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How was
London?”
    “London’s
fine. Lucy sends hugs.” Megan huffed an impatient sigh. “I accused
him of running a brothel, Kate. I called Harry out on him.”
    Kate flipped
the laptop closed and settled back in her chair, lips twitching.
“Even if he was running a—”
    “Yes, I know,
none of my business.” She gritted her teeth in pure frustration.
“What is it about that man that shoots me straight past common
sense and into a twilight zone of bloody mortification? I made such
a fool of myself.”
    “You should
jump into bed with him and get it out of your system.”
    Been there,
done that, and made it a hundred times worse.
    Kate folded
her arms and tilted her head, her eyes on Megan. Waiting…
    Had Lucy said
something? “What?”
    “He’d say yes
in a flash, you know. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
    Oh, yeah, he’d
said yes in a flash. Jack excelled at rash decisions and sprinting
in—and out—of situations.
    Kate wasn’t
finished. “You two have been dancing around each other for two
years now. It’s time to hitch a ride or get off the road.”
    “Huh?”
    “There’s
simmering attraction that slowly blooms into a love affair,” Kate
explained with exaggerated patience, “and there’s watching paint
dry.”
    Megan’s jaw
dropped. At least that confirmed that Lucy hadn’t spread the word.
“I’m off the road,” she assured Kate. “I’ve never been on the road.
What do roads have to do with anything, anyway?” She stood and dug
her keys out. “I need a drink.”
    “Jugs?” Kate
pushed to her feet and grabbed her purse. “First round’s on
me.”
    A half hour
later, bunched into a corner banquet of the Irish pub with large
glasses of wine and a plate of fries to share, the devil himself
walked through the doors. Megan ducked her head and slid a groan
Kate’s way. “I’m starting to understand why Lucy lives in London.
This town’s too darn small.”
    “He can still
see you, you know.” And just in case he couldn’t, she raised a hand
to wave him over.
    Megan lifted
her head on a sigh. The place would fill up later, but right now
the handful of regular patrons provided no buffer for her to slink
away on. She notched her chin high, slapped a smile on her face and
didn’t flinch when Jack’s gaze met hers and held as he crossed the
room toward them.
    “Hey there,”
he said, his eyes creasing into his grin. “I was hoping you’d be
here.” He slid into the circular booth beside her and turned that
grin on Kate. “The last set of head shots is done. I’ll bring them
around tomorrow morning.”
    “Thank you.”
Kate beamed at him. “I usually just take the entry photos myself
and everyone’s really excited about having the ‘Jack Marlin’
sparkle this year.”
    “Not so sure
about the sparkle,” he murmured, “but my pleasure.”
    Kate shuffled
out the other side of the booth. “I definitely owe you a drink.
Whiskey? Pear cider? Or have you broadened your alcohol horizons
since we last saw you?”
    “Cider’s fine,
thanks,” he called after as she sauntered off.
    “About
earlier…” Megan cleared her throat. “I might have overreacted.”
    His brow went
up, but then his amusement faded and his mouth pulled flat. “Did
you really think I was trooping those girls through my
bedroom?”
    “You were kind
of,” she reminded him.
    “The spare
bedroom.”
    Megan sighed.
“No, I didn’t really think you were.”
    The truth was,
Jack could have been slouched in front of the telly and she’d have
found a reason to lash out. She was still so mad at him, at
herself, and he hadn’t stayed around long enough for her to fight
all that anger out of her system. She wanted to scream and shout at
him, hurl accusations and watch him at least attempt some sort of
defence.
    She certainly
didn’t want to watch the shadows darken his eyes now and wonder if,
just maybe, he had one or two regrets after all.
    His hand came
out to her, to her cheek, brushing warmth as