but they did respect the fact that she’d written one.
Jane finished undressing and stepped into the pink gown, then slipped it over her shoulders. Already she hated it.
As Heather zipped up the dress, she whispered, “We do need to talk. It’s about…” She hesitated. “Bradley Stone.”
Bradley Stone? He was a good friend of Heather’s fiancé, one of the groomsmen in the wedding, and Jane’s biggest crush from college. He’d been in the same psychology program that she had, and he was so different from the average Texas male, it was hard to believe he’d even grown up in the Lone Star state. He was intelligent, insightful, enlightened, sensitive…
And he didn’t own a single Stetson or pair of cowboy boots. As far as Jane knew, he didn’t even possess a warped passion for college football or contact sports of any kind. He was a combination of her girlhood and adult fantasies, all rolled into one perfect guy.
What on earth could Heather have to say about Bradley?
Heather took one look at the dress and shook her head, then unzipped it again. Jane slid it back off and stepped out of it.
Had her crush on Bradley grown so obvious that even her sisters knew about it? Jane thought back to the engagement party for Heather and Michael, where she’d last seen Bradley. Okay, she had to admit, she’d probably lingered at his side too long, retrieved one too many drinks for him, laughed a little too hard at his jokes.
She’d been downright pitiful.
But she definitely wasn’t ready to talk to Heather about her infatuation with Bradley, even if her sister had already figured it out. Knowing Heather, she’d probably tell everyone, including Bradley, as soon as she got confirmation from Jane that there was an attraction.
“I don’t like him, and I don’t have anything to say about him.”
Heather studied Jane through the mirror and frowned.
Oops, maybe she’d protested too much. “I’ve got problems of my own, you know,” Jane said to cover her tracks.
Heather looked at her as if she’d just appeared from thin air. “Of course you do, Janie. You seem really tense—what’s up?”
She handed Jane the next dress, another pink one, as ugly as the last.
“Didn’t you guys listen to The Jax Reed Show on the way here?”
“Mom wouldn’t let me turn it on. She says no self-respecting person would listen to such garbage.”
Right, even if her own daughter was appearing on the show.
“It was awful. All these guys were calling in, angry and talking trash. Then the last caller was downright scary. He said he’d been watching me, and Jax hung up on him.”
“Janie! Are you still getting nasty letters, too?”
“I’ve gotten a few this week.” Ever since the publication of The Sex Factor, Jane’s mail from readers alternated between glowing praise and vicious attacks. She got a sick feeling in her stomach each time she had to open a letter now.
“Did that caller say anything else? Something you could go to the police with?”
“He said his name is Bryan—though I’m sure that was a lie—and that he knows where I live.”
“You’ve got to take this seriously. There are a lot of crazy people out there, you know.”
“I know. But I don’t want to become paranoid about this whole thing.”
Heather unzipped the dress, and Jane slid it off and stepped out of it. “You know, one of Mikey’s cousins who’s also in the wedding is some kind of security expert. He works for lots of rich and famous people in Dallas.”
Jane immediately thought of the phone number Jax had given her. “His name isn’t Lucas Nicoletti, is it?”
“Yes! Did you meet him at our engagement party?”
“No, I don’t think so.” She’d been too busy drooling all over Bradley that night to notice anyone else. “Jax Reed gave me his number and told me I should call him.”
