Page 57 of False Evidence

“Was there ever any doubt?”

“You have me questioning everything, Lex.”

“I do? How so?”

“Like I wonder how I can be so crazy about a woman I barely know. Who won’t even tell me her name. How can I be so certain you’re going to wreck me?”

Her heart squeezed. “Wreck in a good way?”

He shrugged. “All I know is I’m too far gone already. I have ten days to convince you I’m worth taking a chance on.”

She’d assumed this was just a game for him. Entertainment while he was in town. His interest would only last as long as she kept secrets and distance.

She studied his face now, and what she saw made her believe this could truly be more for him. He was doing everything he could to win her over, all while complying with and respecting her rules.

She owed it to him to open herself to the possibility this could be more for her too.

ChapterNineteen

JT slipped out of bed and went to the living room to answer the call from his father on his BlackBerry. “Hey, Dad. What’s wrong?”

“Your stepmother said you aren’t coming to the Christmas Eve event.”

“You called at six a.m. for that?”

“You can’t skip the event, and you know it. You’re Santa. It’s tradition.”

And that’s why I canceled, Dad.“Lee can play Santa.”

“Where are we going to get a Santa costume to fit a six-foot-five-inch man?”

Damn Lee and his extra inches.

“Sorry, Dad. I’ve got a date that night.”

“You’re seeing someone? Bring her along. She can be an elf.”

“She’s too tall to be an elf.”

“Then she can be Mrs. Claus.”

“You’re assuming she celebrates Christmas.”

“Does she?”

“I have no idea.”

“Ask her, then. And bring her. You know how important these events are for our PR. If you want to get into politics, you need to start building your following now.”

He wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t enough to be Joseph Talon’s son, and he couldn’t get by on his business dealings alone. But he was uncomfortable around children. Always had been. Even when he was one. Hell,especiallywhen he was one. Lee had been the only kid younger than him that he’d tolerated, but that probably had more to do with the five-year-old worshipping ten-year-old JT from the first moment they met.

“Who is this woman, anyway? Why am I first hearing about her now?”

JT smiled as he said, “It’s new. Too new to want to talk about. Certainly too new to put her on display at a political event.”

“It’s our annual Christmas Eve fundraiser. It’s a dinner party.”

“At a community center with wealthy donors and a few dozen families in transitional housing. It’s a photo op.”

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