Tell No Lies by Julie Compton Read Free Book Online Page B

believe?"
    "You're just, well, different," he said, grinning. "Where'd you go to high school?"
    They both laughed, and Jack knew by her understanding of his parochial joke that she'd told him the truth. It was the question every native St. Louisian asked each other upon first meeting. Suddenly Jack really liked her.
    "Do you want to know?"
    "No, it doesn't really matter, does it? There's not a high school in this city for which you fit the stereotype." He laughed. "Maybe when I get to know you better, I'll be able to figure it out."
 
    "I doubt it," she said.
    "Well, I hope you'll give me the chance," Jack blurted. He felt foolish, worried that he sounded as though he was trying to hit on her. He felt himself blushing.
    "Well, the firm willing, I hope to be here for a while." She shifted her stance against the counter, and her shoulder lightly grazed his. When she moved, her hair moved, too, and so close, he had the urge to reach up and touch it. He looked down at his coffee cup instead so she wouldn't think he was staring at her.
    "Are your parents still here, then?" he asked.
    "No, they're dead." He was startled by her lack of euphemism. She didn't offer more, and before Jack could ask, she changed the subject. "Can I ask you a personal question?" she said.
    "Sure."
    "Does it bother your wife that you work this late?"
    "My wife?"
    Jenny chuckled. "You know, you're pretty funny." He didn't know if she meant "odd" funny, or "humorous" funny. "Yeah, your wife." She pointed at his hand. "Your wedding ring. Usually it's a dead give-away."
    "Oh," he said, looking down at his hand. "Well, she doesn't like it, but she understands, if that's what you mean." Then he added, "She's a lawyer, too."
    Jack worried again she might think he'd been hitting on her, and the question had been her way of letting him know it. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe she'd been hitting on him . He stood straight and looked at his watch.
 
    "I didn't realize how late it was," he said.
    Jenny straightened, also, as if on cue. "Yes, it is late." She walked to the sink and washed out her cup. "Well, it's been nice chatting with you. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Hilliard." She smiled at him and then turned away.
    And Jack knew he had been dismissed.
     
    Almost nine years had passed since that first night in the lunchroom, but now, standing in the shower, letting the water get so hot that it almost burned his skin, Jack again felt the imbalance, the inability to grasp the meaning of what had happened between them. Their friendship had survived its uncertain start years before; in fact, it had flourished. He'd eventually understood that her subtle playfulness was merely her way of putting the male lawyers on notice that, although she enjoyed being one of the boys in a firm dominated by men, she was still a woman underneath.
    He reminded himself that even Claire liked Jenny. She'd immediately accepted her as his friend; she'd never been the possessive or jealous type. Although they'd never developed a friendship with each other separate from Jack, Claire regularly invited Jenny to their house for dinner, and Jenny had even babysat the kids a few times when he and Claire went away for the weekend.
    They were just friends; they would always be just friends. He'd just gone a little bit further than he'd intended. He'd been buzzed and he'd let his inhibitions down. Their flirting hadn't meant anything way back then, and he had to believe it didn't mean anything now. He stepped out of the shower stall and grabbed a clean towel hanging from the rack on the shower door. Claire had put it there for him, he knew. He buried his face in it and smelled the same just-washed scent that he'd detected last night on her T-shirt. He hurried then. He had to get out of the house and to the safety of his office. Maybe then everything would get back to normal.
 
     
    When he arrived at the office, Beverly, a secretary who had worked in the DA's office even longer than