Page 17 of So That Happened
‘Not like some people.’
‘It sounded like you had someone in mind there.’
‘Hmm…’
He could tell by the way her eyes shifted sharply to the left that she was hoping to escape the subject by acting dumb. Not a hope in hell.
‘Who are you talking about, Josie?’
She sighed, the weight of her reluctance heavy in her breath. ‘My sister, Maddie. Madeline Marchpane.’ She gave him a look, as if she was waiting for him to connect the dots, for the correct synapses to snap together.
Then the penny dropped.
Madeline Marchpane was in the media a lot, celebrated for being a sexy genius scientist. She had a popular show in which she explained complex theories in layman’s terms. The public had lapped her up. That was why Josie’s name and face had dinged those bells for him.
‘Are you twins?’
‘She’s two years older than me.’
‘You look a lot alike.’
‘I know.’
He smiled. ‘And shehashad her IQ tested?’
Josie snorted gently. There was a world of pain in that short exhalation of breath. ‘Yes.’
‘That must be a tough gig to compete with.’
‘I wish I could say I got the beauty and she got the brains, but it wouldn’t be true.’ It was obviously a line she wheeled out on a regular basis, and her attempt at flippancy was totally unconvincing.
‘You think you’re second best to your sister?’
She frowned. ‘We can’t all be exceptional.’
‘You think you’re not exceptional?’
She laughed – a low, tense chuckle. ‘I do okay.’
‘Jeez, no wonder you’re so strung out.’
Her gaze snapped to his. ‘You think I’m strung out because I have a successful sister?’ She leant forward in her chair, a deep scowl marring her beautiful face. ‘I’m stressed because my business is in jeopardy and I’ve been ordered to go on bloody holiday.’
The sudden flash of anger surprised him, but it left her face as quickly as it had come. There was that look again: the swiftly shifting gaze, the tensing of her jawline, the flicker of a frown. As if she was internally reprimanding herself for something. She’d done it the last time her tone had slipped into aggressiveness.
‘Who ordered you?’
‘Your sister.’
‘Why would she do that? And why the hell would you listen to her?’
There was a tense pause before she spoke again. ‘Because of a thing at work.’
‘A thing?’
She rubbed a hand over her eyes, then batted away his question. ‘I’ve been working fifteen-hour days for weeks and I’m exhausted. Abi thinks I need to step away from work for a while.’
Her whole posture had slouched, as if she’d drawn right into herself.
