She Does Know Jack by Donna Michaels Page B

dig at her
grapefruit. Their revelations seemed to fit her assessment of their characters.
Maybe Uncle Franco was right. Maybe her judgment and intuition weren’t off and
her past mistake on that other show was just that—a mistake.
    Confidence
seeped into her shoulders and her chin lifted.
    However, she
wasn’t foolish. It didn’t matter how charming the women were, they were her
suspects, and according to Uncle Franco, her only suspects. Still, she
wondered about Jack.
    Brielle sipped
her juice and contemplated removing him from the list. There’d been nothing in
her uncle’s notes to exclude the man. And yet, her uncle had cleared him. She
trusted her uncle’s judgment; it was hers she questioned. Especially since she
was attracted to the former Ranger.
    Damn, her head
was beginning to ache. She eyed her orange juice and wondered if it was too
early to add vodka.
    “That wasn’t
bad, ballerina. Sorry to eat and run, but I’m out of here.” Carla slid off her
chair and sauntered toward the door.
    “Me, too,” Mandy
exclaimed on her way out of the room, their camera-toting shadows one step
behind as they left her with a mound of dishes.
    She pushed
thoughts of her case aside and focused on the kitchen. Expecting the third
contestant to follow suit, she was pleasantly surprised when Danni started to
clear the table.
    “You’ll get used
to them. They do that all the time.” 
    Working
together, Brielle discussed the show with Danni and discovered just how
uncomfortable the process made the teacher. The woman was semi-shy and less
confrontational than the others. But sometimes, it was the quiet ones you
needed to watch.
    She’d just put
the last of the dishes into the washer when Mandy burst into the room.
    “Come on, you
two,” the blonde said. “Bill’s here to tell us today’s activities.”
    “Great.” Brielle
glanced down at her minimal attire. “But, it’ll have to wait until I pop
upstairs to get dressed.”
    “Okay, but
you’ll still have to walk past him to get to the stairs.” She giggled, then let
the door go. The squeaking hinges echoed Brielle’s frustration.
    “I can see it’s
going to be one of those days.”
    Danni sent her
an apologetic look, and Brielle smiled, knowing she’d been through worse. Squaring
her shoulders, she followed Danni into the living room, and stopped dead.
    Bill was not
alone.
    Jack lounged in
the chair next to the producer, hands behind his head, a relaxed expression on
his handsome face. As his gaze settled on her, he raised a brow and slowly
smiled.
    “Oh.” Brielle
blinked, surprised as well. The jury was still out on the pleasant part. Maybe
if she’d been wearing more than a silk robe. For the first time in her life,
she had an attack of modesty. Which was completely and utterly stupid. The man
had seen her naked. Sort of. He’d seen Ariel naked. And despite the couple
pounds she’d gained, it was still her he’d seen. Just a thinner version. And
damn, she really had to fight the urge to use her arms to cover her chest.
    And that ticked
her off.
    Red-faced, Bill
leaped to his feet and had the decency to look away, but not Jack. Hell no. With
a broadening grin, the bugger slowly lowered his arms to fold them across his
chest and stare openly at her.
    Dodger .
    His gaze raked
her from head to toe, lingering on her tingling parts, turning her knees to
jelly and her heart into a Hemi engine. And she didn’t even want to discuss her
nipples. Traitors.
    “If you’ll
excuse me, I’ll go get dressed now.” Congratulating herself for keeping her
tone light, she sent the smiling contestants a look. “It seems my roommates
conveniently forgot to mention your visit this morning.”
    “Yes, of
course,” Bill stammered. “You go ahead and get dressed. We’ll wait for you.” He
dropped back into his chair, clearing his throat.
    Not Jack. No.
The grinning bastard’s gaze stuck to her like cat fur on black clothing.
    She swallowed,
then turned on her