“After today, I won’t have anything to do with him.”

“After today?”

She flinched at the sound of Jasper’s voice and, too late, realized her slip. “Now that I’ve slept on it,” she said. “Until Drex moves out, we’ll keep our distance. Problem solved.”

“Is it? I’m not as ready as you are to dismiss the Key West thing as a coincidence. The way Elaine described his interest, it seemed excessive.”

“Did she pick up on your concern? Can I expect a call from her tomorrow, asking for the lowdown?”

“I told her it was a private and sensitive matter, and asked her never to mention it again. She promised not to.”

Talia groaned.

“What?”

“Elaine loves intrigue. All you’ve done is entice her. She’ll demand the lowdown.”

“If she brings it up, shrug it off. Give her a drink, and tell her I made too much of it.”

“Which you are.”

He looked through the window. No lights were on inside the garage apartment. It was an indistinct dark form among the shadows. “We’ll keep our distance from him,” Jasper said. “If he’s merely the man next door, he’ll get the message and stop making overtures. If he’s more than that, he’ll make a nuisance of himself. That’s when we’ll know.”

“We won’t know.”

“Strongly suspect, then. If he continues to come around, it will confirm my suspicion, and we’ll be forced to take some drastic measures.”

Alarmed, she said, “Like what?”

He patted her hand. “We’ll wait and see. In the meantime, I’ve taken the precaution of changing the alarm code.”

“That’s unnecessary, Jasper. You’re overreacting.”

“Better safe than sorry. The new code is our anniversary date numerically, except backward. Got it?”

“Yes.” She recited the sequence.

“Good. Don’t forget it.” He pushed back his chair and stood. “For now, let’s go to bed.”

“You go. I slept most of the day away. I think I’ll read for a while. Maybe watch a movie.”

“Then I’ll say good night.” He bent down and kissed her cheek, but as he moved away, she reached for his hand.

“Wait. There’s something else. Something you should know.” She wished he weren’t standing over her. Looking up at him at an awkward angle made this all the more difficult. “I have a confession.”

“Regarding Drex?”

“Yes.” Her voice came out husky. She wet her lips. “He…he…”

“What?”

She lowered her head, took a deep breath, and, in a nanosecond, reversed her previous decision. “You asked if anything happened that day when I went over to his apartment.”

“Anything improper.”

“It wasn’t improper, but something did happen. I offered to read his manuscript. He declined. No, not declined. Refused. Outright.”

“Probably because he feared exposure as an imposter.”

“Possibly. But the point is, when I arrived at Elaine’s townhouse last night, found him there, learned that he had given her his manuscript to read, I behaved childishly. I was insulted that he had solicited her opinion over mine. That was the source of the tension.”

“He rejected you, but was paying court to Elaine. You were jealous.”

“Resentful, at least. I told you it was childish.”

“But not a stoning offense,” he said, chucking her under the chin.

Despite the playful gesture, his choice of words was troubling. In some cultures, one stoning offense was adultery.

“Remember to keep the lights off in the rooms within sight of his apartment.”

He was almost through the door when she stopped him again. “I think I’ll go to Atlanta for a few days.”

The spur-of-the-moment decision was made almost simultaneous to her declaring it. Jasper turned. His face was in shadow, but she sensed that his expression was inquisitive, if not suspicious.

She said, “That new boutique hotel I told you about? It sounds like something my clients would flock to. I think I’ll go and see if it lives up to the hype.”

He said nothing for an interminable time, then, “Ordinarily you plan your business trips well in advance. The suddenness of this one is uncustomary, but it’s in perfect keeping with your mood of late.”

“My mood?”

“You haven’t been yourself, Talia.”

Tartly, she said, “Neither have you, Jasper.”

“Me? In what way?”

“Not in a way I can put my finger on. But something.”

He retraced his steps back to her. “Is the honeymoon over?”

“I could ask you the same.”

“Why would you?”

“Because I suspect you’re having an affair with Elaine.” There, she’d said it.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“That’s what every cheating partner says when accused.”

“You’re being preposterous. I am not sleeping with Elaine. Good God.”

His denial didn’t prompt her to back down or withdraw the allegation. She held his self-righteous glare.

Sounding frustrated, he said, “I’m not having an affair, but you’re right. We need to get back on an even keel. A change of scenery would do us good. I’ll come with you to Atlanta.”

“Come with me?”

“Is that such an outrageous notion?”

“No, not at all. You’re always welcome to come along, but you rarely do. I can’t remember the last time you did.”

“I’ve read about this place, and it does sound special. It poached a superstar chef away from a New York restaurant. We’ll have each other to ourselves. No Elaine chattering a mile a minute. No bothersome neighbor,” he said shooting a glance out the back window. “I don’t see a downside to us enjoying time to ourselves.”

The downside was that she would prefer to spend those several days alone. She needed time to think about the implications of her doctor’s visit this morning and to reflect on the destabilizing events that had taken place since Sunday when she’d gone yachting on the Laney Belle and met Drex Easton.

She also needed to isolate a reason for the vague uneasiness that had plagued her for several months now. A premonition of doom was her constant companion, and that was a complete turnaround from the optimist outlook she’d always had. She’d arrived at no explanation for this gradual but inexorable reversal, but if the erosion of her marriage was the cause, that was reason enough to spend quality time with Jasper and try to get them back on track.

She smiled up at him. “That sounds lovely.”

“Make the reservation.”

“When do you want to go?”

He stroked her cheek, pushed back a strand of her hair, and curled his hand around her throat. “Tomorrow.”

Chapter 16

Long after Jasper’s final word, “Tomorrow,” Drex sat, staring through the darkness at nothing. Like a prizefighter who’d received a knockout jab and had made a hard landing, it took a while for him to come around.