by J. Kenner
“Selma?” When she didn’t turn, he continued. “We need to think about your counter offer. If you coming on board isn’t part of the deal—and you’ve told me you just want to walk away—then we can only limit their ability to use the brand in a very minute fashion. At least, if we want the deal to happen.”
“Then I want money,” she said, her stomach tight. “If they get the ability to do whatever they want, then I want loads of cash.”
“Yeah,” he said, rising and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Sounds like we’re both on the same page.”
Chapter Ten
United States Senator Douglas Todd had represented the great state of Texas for going on fifteen years, and according to Judge Coale, his support would be invaluable as Easton moved up the ladder, hopefully to a federally appointed seat on an appellate or district court.
That goal was years away, but navigating the judicial waters required long-term planning.
Which was why Easton was sitting in Jeffries, one of Austin’s finest restaurants, sharing dinner with the man even though he’d much rather be at home in the hot tub with Selma celebrating the excellent counteroffer they’d put together and faxed over to Penoldi-Gryce’s attorneys that afternoon.
Not that he should complain. These kinds of dinners came with the territory. And Senator Todd really had led a fascinating life. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a clue how to tell it, and he made his time in the military and the CIA sound like an advertisement for motor oil.
It was all Easton could do not to fall asleep. And, frankly, he was working harder to look interested than he’d ever remembered working in his life. More to the point, the senator seemed entirely uninterested in getting to know him, which seemed counter to the reason that they were having dinner. Because how could Todd get behind Easton as an up-and-coming player in the judiciary if Todd didn’t know a thing about him?
Easton didn’t know. Frankly, he didn’t care, though he would definitely bend Judge Coale’s ear later.
Right then, all he wanted was to get home. And if he got out of there early enough, he might even go see Selma. After all, they had a deal, and today had been solely about the work. Time to add some balance to the equation.
“And about that time, I realized that the initiative wouldn’t go through if I didn’t put all my weight behind it,” the senator said.
Easton had entirely lost the thread of the conversation, but was saved when his phone chimed.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, pulling it out. “I usually silence this, but my mother is ill.” A huge lie, and he owed his mom a phone call to make up for using her as his foil. But right then, he didn’t care who was texting. He opened the app, checked the screen, and almost lost it right there.
Selma. Entirely naked and twisted up in her sheets just enough to be completely immodest and yet not look like porn. In fact, to Easton, she looked like dessert.
Below the picture, her text read - Wanna play?
Oh, yes. Did he ever.
Who took that picture?
That wasn’t what he’d intended to ask, but jealousy had prompted his fingers.
That’s what tripods and remote shutter clickers are for. I want you. And I wanted you to know.
Relief that it wasn’t an old picture some other man had taken—or worse, that there was someone else with her—crashed over him with unexpected force.
My house. One hour. I want you like that.
Holy hell, what was he doing? Sexting in one of the city’s nicest and most established restaurants? While he was schmoozing a United States Senator? This was not the Easton he’d become over the last two years as his plan to go after a judicial seat had evolved. And this definitely was not the path that was going to get him elected.
But it could only screw him up if someone found out. And he’d been walking the straight-and-narrow for so long now, that he could handle a respite. A small break into the wild and dark. After all, Selma wasn’t a permanent fixture. She was a pressure valve. A temporary necessity.
And, frankly, considering tonight, she was a welcome escape hatch.
“Senator, I’m so sorry, but I won’t be able to stay for dessert and coffee. I need to get home and take care of some family matters.”
Easton woke with the sun, then rolled over, breathless and sated, as Selma curled up next to him. She’d met him at the door as he’d walked in, racing naked across his living room and launching herself into his arms.
He’d taken her on the floor, fast and hard, before they’d moved to the bed for a repeat performance, that time focusing on slow and easy. She was, by far, the most responsive, aggressive, sexy, fascinating woman he’d ever met, and he had absolutely no regrets about ditching the senator.
He was, however, starting to wonder about where they would go from here. Because when he thought about not having her in his life…
Well, honestly, he didn’t think about it. Because he simply didn’t like the concept of that reality.
Her fingers trailed over his chest, tracing patterns down to his abs. “You’re thinking too loud,” she said. “Wanna share?”
“I was wondering if you want to come to the benefit tonight,” he said, the idea springing into his mind. “It’s for literacy, and it’s at the landfill.”
She sat up, completely oblivious to the way the sheet fell off of her. “Excuse me?”
“Texas Disposal Systems maintains an exotic ranch right next to the landfill. It’s their way of giving back. It’s not open to the public, but they rent the Pavillion out for events.”
“That’s completely cool. And I could see the animals?”
“Absolutely.”
“But are you sure I can go? I mean, as your date?”
Regret stabbed through him. “Probably not. But I have an extra ticket. And you can be one of the guests. Someone I have to schmooze for later votes.”
She laughed, then moved to straddle him. “I don’t know. You schmoozed me pretty good already. I have no more votes to give.”
He cupped her ass. “Right now, neither do I. But later I hope for a lot more schmoozing.”
“Deal.” She slid off him, then rolled off the bed. “I need to take a shower and get out of here. When is this thing?”
He sat up, more disturbed than he should be that she was leaving. Hell, he’d practically ordered her here last night without even thinking to ask if she had other plans. “Seven,” he said. “You can’t stay for breakfast?”
“I was going to grab a coffee and a donut on the way.” She tilted her head. “Do you want to join me?”
“It’s not even nine on a Saturday. Where are you going?” he asked, but she just smiled.
“Why don’t we start in the shower, and you’ll learn the rest when we get there?”
There turned out to be San Gabriel Park in Georgetown, a town about thirty minutes outside of Austin, where dozens of children under the age of thirteen were running from bouncy houses to craft stations to makeshift photo booths.
“What is this?” Easton asked as they walked from the car to the mass of kids.
“I work with an organization that takes foster kids out on excursions. Some foster parents can’t afford to do much of that or are just overwhelmed. This gives the kids some interaction and the parents can come, too, if it works for them.”
He glanced sideways at her. “That sounds like a great cause.”
She shrugged. “There’s a need.”
They’d reached a small cluster of adults, so he didn’t ask her about the tightness in her tone of voice. Instead, he accepted an assignment to go play catch with a group of young boys while Selma set up at a face-painting station and started to decorate a very long line of little girls.
By the end of an hour, Easton was exhausted, and begged the boys to stop for a bit. Instead of catch, he took them down to the river’s edge. A few of the kids and chaperones were already there with stale bread for the ducks, many of which were so tame they ate right out of the kids�
�� hands.
“You’re really a lawyer?” A tall boy of eleven who’d told Easton he was Alfonse stood with his hands on his hips as he focused on Easton’s face.
“I am.”
“That’s what I’m going to do, too. My dad beat up my mom. He’s in jail and she can’t take care of me anymore. I’m gonna be a prosecutor.”
Easton’s gut twisted with the kid’s words, but he tried not to show it. But dear God, he’d thought his childhood with his parents’ legal and financial problems had been rough? Talk about foolish. “I think you’ll make a great prosecutor. You know what justice is and you’ve seen what prosecutors are fighting for.”
The kid grinned, as if Easton had just anointed him as a district attorney right then.
“Yeah. My dad’s a prick. But Gary’s okay.”
“Gary?”
“My foster father. He and Jessie are gonna try to adopt me.” His smile was wide, but a little sad. “They want me. My dad didn’t. And my mom?” He shrugged. “I don’t think she really did, either. But at least she never hit me.”
Dear God. What the hell could he say to this kid?
“Alfonse, everybody has a path. Some start out pretty crooked. But it sounds like yours is straightening out. Here,” he added, then fished out his wallet and handed the kid his business card. “You keep in touch. I mean it.”
The boy’s face lit up, and he tucked the card in his back pocket before rushing to the riverbank to join a group of kids who were calling his name.
Easton went to the check-in desk and downed three glasses of water, his mind spinning.
He spent the next two hours on auto-pilot, but when they were back in the car, he’d processed enough to turn to Selma when they reached a red light. “Those kids—they have it pretty rough.”
“Yup.”
“Was that you?” he asked gently.
She didn’t answer, and the light turned green. He continued on in silence, angry with himself for getting personal. Obviously, that wasn’t where she wanted to go with him.
He pulled into his garage, then killed the engine. “Do you want to come in? Or are you heading home? You’re still coming to the benefit tonight, right?”
She turned to look at him, her brow furrowed. Then she pulled off the plain white t-shirt she wore. There was nothing sexual about the act, and he wasn’t surprised when she pointed to the small tattoo beneath her left breast, near her heart. The single word, please.
“You asked me about it, remember?”
He nodded.
“It was my first tattoo. I was twelve. Matthew and I had been in foster care for a while, and then we learned that the Herringtons wanted to adopt us. I snuck out of the house that very first night and managed to get to a tattoo parlor. I looked older than my age, and they didn’t ask for ID—it’s probably a miracle I didn’t get hepatitis from the needle, the place was skanky. Anyway, that’s what I got. That word over my heart. Please. Please let them be the ones. Please let it last.”
Let it last. The words echoed like a clue in his mind.
“Did they ever find out you snuck out?”
She nodded. “Oh, yeah. My second day in their house and I got grounded. I figured that was the end. But then things moved on. I was so sure the end was coming—it always did—and then we were in front of a judge and they were officially my parents. My head totally spun.”
“And now?”
Her laugh was harsh. “Now I know that I have a good thing—but I still expect it to come crashing down. I’m a glass half empty girl. Matthew is convinced we paid our dues and found Shangri-La. He’s a glass half full guy.”
He exhaled, lost under the weight of her story and Alfonse’s dark, hopeful eyes. “I’m sorry you’re still not sure.” He took her hand. “Maybe one day you’ll stop believing that the ground is going to fall out from under you.”
“Maybe,” she agreed. “But I’m not holding my breath.”
Chapter Eleven
Selma hadn’t expected the landfill to be as cool as it was. Somehow, her head hadn’t managed to put together exotic animals and trash. But once she was there, she was mesmerized by the zebras, rhinoceroses, tigers, and other wildlife that she saw on the brief guided tour that the benefit guests were offered.
Since she wasn’t technically there with Easton, she’d been in a different tour group, and now she was back in the pavilion, wandering the various tables—some offering information about literacy, some displaying the items donated for the silent auction—and sipping her glass of Chardonnay.
Honestly, while she thought literacy was a great cause, after her time with the animals, she was bored. A state of affairs she was certain would be remedied if Easton were beside her.
He, however, was nowhere to be found. Or at least, she corrected, he hadn’t been. Now, she caught a glimpse of his dark hair and broad shoulders through the window, and she forced herself to walk toward the main door instead of skipping like an eager puppy.
She stopped short, however, when he stepped inside. Marianne was on his arm, her face lit up with pleasure.
Angry green monsters started to claw at Selma’s insides, and she told herself sternly that she was being stupid. She had no right to be jealous. They were coworkers. She’d known they were coming to this together. He was running for judge. Of course he needed someone like Marianne beside him. After all, who could possibly see her as a judge’s wife?
Wife?
Where the hell had that come from?
Companion, then. Date. She was so not political material.
A fact that underscored the rationality of their original plan: Contract to sell the distillery plus a good time while they were negotiating equaled happy memories for both of them when they parted ways.
It was what they’d agreed, and it made sense.
And yet she couldn’t deny that the thought of going their separate ways now left her feeling hollow. And the part where she watched another woman on his arm brought out some serious mean girl attitude.
Hell. She was definitely in trouble.
“Selma!” The eager voice yanked Selma away from her pity party, and she turned to find Elena grinning at her as she hurried forward, accompanied by an athletic woman with wild, curly hair and piercing blue eyes.
“Elena! Why are you here?”
“I’m schmoozing. I have an interview with the director of one of the historic preservation societies soon. Figured I should meet her socially first.”
“Good plan.” Elena was about to start a graduate program in urban planning, and she was eager to get as much related experience as possible.
“What about you? Why are you here?”
“Easton had an extra ticket. I, um, I’m considering it a client perk.”
“Easton Wallace?” the other woman asked. “I’ve been looking for him. I’m Hannah, by the way. Hannah Donovan.”
“Hannah comes to The Fix sometimes. She’s friends with Shelby. You met her once with Nolan, remember? Mr. April?”
Selma did. And she also remembered Hannah’s name from the day she and Easton had worked in the conference room, and those ridiculous green monsters started up their conga line again. “I actually just saw him with another woman from his firm.”
Hannah made a face. “Must be Marianne. I think Judge Coale only wants her as Easton’s escort because she’s too bland to be offensive to anybody.”
Selma bit back a laugh, her estimation of this woman rising a bit. “How do you know Easton?”
Hannah waved a hand. “Oh, God, we go back forever. We were study buddies in law school, then mock trial partners. We dated for about seven seconds, but it didn’t stick. We lost touch for about a year—I ended up dating a woman who was jealous of every ex-boyfriend—and then I moved to Austin to do in-house work and we reconnected.”
The last bits of jealousy faded away.
“You know him because you’re a client?”
Selma nodded. “He’s negotiating the sale of my business
.”
Hannah’s lips twitched. “If you say so.”
“What?” Elena demanded.
Hannah looked at Selma. “I probably understated what good friends Easton and I are. To be honest, until Judge Coale started him on this path to be a judge, we were thinking about opening a firm together. I’m itching to be in the trenches. In-house pay is great, but the work can be monotonous.”
Selma frowned, not sure she was following. Hannah, apparently, was a rambler, and Selma assumed that if they worked together, Easton would do the trial stuff and Hannah the behind the scenes law work.
“Right, sorry. My point is, we talk a lot. He’s one of my closest friends, although with campaigning and his recent extracurricular activities, we haven’t talked as much as we used to.”
“Oh.” Selma actually blushed. And blushing really wasn’t like her. “What exactly has he told you?”
Hannah lifted a shoulder. “Nothing embarrassing. But I’m happy for him. It’s clear he really likes you. Sorry it has to be so clandestine. Politics are stupid.”
“That’s for sure,” Selma said.
Beside them, Elena looked from one to the other. “What the hell are you two talking about?”
“I’m fucking Easton,” Selma said, choosing her words intentionally because it was so much fun to shock Elena. “But keep it a secret, okay?”
“But you’re leaving for Scotland soon!”
“Maybe he’s my grand send-off,” Selma said, although the words tasted bitter on her tongue. “Either way, we’re having fun.”
“Speak of the devil,” Hannah said, as Easton approached.
“You three look like you’re getting into mischief.”
“Always,” Hannah said, as Selma’s phone chirped, the tone signaling that it was Matthew.
She pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and went cold.
911.
“Excuse me.” She stepped away, her heart pounding as she called her brother.
“Dad’s had a heart attack,” he said without preamble. Hell, she hadn’t even heard the phone ring.
