interrogation?-where they had left off earlier without missing a beat.
Josephine licked her arm. Julie accepted the only affection on offer and cuddled her close. Just having the dog near was comforting. She had always wanted a pet of her own. Maybe, she thought with a glimmer of gallows humor, she should try to think of what was happening less as a catastrophic marriage breakdown and more as a golden opportunity to trade Sid in for her very own dog.
At the moment, she was about ready to go with the dog. “Maybe I just felt like going for a midnight drive.”
His expression said yeah, right, and Julie sighed.
“Look, I'm sorry about your car, I'm grateful for all your help, and if you can somehow get my car back for me I'll kiss the ground you walk on, but I really don't want to go into every little detail of my personal life, okay?”
“So you are cheating on your husband.”
“No, I am not.”
At the outrage in her tone, he lifted his hands, palms up, in a placating gesture. “Okay, okay. Hey, if you don't want to tell me what's going on, fine. It just seems to me like if you're rolling out of bed in the middle of the night to drive downtown in your underwear, then are scared to death your husband is going to find out, something is wrong in your life and-maybe you need a friend.”
His voice gentled on that last, and the smile he gave her was disarmingly charming. So charming, in fact, that it caused a pang in the region of her heart. God, he was good-looking-and she wanted to trust him, she really did. He was right, at the moment she could use a friend.
“I'm wearing pajamas, not underwear,” she said for the record.
“My mistake.”
“How do you know my name?” There was a wary note to that, because she was busy reminding herself that it was better to be safe than sorry. Impossible as it seemed, he might have some sort of connection with Sid. Of course, she realized with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, in that case the trick would be to keep him quiet about what he already knew.
Debbie shrugged, and stuck his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I've seen you around. You own a dress shop out in Summerville, don't you? Flashy evening gowns, sequins, feathers, that kind of thing?” He grinned. “Nothing in my size, though. You might want to rethink that. Us larger gals like to look pretty, too.”
Julie smiled involuntarily at the idea of him trying to squeeze into one of her gorgeous gowns, none of which came in a size larger than 8. If he did somehow manage to get one on, and then actually wore it out, he would ruin her reputation forever.
“I'll keep it in mind,” she said. Actually, she designed and made gowns and other wardrobe essentials for beauty pageants, and her shop was strictly for contestants and their handlers, but there was no point in going into all that.
The clock was still ticking. That thought left her unable to sit still a moment longer.
“Oh, God, what time is it?”
She put Josephine on the floor and stood up, moving toward the kitchen to check. Debbie stopped her with a hand on her arm. Too nervous now to be more than peripherally conscious of the hard warmth of that hand as it curled around her upper arm, Julie glanced up at him.
“Two-twelve.” He was looking past her shoulder at the VCR atop the TV: Following his gaze, Julie realized that there'd been a little digital time readout in the room with her all along.
“I've got to get home.” She pulled free of his hand to pace the long wall that separated the living room from the kitchen.
“I'm no friend of your husband's, you know,” he said, watching her.
“Nothing you tell me will get back to him, I promise. And you never know, maybe I can help you get whatever this is sorted out.”
The ensuing pause as she stopped pacing and their gazes met lasted perhaps a couple of heartbeats.
“I think Sid is cheating on me.” Julie blurted it out. She hadn't really made a conscious decision to
Josephine licked her arm. Julie accepted the only affection on offer and cuddled her close. Just having the dog near was comforting. She had always wanted a pet of her own. Maybe, she thought with a glimmer of gallows humor, she should try to think of what was happening less as a catastrophic marriage breakdown and more as a golden opportunity to trade Sid in for her very own dog.
At the moment, she was about ready to go with the dog. “Maybe I just felt like going for a midnight drive.”
His expression said yeah, right, and Julie sighed.
“Look, I'm sorry about your car, I'm grateful for all your help, and if you can somehow get my car back for me I'll kiss the ground you walk on, but I really don't want to go into every little detail of my personal life, okay?”
“So you are cheating on your husband.”
“No, I am not.”
At the outrage in her tone, he lifted his hands, palms up, in a placating gesture. “Okay, okay. Hey, if you don't want to tell me what's going on, fine. It just seems to me like if you're rolling out of bed in the middle of the night to drive downtown in your underwear, then are scared to death your husband is going to find out, something is wrong in your life and-maybe you need a friend.”
His voice gentled on that last, and the smile he gave her was disarmingly charming. So charming, in fact, that it caused a pang in the region of her heart. God, he was good-looking-and she wanted to trust him, she really did. He was right, at the moment she could use a friend.
“I'm wearing pajamas, not underwear,” she said for the record.
“My mistake.”
“How do you know my name?” There was a wary note to that, because she was busy reminding herself that it was better to be safe than sorry. Impossible as it seemed, he might have some sort of connection with Sid. Of course, she realized with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, in that case the trick would be to keep him quiet about what he already knew.
Debbie shrugged, and stuck his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I've seen you around. You own a dress shop out in Summerville, don't you? Flashy evening gowns, sequins, feathers, that kind of thing?” He grinned. “Nothing in my size, though. You might want to rethink that. Us larger gals like to look pretty, too.”
Julie smiled involuntarily at the idea of him trying to squeeze into one of her gorgeous gowns, none of which came in a size larger than 8. If he did somehow manage to get one on, and then actually wore it out, he would ruin her reputation forever.
“I'll keep it in mind,” she said. Actually, she designed and made gowns and other wardrobe essentials for beauty pageants, and her shop was strictly for contestants and their handlers, but there was no point in going into all that.
The clock was still ticking. That thought left her unable to sit still a moment longer.
“Oh, God, what time is it?”
She put Josephine on the floor and stood up, moving toward the kitchen to check. Debbie stopped her with a hand on her arm. Too nervous now to be more than peripherally conscious of the hard warmth of that hand as it curled around her upper arm, Julie glanced up at him.
“Two-twelve.” He was looking past her shoulder at the VCR atop the TV: Following his gaze, Julie realized that there'd been a little digital time readout in the room with her all along.
“I've got to get home.” She pulled free of his hand to pace the long wall that separated the living room from the kitchen.
“I'm no friend of your husband's, you know,” he said, watching her.
“Nothing you tell me will get back to him, I promise. And you never know, maybe I can help you get whatever this is sorted out.”
The ensuing pause as she stopped pacing and their gazes met lasted perhaps a couple of heartbeats.
“I think Sid is cheating on me.” Julie blurted it out. She hadn't really made a conscious decision to
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