Page 8 of Nothing But It All
“Hey, Jack,” she says, her voice entirely too sweet.
“Hey, Bills.”
“How are ya?” she asks.
He shrugs, looking confused. “Fine. Shitty. Great. Whatever.Why?”
She hums. “You’re all of those adjectives but not ... ‘suspicious’?”
Slowly, the confusion melts from Jack’s face, and a deep smirk graces his lips.
“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” I ask, my heartbeat picking up.
Neither of them looks at me. They just stare at each other in amusement.
“Hello?” I say, waving a hand in the air.
“Tell her,” Billie says, nodding toward me. “Stop lying to Lauren and tell her why you came inside.”
“I just wanted to say hello.”
Billie bursts into a fit of laughter.“You lie.”
Jack tilts his head and looks at me through his dark, thick lashes.
“You know that would never happen, right?” Billie asks.
“Yes. I do. So I figured I would prove it so I’m not lying on the couch in my office tonight, wondering.”
What?“Can someone explain?”
“Fine. I’ll tell her,” Billie says. “Your husband saw my new car in the driveway and didn’t recognize it. He wanted to see who was here. Didn’t ya, Jack?”
Oh.Satisfaction at Jack’s reaction,and the fact that he was jealous, erases all traces of my irritation.
Cheating on my husband is out of the question; it’s never crossed my mind. I don’t necessarily want to be with someone else. I’d just rather be alone than half-alive.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” I say, teasing him. “You can’t just walk in here. I could’ve been in the middle of something.”
His eyes blaze. “That would’ve been great. I would’ve gotten here just in time to help you out of it.”
“Stop it,”I say, smacking the top of his hand. “You know I wouldn’t do that.”
Jack runs his tongue along his bottom lip. “You didn’t answer her question.”
“Whose?”
“Billie’s.”
My brows tug together. “What question?”
“What kind of guy would be your perfect man? What does Lauren Reed think is hot?” he asks, his gaze pinning me to my seat.
I’m going to kill Billie.
I’m not sure what kind of game Jack is playing.What does it matter what I think is hot?I have no clue why he’s pushing the topic, but I do know I’m not going to sit here and let him think he’s putting me on the spot or getting the best of me.
I go with the first thing that crosses my mind.
