Rumor Has It

by Cheris Hodges

  One thing he knew for sure, if she wanted to expose Montgomery, she would have to do that on her own. There was no way in hell that he would allow himself to get caught up in that nonsense or use those pictures.

  Dialing her number, Jackson wondered if this dinner date would be a mistake.

  “This is Liza.” Hearing her voice replaced his doubt with yearning.

  “Hi, Liza,” he said. “I’m returning your call.”

  “Well, Mr. Hero, I’m glad that you decided to call me back.”

  “I hate that word.”

  “What word?”

  “Hero. I really believe anyone who knew him would’ve done the same thing.”

  “Spoken like a true . . . well, you know what I was going to say. Are we still on for dinner or do you have interviews lined up?”

  Jackson laughed. “You really think I’d use this for political reasons?”

  “Well, if you were my client . . .”

  “But I’m not.”

  “It would be something I’d suggest.”

  “We’re talking about a man’s life.”

  “I don’t know what to do with you.”

  Oh, I could think of several things, Jackson thought, then licked his lips. “What do you eat? Are you like most pretty women who only order a salad and then scarf down a burger when no one is looking?”

  “Ha,” she said. “I have a pretty healthy appetite. But I don’t eat pork or a lot of red meat.”

  “Cool. I’ll order something from your favorite restaurant, and I hope you don’t say Ruth’s Chris. Then we can eat on my balcony.”

  “What do you have against Ruth’s Chris?” she asked with a giggle.

  “I’m just over high-priced steak dinners,” he said. “You seem to eat a lot of those when you’re on the campaign trail.”

  “Then I guess it’s lucky for you that steak is my least favorite type of red meat and I was actually thinking of something light and a very chocolate and rich dessert.”

  “I like where this is going. Hometown Delights has one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever tasted.”

  “No. Anywhere but there.”

  “Now, how could you not like . . .”

  “Long story. I used to love that chocolate cake from there, but I have bad memories of it now.”

  “Then éclairs from Amelie’s?”

  “Sounds delicious to me.”

  “So, we’ve agreed on dessert, but what’s for dinner?” he asked.

  “I’ll tell you what, if you take care of dessert, I’ll bring dinner.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “See you soon,” Liza said. Jackson ended the call with a smile on his face. Though he knew this really had the potential to put a wrinkle in his campaign, if Teresa was right. Deciding that he needed to call her so that she didn’t track him down and find him with Liza, Jackson dialed her number.

  Liza had a warm sensation rippling through her body as she recalled her phone call with Jackson. There was something about his voice that made her nerves stand on end. Focus, she ordered herself. This is about loading Jackson with the bullets he needs to beat Robert. I won’t allow this man to kiss me and I won’t kiss him either. Liza called over to Hometown Delights and ordered the New Orleans chicken, rice pilaf, mixed vegetables, and a bottle of sparkling cider. The cake from that restaurant may have reminded her of her epic failure at playing matchmaker, but she didn’t have to boycott the whole menu. And though their wine selection was one of the best in the city, cider was safe. The last thing she needed was to be intoxicated around Jackson. Just looking into those green eyes was enough to make her drunk with want, need, and desire.

  “Maybe I should just e-mail him the pictures and skip this torture,” she groaned as she glanced at her watch. “No, I’m a grown-up. I can handle this.” Just as she was about to head out the front door to pick up the meal, her cell phone rang. Looking down, she saw that it was Chante.

  “Hello?” Liza asked after answering on the second ring.

  “Liza,” her friend said. “I think we need to get together and talk.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. I really hope we can . . .”

  “Liza, I have an opening Tuesday morning and I hope that you can explain yourself.”

  “Explain myself? What do you mean?”

  “I thought you were a friend to me and Robert, but for you to betray us in this way, it isn’t right and I just don’t get it.”

  “You’re delusional,” Liza blurted out.

  “Then Robert is right. I was so hoping that he was wrong. You’re jealous and you’ve been harboring this long crush on him.”

  “I have a bridge in Brooklyn and some oceanside property in Idaho. I don’t want your lying-ass man.”

  “You know how close we were in college? We used to talk about those sisters who claimed they had each other’s backs until one got something the other one didn’t have. I thought we were better than that.”

  “And if you believe anything different, then there really isn’t anything left to say and no need for us to meet.”

  “Fine.” The line went dead and Liza wanted to jump through the phone and shake some sense into her former best friend. She didn’t realize she’d been crying until a fat tear splashed on the back of her hand. She truly loved Chante and the last thing she wanted was to see her friend get hurt. But Robert was going to destroy her. Wiping her eyes, Liza blinked rapidly, telling herself that Chante made her choice and she was going to have to live with it. She tried to shake off her feelings about Chante as she headed for the restaurant. Liza tried to formulate a plan to bring up the pictures to Jackson again. He said he didn’t want to go negative, but exposing Robert for the lying creep he was would be a service to the voters. As she pulled into the restaurant, Liza texted the photos to Chante. If she didn’t believe her, maybe she’d let the pictures speak for themselves, that is if she hadn’t blocked her number.

  After picking up dinner, Liza headed for Jackson’s telling herself that this was not a date. This was business.

  Jackson spread a white tablecloth across the steel table on his balcony and silently reminded himself that this was just dinner; it wasn’t a political meeting and it surely wasn’t a date.

  “Why couldn’t this just be a simple date?” he muttered as he set a citronella candle in the center of the table. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved his lighter and lit the wick. “Because it isn’t.” He headed inside and grabbed the éclairs. After setting the table, Jackson heard the doorbell ring. Glancing at his watch, he was appreciative of Liza’s timeliness. Crossing over to the door, he smiled at the thought of the woman on the other side. When he opened the door and drank in her image—curve-hugging ivory jumpsuit and holding two bags of food in her hands, he was ravenous. But it wasn’t the aroma of the dinner that stirred his appetite. It was the way Liza’s breasts peeked through the fabric of her suit and silently cried out, “Kiss me.”

  “Welcome,” he said.

  “Thanks.” She walked inside as he stepped aside and allowed her to enter. “I’m sure I didn’t tell you this morning, but you have great taste.”

  “You’re talking about my place, right?” He winked at her.

  “Yes. Very tasteful and will photograph well when you’re senator.”

  Jackson wagged his finger. “We’re not doing that. We’re having dinner.”

  “All right.” She shrugged. “Just dinner.”

  “Give me your cell phone.”

  “Excuse me?” She furrowed her brows in confusion.

  Jackson held his hand out. “Your phone. I already know you never power down, so I’m enacting a no-phone policy at dinner.”

  She shook her head. “Can’t do it. I have clients and . . .”

  “The world will work just fine without you for the next two hours.”

  “And where is your phone going to be?”

  Jackson pointed to his breakfast nook. “Right there, on a date with yours. I’m not a twe
nty-four-hour candidate. I do take a break.”

  “What do cell phones do on a date?” she asked with a wily grin on her face.

  “I guess we’ll find out after dinner,” he said when he took her phone from her. After setting it on the counter alongside his own, Jackson turned to Liza and led her to the balcony. A warm breeze blew across them as Jackson pulled out a chair for her and set the food on the table.

  “So, what are we having for dinner?” he asked as he opened the bags.

  “Chicken, rice, mixed veggies, and I brought a nice bottle of . . .”

  “Bordeaux? Chardonnay? Sauvignon blanc? I keep those on deck.”

  “You know your wine, huh? Actually, I have sparkling cider.”

  “You have to know a little bit of everything these days,” he said. “And you can save the apple juice for yourself.”

  “Apple juice? Really?”

  “So, cider is what whets your appetite?”

  She licked her lips and smiled. Jackson hoped she didn’t see the effect she was having on him. “I’d love a glass of sauvignon blanc,” she replied, hoping she wouldn’t regret her decision.

  “I’ll grab a bucket of ice, two glasses, and then we can eat.”

  “Sounds good,” Liza said, then crossed her legs. Jackson gave her one fleeting look as he headed inside to grab the wine and ice.

  Liza closed her eyes, caught her breath, and wished that she could get her mind right. She was there to give him those pictures of Robert and that woman, then convince him to use them so that he could win. Yes, he wanted to be Mr. Positivity, but Liza knew what he was up against and the kind of tricks that Robert and Nic would use to win. She was putting her pitch together in her mind when Jackson returned to the balcony. He looked so smooth. He looked so satisfying. What was she doing? She didn’t come here to be seduced by this man. She came to hand him the election. She came to get the ultimate revenge on her former friend, on the person who was supposed to have her back and her support. But he ruined that when he decided to lie on her and to her best friend. Too bad Chante fell for the lies. Was she that desperate to be with Robert that she’d lost her mind?

  “Get it together,” she mumbled.

  “What?” Jackson raised his eyebrow at her.

  “Bad habit of mine; I talk to myself.”

  “You know, there’s a word for that.”

  Liza sucked her teeth as Jackson set a wineglass in front of her and poured. “Anyway,” she said, “you have a great view up here.”

  “That’s one of the reasons why I bought this place. The view and the silence.”

  “And I had you pegged as a guy living in the suburbs with a huge yard and a tractor.”

  Jackson looked out at the twinkling lights of the city. He’d wanted to be that guy once, when he thought he was coming home to the woman he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with.

  He’d planned to have a lush green yard where the kids would play and their dogs would roam. Jackson sighed. Did he want to tell her any of that?

  “In a different life, that would’ve been me. But the suburbs are for families and whatnot. I’m good in my little corner of uptown.”

  “And I guess you’re enjoying the bachelor life too much to think about settling down or getting a family home in Huntersville?” She took a sip of her wine.

  “I thought I would’ve given up this bachelor life a long time ago, but here I am.”

  She set her glass aside. “You broke her heart and you’re punishing yourself for it?” Liza probed. “That’s noble and tragic.”

  “You ever think that I got my heart broken?” Jackson asked as he reached for the bottle of wine.

  “Nope. I believe you’re the heartbreaker.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I went to war, came back to find that I’d been replaced. Didn’t even get a stereotypical ‘Dear John’ letter.”

  “Ouch. That’s just wrong.”

  “Wrong was coming home from the airport alone and catching her in bed with her lover.” Jackson didn’t even try to keep the bitterness from his voice. “But, I hope she’s happy with her decision.”

  “No, you don’t,” Liza said. “That would make you perfect, and no one is that much of a saint.”

  “I wouldn’t say I’m a saint, because I did spend a few months very angry. Still, you can’t turn feelings from love to hate without losing a part of your soul.”

  “Wow. That’s deep. I wish I had that clarity when my ex and I called it quits.”

  “What did you do?”

  Liza shrugged and took a slow sip of her wine, then said, “Had him run out of town on a rail.”

  “Are you serious?”

  She nodded. “I gave that louse everything and he cheated on me.”

  “Still bitter?”

  “No.”

  Jackson raised his wineglass to his lips. “I beg to differ. You have to just look at it this way: he got out of the way for the right man to come along.”

  “And you know this because . . . ?”

  “You’re sitting here with me, aren’t you?”

  “Well, I guess you have a point.”

  Jackson sipped his wine and smiled. “And I’m sure my ex is sitting in a corner suffering.”

  “She has to be because she messed up when she let you walk out of her life.”

  Jackson lifted his glass to Liza’s and they toasted. Smiling, Liza leaned in to him and kissed him on the lips.

  Oh, my, God. What am I doing? she thought as she felt his tongue slip between her lips. He tasted good. He was a hell of a kisser and Liza was out of her mind. This hadn’t been why she wanted to have dinner with him. This was the last thing she wanted to do—well, maybe not. Kissing this man made her body tingle, made her wet, made her want to climb up on the table and allow him to feast on her.

  Jackson pulled back. “I think we’d better eat before the food gets colder,” he said.

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she replied breathlessly. “Jackson, I really don’t know what came over me and why . . .”

  “I like kissing you, Liza. You have a wonderful set of lips that make me forget that I swore I’d never fall for another woman again.”

  “And you make me forget a lot of things too. I actually didn’t come here to kiss you and drink your delicious wine. I came here tonight to hand you the keys to winning this election.”

  Jackson groaned. He knew this was going to come up, but he didn’t expect the kiss first. “Liza, I’m not talking politics or elections with you.”

  “I want you to win, Jackson. I know how—”

  “What did he do? Everyone knows that he was your best friend, and for you to just be here ready to give me the keys to win this election doesn’t seem right.”

  Chapter 14

  “Robert isn’t the man I thought he was and I don’t think the voters deserve to be lied to,” Liza railed. She folded her arms underneath her breasts and rolled her eyes. She told herself that she was going to present facts to him and force him to understand why he needed to strike first to win this election.

  Jackson raised his eyebrow. “I know you said there’s never been anything between you and Robert, but you’re acting like a very jealous ex.”

  “I’m a little tired of hearing that bullshit. Robert’s engaged to my sorority sister who used to be my best friend. She’s sipped the Kool-Aid and believes everything he says, including that I’m jealous of their relationship. I introduced them. What sense does that make?”

  Jackson shrugged. “Sorry I said that. But I’m not looking to run a dirty campaign.”

  “But Robert will. I know for a fact that they have been looking for dirt on you for weeks.”

  Jackson folded his arms across his chest. “Can’t find what’s not there.”

  “Nic and Robert aren’t above making stuff up, and I have something real for you.”

  “I’m not going to use it,” he said with finality. “This is about winning fair and square, not with dir
ty tricks and whatever you have on your former friend.”

  “What if he wins? How would you feel then? You would’ve allowed a liar to head to the General Assembly and all of the things you wanted to accomplish would go on being ignored.”

  “Liza, if I don’t win, then it will be because the voters didn’t want me to represent them.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Or because you were outplayed by Robert and Nic. I don’t want them to win when I know you’re in this for all the right reasons.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t believe you. Because if I’m not mistaken, it wasn’t that long ago that you were telling me to drop out because Robert was the best man for the job.”

  “That’s when I was drinking the Kool-Aid. I’ve learned the hard way how wrong I was.”

  “I’ve broken the main rule of this dinner,” he said. “There was supposed to be no talk of politics, and we’ve spent the last few minutes doing just that.”

  Liza drank the last of her wine and stared at Jackson. “Just what did you think was going to happen here tonight?”

  “Two people having dinner, sharing good wine and maybe a bit more of this.” He lifted her chin and kissed her again. Slow. Deliberate. Passionate. The empty bottle of wine fell off the table as he leaned in and reached for Liza. A wineglass crashed as their kiss deepened and she moaned. Her mind flooded with lust-filled images of Jackson’s head between her thighs, his hands palming her breasts as she came all over his face. Shivering, she pulled back from him. Breathe, she told herself. Just breathe.

  “Whoa,” she said once her heart rate returned to its normal pace. “So, you just planned to kiss me senseless all night?”

  “You started it this morning when you burst through my door and showed me how to kiss you. Do you know how hard it was for me to focus after that?”

  “I-I umm,” she stammered. “Well.”

  “It was harder than that. Much harder, until I had to focus on something else.”