Page 74 of False Evidence

“In that order?”

“I honestly don’t know. I’d put the tribe above politics, I think.”

“You’re going to want me to meet him again, aren’t you?”

“If this thing between us goes anywhere—which is what I want—then yes. But we don’t need to worry about that now. Honestly, it’s one of the reasons I was content to keep my identity secret. I liked being just Jay. No distraction of my family. No politics. No company to consume all my time.”

“But then you had to leave town for an emergency meeting at that company because of me.”

“Not because of you. Because of Spaulding and what he did. He’s responsible for his actions. Not you.”

He caught her half smile. “I think I like you, JT Talon.”

“And I’m thrilled to finally meet you, Alexandra Vargas.”

ChapterTwenty-Six

Catoctin Mountain, Maryland

Present

Gemma was sound asleep in the portable crib when Alexandra tiptoed into the primary bedroom, which JT had insisted mother and daughter share. She was so tempted to pull her daughter into the king-sized bed so they could sleep snuggled together, but she knew she’d have regrets later. It had taken months to get her daughter to sleep well in her own bed.

Still, she wanted to hold her. Instead, she just studied the sweet, sleeping face. She would never tire of looking at this little human, who had filled the hole in her heart that first appeared when she called off the wedding.

She had never known it was possible to love someone with every fiber of her being, and yet also know that giving all of herself—and what was marriage other than going all in on a person?—would be a huge mistake.

If she’d married JT when she was thirty, she would have been trading her dreams for his. All of her dreams. At the time, he’d even suggested she drop out of the PhD program.

Why finish her studies when she wouldn’t work or continue her research once she moved to New York full time? She didn’t need school. As JT Talon’s wife, she’d be wealthy beyond imagination, and she’d be busy running charities like Lisa, supporting JT as he threw his hat in the ring and followed in his father’s footsteps (again) and entered politics.

Alexandra had overheard JT and Joe discussing JT’s plans to run for Congress in New York. He intended to announce his run in early January—ten days after the wedding. She’d realized in that moment that the reason he’d been so desperate to marry her on New Year’s Eve was because he needed her installed as his wife for his campaign.

And he hadn’t even mentioned it, let alone discussed it with her.

He played dumb when she confronted him. Claimed he was just considering a run. But he’d flinched in a way that told her he had decided. It was a done deal.

Would their whole marriage be a series of unilateral decisions?

Of course it would. It was his money. His house. His car. His business. His sperm.

And no, he wouldn’t revisit the no-children decision he’d made. That was nonnegotiable.

She’d known then she’d always be a second-class citizen in her own marriage. No voting rights. Not when he brought everything to the union and all she brought was a womb he didn’t want to use and a vagina he did.

She loved him. He loved her. She’d never doubted that.

But she would never truly have him, not when he wouldn’t surrender any part of himself to her, but he expected her to surrender everything.

She readied herself for bed, again sleeping in a borrowed T-shirt, then slid under the covers. It was just after one a.m.

She’d had that nap earlier in JT’s arms and had no idea if she’d be able to sleep now, but she was beyond exhausted. Emotionally drained. She had spent so much energy these last years holding on to her anger at JT because that anger was her shield against loving him.

She couldn’t be angry at him now. Not when he’d protected her daughter. And being in his arms again had been the homecoming she hadn’t known she needed.

She’d hurt him tonight, which was a little shocking because in all their years together, he’d been impervious.

A JT who reacted with hurt instead of cruelty was dangerous to her heart. But more important than her was Gemma. Gemma didn’t have a father and could easily get attached to Uncle Tee. But he would never stick around for the long haul. Not when Gemma was everything he didn’t want.