She laughed. Wade didn’t. “Find your own woman, Phoenix.”
Jonas tsked. “Always a black cloud.”
“So, back to the e-mails,” Gracie said. They could work out the details of their little bargain later. When they were alone.
Jonas sat up and started tapping the keys. “Right.”
Silence descended over them. Gracie could feel the tension in the air. They were al hoping her stalker had made it easy for them.
Several minutes later, Jonas was scowling at the computer screen. “Judging by the first fifty—and for the record this guy must seriously have nothing else to do—it’s pretty obvious he’s masking his IP. The e-mails are a dead end.” He looked over at her, his gaze fil ed with regret.
“Sorry.”
“It’s not over yet.”
Wade’s determination renewed her fast waning strength. “What do you mean?”
“We stil have his words. We can learn a lot just by reading his e-mails. The way he talks to you, the terms he uses. There might be something there that’l give us a clue as to where he’s met you.”
“Do you do anything else online?” Jonas asked. “Any social networking sites you belong to?”
“I blog if that’s what you mean.” Realization dawned. “You think he reads my blog or maybe comments?”
Jonas turned his attention back to her computer. “It’s a possibility. What’s the blog address?”
She bit her lower lip before replying, “Uh, I’d rather not say.”
Both men were suddenly staring at her. Wade spoke first. “Why?”
Like a kid in the principal’s office, Gracie felt like squirming. “It’s personal. Like a diary. I feel . . . exposed.”
Wade cupped her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “Whether it’s personal or not, this guy could be one of your readers. In fact, I’m betting he is.
We need to see it, baby. Trust us.”
“I do, it’s just . . .” She couldn’t put into words how important her blog was to her. She used it to stay sane. Her problems with her dad, the stress of working two jobs. Her love life, for crying out loud! She’d mentioned Wade even. She hadn’t used his name, of course, but she’d certainly expounded on his many attributes. She’d confessed that she’d desperately wanted to take him up on his offer of a date. Most of her readers, women who had come across her blog because of one of the books Gracie had posted a review of, had encouraged her to go for it even. It would be too weird if he read those posts and put two and two together.
“We’re not out to embarrass you. Whatever you talk about on your blog, it’s your business. We just want to help, that’s al .”
She didn’t believe that for a second. Oh, he definitely wanted to help. He’d made no bones about the fact that he intended to find the guy harassing her and put a stop to it. But he was also curious. “You and I both know you’d read al the posts. Don’t lie.”
“Fine, I’m interested in you. It’s not a crime, Gracie. Stil , you can trust me with your private thoughts. I won’t hold them against you, sweetheart.”
Trust—there it was again. Clearly she sucked at trusting men. Worse, she sucked at relationships with men. Her experiences with past lovers had al been surface relationships. She’d never felt deeply about any of them. Wade would have nothing less. “I’l agree to show you the blog, but only you.” She turned to Jonas and said, “It’s nothing personal, but some of the things I discuss on there are very private. And, wel , I just—”
“It’s none of my business; I get it.” He reached over and patted her thigh. “Don’t worry, you aren’t hurting my feelings.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks for understanding.”
He shoved his chair back and stood. “But I am hungry. If this is going to take a while, I’m thinking I should order some pizza.”
Wade kissed the top of her head. “Sounds good to me. Pepperoni and green peppers again?”
Her stomach growled. There was nothing quite like a hand-tossed. “No, how about just pepperoni, extra.”
Wade smiled. “Ah, going without the green this time, good choice. Do you like mushrooms?”
Gracie stuck her tongue out. “Ew. I hate those slimy things.”