Ross cackled like a bad movie villain and threw his head back to stare at the ceiling. “You never have to get married, obviously, but an engaged gay man is still mostly the morals and ethics we ran on that appealed to the middle-of-the-road voters, but will make the left crowd happy too. Hell, maybe we’ll even do better the next time we run, so long as we gin up some people who will swear on their life you’ve been under fire for being gay.”
“Sympathy ploy?”
Ross shrugged, gaze still stuck above us. Fuck, he must be staring his divine inspiration in the eye.
“That’s good.” Jaxson seemed to have stopped breathing in my arms, so I gave him a little shake that had him gasping in deep breaths. “Fuck. Roberts is still going to sue me.”
Ross snorted and straightened up, adjusting his suit coat. “Can’t win them all. Pay the fucker off.”
Jaxson moaned and rubbed at his face. “God, Dad wasn’t even conscious last night. Mom’s going to be so confused if she sees anything about this.”
Bringing him around in front of me, I cupped his cheek. “Maybe not. She saw us being very close yesterday.”
“Fuck,” Ross said, startling me into turning back toward him. “What happened to you? You were just as happy as I am to pay for ass.”
“He just… we work.” I slid my palms down Jaxson’s arms and clasped his stiff hands. Eventually he laced his fingers together with mine.
Ross shook his head. “There is an entire hotel full of boys whowork.”
“It’s not the same.”
“Yeah, well, you better go buy a nice rock.” His eyes sparkled with far too much amusement for my liking.
Jaxson squeezed my hands, but I wasn’t sure what that meant, and his face was stoic when I glanced at him and tried to read where he was on all this. He hadn’t said no. I exhaled and felt sick and cornered, like I had the last time marriage had been on the table for me. Not that Ella had made me feel trapped, far from it, but life had. I stared into Jaxson’s fantastic eyes, but he wasn’t giving me any clues as to what was running through his head.
“You don’t think that’s a bit much? Jaxson didn’t even agree.”
“He didn’t scream and run away like I would have,” Ross muttered.
“Fuck you too,” I grumped at him.
Jaxson whispered, “I’ll do what we need to do to fix this.”
Ross pointed at Jaxson with a triumphant hum. “Go! Make this look real.”
“Isn’t it usually me yelling at you to get shit done?” I snapped.
“I’m sure you’ll get your turn. Congratulations, Mr. and Mr. Elwood.”
Groaning, I hooked an arm around Jaxson’s shoulders and practically shoved him toward the door. Secretly I was horrified at how much I didn’t hate the idea of him wearing a ring that told everyone he belonged to me. The ring was like the belly because it showed that I owned him in certain ways, only it wasn’t something I would ever expect—or want—him to take off.
17
Jax
The lights of the house glimmered in the darkness and I stared at my old childhood home from where I sat in Vane’s car. The news of myengagementto Vane had already leaked before I got the chance to tell anyone I loved anything about it, but the mayor wanted to put a rush on it. I’d already been transferred to his office for about a week, and while his PA, Mark, was a lot more laidback than Jean-Paul, I also happened to miss the tight-lipped and stuffy man who’d fight anyone for his boss. At least I knew what I was getting with JP. This Mark…. He wastoofriendly, and that goodwill didn’t seem to be a front to put people at ease—and that had me on edge. As far as I was concerned, friendly people had other agendas.
“Excuse me, are youlisteningto me?”
“Yes, I am, Elsie.” I sighed. Vane had already entered the house, practically dragged in by my mother, while I was stuck on the phone with Elsie. For the last ten minutes, I’d been lectured and couldn’t get a word in.
“Good. Explain this to me, then.” She sounded put out and annoyed, and I winced in guilt.
“We’re engaged?”
“No shit, Sherlock.” The sound of something clattering in the background made me cringe away from the phone for a second. “How did this go fromI’m gonna fuck my boss to get a jump on my careertoI’m engaged to my boss? You haven’t told me a damn thing, Jax.”
I stared at the shadows in the curtains of our living room, and Vane’s sturdy shape moved beside a smaller one that was definitely Mom. Was she showing him her mantlepiece of photographs, including ones of me being a chubby kid? I’d shed the fat naturally, but she liked to show off how “cute” I’d been. Mom’s Saint Bernard, Babe, poked his head underneath the curtain and stared out at me with his woeful doggy eyes.
