Page 105 of Where There's Smoke

“I thought so,” Jesse said with a soft laugh. “You two just had that vibe, I guess.”

I met his eyes. “Apparently we weren’t the only ones.”

“Meaning?”

“Slade picked up right away that there’s something going on between us. Which means it’s only a matter of time before someone else does.”

“He’s your ex. He’s more in tune to you than other people.”

“Yeah, but the media can pick up on things like that if they look hard enough.” I rolled my shoulders. “That said, I did manage to convince him he was imagining things and that I was seeing someone but not you.”

“Good save,” Jesse said. “I think.”

“Any better ideas?”

“No. I just hate that…” He gestured dismissively and sighed. “You know how it is.”

“Yeah,” I said softly. “I do.”

Jesse’s eyes widened slightly. “Something wrong?”

I chewed my lip. Avoiding his eyes, I sat beside him on the bed. “I guess I’ve…been thinking a little.”

“About?” His hollow whisper gave away more underlying nerves.

I took a deep breath. Staring at the floor beside the bed, I said, “What happens after the election? With us? You’ll still be watched like a hawk. Sooner or later, I’ll have another candidate to run.” I forced myself to meet his eyes. “Is what we’re doing worth it? Or are we just setting ourselves up for something that will burn us out?”

Jesse sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know. At this rate, I don’t even know when I’ll be divorced, let alone out.”

“I know.”

He cleared his throat. “So is this the part where we decide things are too complicated to continue?”

“What?” I looked at him, eyes wide and lips apart. “No. God, no.”

His brow knitted with worry. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. This is complicated. It will always be complicated. I know that, and I knew it from the beginning, but…” I sighed and rubbed my shoulder. “I don’t know. I don’t want to end this, not by any means, but I guess tonight, the secrecy was just getting to me.”

“I know the feeling.” He touched my face. “I’ve already put my wife through hell, and I could see a secret relationship being hell for you. I mean it when I say if you don’t want to deal with the drama, you don’t have to stay.”

“If I wasn’t willing, I wouldn’t be here. Normally I’d never dream of getting involved with a candidate, but…” I trailed my fingertips down the side of his face. “We’ll figure this out somehow, but I’m not going anywhere.”

Jesse exhaled, and I swore it sounded like a sigh of relief.

“You sound surprised,” I said.

He laughed, his cheeks coloring a little. “I guess I was kind of nervous after you went out tonight. With Slade.”

“Why?”

He shifted his gaze away. “Well, I mean, you and I never exactly laid down the rules. And I got the impression you and he weren’t just ‘old friends,’ but I wasn’t sure…”

I smiled and caressed his face with the backs of my fingers. “We did have something at one time, but that was years ago. We’re just friends.”

Jesse moistened his lips. “So there’s not…now…”

“Oh, Jesse,” I breathed, combing my fingers through his hair. “You have nothing to worry about. Not with Slade, not with any man.” I drew him close to me and finally kissed him.Reallykissed him. He didn’t hesitate to pull me closer and surrendered to my mouth’s demands as we lost ourselves in a kiss that was as arousing as it was reassuring.

---