Page 71 of Where There's Smoke

That’s a bad sign.

I pawned a few responsibilities off on some staffers, freeing me up to slip through the crowd to him. When I was nearly within arm’s reach, Jesse confirmed my suspicion that his tension had everything to do with me: as soon as our eyes met, his spine stiffened, and he pulled in a long breath.

Definitely a bad sign.

“You all right?” I asked.

He chewed his lip, and my heart beat faster. Was that regret I sensed?

“A few too many while we celebrated last night?” Roger asked, grinning as he playfully elbowed his nephew.

Jesse laughed dryly. “Yeah, something like that.”

His eyes flicked toward me, and my heart dropped.

“You, um…” I glanced at Roger. To Jesse I said, “You going to be okay today?”

“I’ll be fine. Listen, it’s…” He also glanced at his uncle before continuing. “It’s about Simone.”

Nerves tangled beneath my rib cage. “Oh?”

“Yeah. There’s an article going around right now that’s really got her upset,” he said. “And I don’t blame her. That was some below-the-belt shit.”

“Is that…” I shifted my weight, glancing at Roger before looking back at Jesse. “Is thatallthat’s bothering her? I mean, just the article, or the rest of the campaign? Or…?”Don’t make me say it.

He avoided my eyes. “It’s all she’ll admit to. But whatever the case, the more she’s in the spotlight on this campaign, the more the media’s going to harp on her. We either need to reduce Simone’s involvement in the campaign, or she and I need to move up our divorce so she can—”

“Jesse!” Roger’s eyes widened.

Jesse exhaled. “He knows about the divorce, Roger. And I think for Simone’s sake, we should—”

“Absolutely not.” Roger shook his head and damn near elbowed himself between Jesse and me. “That’s career suicide this close to an election.”

“Unfortunately he’s right,” I said. “That, and any move we make will draw attention to her, which will only make things worse.”

Roger shot Jesse that pointed, disapproving look. “Son, the two of you just need to put on a happy face and a united front for a few months. Keep it together, smile for the cameras, and thenquietlygo your separate waysafteryou’ve been elected.”

“Is she still agreeable to appear at all?” I asked.

Jesse nodded. “Yes, but whether or not she’ll admit it, there’s no way around it. This campaign is taking its toll.”

I pursed my lips. “I’ll see what I can do. We’ll have to be careful, though. If she suddenly drops off the public radar, or her visibility significantly decreases, people will notice. I can ease her out of the spotlight, but it won’t be anything drastic and it won’t happen overnight.” I offered an apologetic shrug. “That’s the best I can offer without making things worse.”

“Thank you,” Jesse said. “Whatever you can do. Spread out her engagements, keep them to a minimum, anything.”

Roger gave a sharp, exasperated sigh. “You’re handling her with kid gloves. She is a grown woman.”

“I know she is,” Jesse said. “But that doesn’t mean I should just throw her to the wolves and wish her the best of luck.”

Roger opened his mouth to speak, but I put up a hand. “I can rework her schedule,” I said. “Just minor changes, but it’ll take some pressure off Simone.”

He scowled, but Jesse nodded. “Whatever you can do.”

“I’ll look over the calendar this evening,” I said. To Roger I added, “Any changes I make will be subtle. The public won’t even notice.”

“See that they don’t,” Roger growled. He walked off, leaving Jesse and me alone.

As soon as it was just the two of us, with no one nearby except the others milling around the gravel parking lot, my stomach started churning. What to say? What to do? How not to give away that something had happened last night and might—hopefully—happen again in the near future?

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