Page 18 of Hard Deal
She tipped her nose up at him. “Okay fine, I kissed you. I may have enjoyed it, but that was only because I didn’t know it was you.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.” He planted a hand next to her head, penning her in. “You know you’re the world’s worst liar, right?”
“Ugh.” She speared him with a glare. “Fine. You got me. I kissed you and I liked it. Now I need to have a million showers to wash this dirty feeling off me. Happy?”
He chuckled. “Very.”
“Now what? Are you going to hold this over me for the rest of my life?”
Now what, indeed. Caleb had no idea why he’d called her in to have this conversation, other than getting some perverse pleasure from seeing her squirm. “I wanted to hear you say it. But I pity your future brother-in-law. Hell hath no fury like a Hargrove scorned.”
“Damn straight.”
“I’ll do you a favour. I won’t even mention it to him or Jase. You can continue your mission in peace.”
Imogen baulked. “You know him?”
“Sadly, yes. He’s a friend of Jason’s.”
“Then you can help me.” Her tense expression melted into one of elation.
“After you said you’d need ‘a million showers’ from kissing me?” He cocked his head. “Not real great at this manipulation thing, are you?”
She rolled her eyes and slipped out from between him and the door. “I’m not a master like you, that’s for sure.”
Caleb scratched his head. “Still not hitting the mark for asking a favour.”
“You have to help me.” She knotted her hands in front of her. “My sister is the kindest, sweetest, most loving person on the planet.”
“Your total opposite, then?”
Irritation flashed across her face. “I think he’s cheating on her and they’re due to get married in two months. I can’t have that.”
“Does she think he’s cheating?” Caleb asked.
“Well, no...but I saw something.” A dark cloud filtered over her face. “He goes to Sydney for work a few days each month. But last month when he was away my sister decided to take a trip. Remember that night we were at The Boatbuilders Yard for Pete’s going-away drinks?”
Caleb nodded. “How could I forget? He got so wasted he made out with the crook of his elbow.”
“Well, I’d spoken to Penny that afternoon. As far as she knew, Daniel was in Sydney until the following night.” She gritted her teeth. “But he was there, at the bar. And he was with this blonde woman.”
“Did you tell your sister?”
Imogen sighed. “I tried to and she accused me of hating him from day one. Which is true, but that’s beside the point. I’ve got this feeling in my gut that he’s cheating on her. I’m sure of it.”
“All because you saw him at a bar with a woman?”
“Firstly, they looked like they were flirting. Secondly, he’d lied about where he was. Doesn’t that seem suspicious to you?”
It did. Though Caleb found it hard enough to believe that Daniel had found one woman to marry him, let alone another with whom to have an affair. But once a person’s mind was made up, the facts couldn’t do much to change it. He knew that better than anyone else.
“Perhaps he got his dates mixed up and he wanted to go for a drink,” Caleb said. “You know, like a normal person.”
“I can’t explain it but...” Imogen sighed. “But I know the signs. Trust me.”
The pain in her voice ricocheted around his chest. Apparently, there was more to Imogen’s standoffish behaviour than met the eye.
“Okay, you think he’s cheating. How am I supposed to help with that?”