Page 87 of Worth Risking It

Blinking rapidly, he tipped his head to look at me. “You don’t sound surprised.”

“I’m not. Dave does, too, and Jack hit on him at the wedding.”

He bristled, his jaw falling a little as he gawked at my friend playing guitar. “No way.”

“What’s this grooming, you’re talking about?”

“Hm? Oh. Well, apparently, he’s been messing around with a politician for a while now, so he and his little lover decided what better way to make excuses to be in one another’s company more often, than to hook their kids up?”

“Isn’t she only thirteen?”

He rolled a shoulder and retrieved the beer. “He doesn’t care. They’re already planning those two kids to get married as soon as she’s eighteen.”

“That’s not cool.”

He shrugged again, downing a good portion of the beer. “That’s going to ruin that little girl’s life. She is way too young to be locked down to a relationship the rest of her life.”

Deflating, I pouted, tugging at my lip once more. My eyebrow lifted, my brain scheming. Slowly unfolding my legs, I sat up and rested my elbows on the table, my shoulders drawn to my ears.

“Wyatt?”

“Hm?”

“Who is Jack’s lover?”

“Congressman Alberts.”

My fingertip swirled around the woodgrains on the table, my cheek laying on my shoulder. “Something like an illicit, homosexual affair could ruin a politician’s career, couldn’t it?”

He snorted, the bottle hovering near his mouth. “Especially since I think he’s running for senate next year.”

“So, let’s say good old Jack, this congressman, and a dive bar musician with a gambling addiction who has two lovers knocked up and three kids he won’t pay child support on were…I dunno…caught in a sordid scenario in a sleezy hotel, it could probably be detrimental to careers and reputations alike, huh?”

Bit by bit, his spine straightened, his expression one of shock as he slowly turned to face me. “Very,” he muttered, his eyes so round, the whites were showing.

I sat back in my chair and smirked, recrossing my legs. “Dare I say, it might be something someone would be willing to do almost anything to keep under wraps.”

“I believe they might.”

Picking up my glass and holding my straw, both my brows lifted high. “If footage like that fell into the wrong hands, that would be a scandal that would be talked about for months.”

“Possibly years.”

“Hm. Tragic.”

“And it just might be a security blanket for a certain individual whose life is currently in jeopardy.”

Taking a sip, my brow reached even higher. I smacked my lips and sighed, setting my glass down. “I think it might be the life preserver someone’s been looking for.”

His brows lowered and his lids thinned. “You would extort one of your own friends like this?”

I snorted and swayed my head side to side, my foot bouncing in the air. “You’re goddamn right, I would.”

“Would he be down for this?”

“If I pay off his drug and gambling debts, he’ll do anything I ask.”

A slow, wicked smile curled his mouth, mischief sparkling in his eyes. “You’re an evil little bitch.”