The thought rolls my stomach. “No.”
“Do you really think they’d blow the whistle on you?”
“It’s not that.” If I can’t admit this to her, a woman who knows nearly as many secrets about me as my men do, then whocanI confide in? “I’d rather face belated backlash from them for not telling them first than to propose to Leo while I’m upset over their rejection.”
“Ifthey reject you.”
I arch an eyebrow at her. “You a betting woman?”
“Not in this case.” She examines her nails for a moment. “Jordan and Declan polished the statement this morning and I’ve signed off on it. Want to see it?”
My stomach rolls again. “I trust all of you.”
She shoots me a Domme glare. “Elliot, youreallyshould sign off on it.”
“Fine,” I huff.
She picks up the tablet, unlocks it, and swipes into something before handing it to me. “It’s my personal device,” she says. “I wanted this totally off the grid. My own account. I’ll upload a copy to my work computer tomorrow morning and have it queued and ready to e-mail to Angie once you do it.”
Taking a deep breath, I read the short statement.
President Woodley is pleased to publicly announce his engagement to his long-term partner, Leo Cruz. This will likely come as a surprise to most people, but the president and Mr. Cruz value their privacy. The president has previously eschewed public statements about his personal life because it was not germane to carrying out the duties of his job, and it wasn’t anyone else’s business, since they are both consenting adults. A wedding date will soon be announced. They plan to hold a small, private ceremony at the White House before family and friends. No other statements will be issues about this until the wedding announcement is released.
I study the words for a long moment. “Angie’s going to hate me, isn’t she?”
“What? No. She’s not homophobic. She adores you and Leo, both. And Jordan.”
I return the tablet. “I mean because of blindsiding her with this. Every presser from here until the wedding will probably start with them pelting her with questions about my sex life.”
Casey-Marie snorts. “She chews up FNB assholes as appetizers and chases them with Fox News dipshit entrées. You know that.”
“This is different.”
“Not so much, no.” She sits back. “Look, the far right’s going to squeal no matter what. Fuck ’em. We hold the majority in the House and Senate. Anyone who tries to use this against you in their campaigns in two years will rightfully be called out as a bigot. Exvangelicals are outnumbering the evangelicals. It’s fine.”
“How will this play for Ciro’s run, though?”
She shrugs. “Who cares? You know he’s handled himself just fine when assholes come for his brother. I already let him read the statement. Just came from his office.”
“And?”
“He thought I didn’t drop enough F-bombs. And I quote, ‘You should addfuck all the hatersto the statement.’”
We laugh together at that. I sit back and scrub my face with my hands. “I should have come out years ago.”
“Yathink? Won’t get any easier whether you do it now or after Ciro’s elected. Only thing it does is torture you and your men.”
“I hate it when you’re right.”
“Youpayme to be right, dumbass.” She’s smiling as she stands. “Jordan will text me as soon as it happens tomorrow so I can get this to Angie for distro.”
“Thanks.”
“No worries.” She heads for the door but pauses, her hand on the knob. “Don’t chicken out, okay? Don’t make me have to force your hand. The next four years will be infinitely easier to deal with being out. Trust me on this one, huh?”
Irrational irritation makes me want to strike out. “When’s George going to admit you’re their partner?” I snark.
“Fuck you, kiddo.” But she smiles. “That’s different and you know it. Just like Jordan has to stay in the shadows, for now. Ditto Kev and Shae. And Owen, Susa, and Carter. And any other number of others you and I both know about. But by being out, George and Declan didn’t have to sneak around and contort themselves into knots during George’s last term, either. That’s a whole other level of stress you don’t need or want resting on your shoulders when you’re already carrying a damned heavy load.”
