said defensively.
âOkay.â She thought for a moment. âGot one. When Mac breaks up with Karen, whoâs been waiting for him to come home from Afghanistan, and she starts punching and slapping him, that seemed out of character for someone whoâd been so patient.â
âShe was ticked off at being dumped. But he didnât want to lead her on.â
âAnd rightfully so. But because she was so long-suffering and colorless it didnât feel real.â
âWhat would have been right? In your opinion,â he said defensively. In his case, heâd been the one dumped and the only blows had been on the inside, where they wouldnât show.
âShe might cry. Struggle to hold back tears. Try to talk him out of it. Or let him have it with words. But she probably wouldnât attack him physically.â
He wasnât ready yet to concede the point even though his gut was telling him she was right. âIt could happen.â
âBut probably not.â She gave him a wry look. âYour response makes me wonder if you have issues with women.â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âMaybe you donât like them.â
âI like women just fine.â And that was the truth. But he wasnât very good with them. If he was, heâd have sensed his wifeâs detachment before she made the distance real and permanent.
âAll I know is that you donât have a girlfriend and youâre not married. Maybe youâre gay.â
âIâm not.â
âAnd in denial,â she said.
Just a little while ago heâd taken the high road and passed up the opportunity to show her he liked women just fine. But during that second or two in the kitchen, when heâd reached into the cupboard for a mug, heâd accidentally brushed against her. That barest of touches had sent his blood rushing to points south of his belt.
In spite of what she thought, he knew a little something about women. He knew when one would melt against him if he kissed her. And thatâs exactly the way Erin had looked in that moment when their bodies had touched.
âI know exactly who I am,â he said. âAnd I donât have issues with women.â
âIf you need help with the female point of view, Iâd be happy to provide feedback.â
âI donât need help understanding women.â
âReally? Then you would be the first man in history who didnât,â she said pertly. âLook, Jack, all Iâm saying is that you can make your characters do whatever you need them to, just give them a backstory to support the behavior. Readers want real characters, get to know and root for them.â
âUnderstood.â
âMaybe Mac Daniels needs a love interest. A woman, or man,â she said with a grin, âwho will tell him the things he really doesnât want to hear. Someone to keep him honest. Because right now he really has nothing to lose and it means the stakes for him are pretty low.â
âI need to get to work.â He took a sheet of paper from the printer. âAnd I have some serious things for you to research.â
âRight.â She stood and took the paper. âLater, Jack.â
He watched the sway of her hips as she walked to the door and didnât realize he was holding his breath until she was gone and he let it out.
Had she been pushing his buttons to get him to open up?
Off balance. There it was again. And he had another reason to regret missing the opportunity to kiss her. Besides the fact that he still didnât know how she would taste, she was accusing him of pitching for a different team.
If he hadnât so adamantly and, letâs face it, obnoxiously, told her on the very first day they met that he wouldnât sleep with her, he would gladly show her how much he liked women in general.
And her in particular.
* * *
Jack had barricaded himself in the office all day and