Page 88 of Where There's Smoke

I took a longer swallow of coffee and turned to him. “So I’m not sure I want to know, but what’s up?”

“Check this out.” He slid a piece of paper across the table. It was a printout from a news site, and I didn’t even have to look at the text or the photos to know it was about me.

Groaning, I picked it up and read the headline aloud:

“‘Missing Wedding Rings: Trouble in Paradise?’”

“Missing?” I muttered, more to myself than him. “What the…”

“Read it,” Anthony said.

“‘While Jesse Cameron dominated last night’s debates,’” I went on, “‘mowing over John Casey to become the favorite for November’s gubernatorial election, many viewers may have noticed something missing: The devoted husband’s ever-present wedding ring.’”

Below the text, an image showed me during the debate, frozen in time with my left hand up in mid-gesture. In an inset, the image was magnified, zoomed in on my third finger with a red circle to emphasize the absence of my wedding ring.

“Really?” I put the paper down and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Am I the first man in the universe to leave his wedding ring off for an evening?”

“No, but your marriage is under the microscope,” he said. “Take off your ring when everyone’s looking, they’ll notice.”

I sighed and glanced at the gold band still sitting on the table beside the bed. “I suppose it wouldn’t help if I told people I took it off to avoid getting lube under it.”Or because it bothered me to let a man fuck me while I wore my wedding ring.

“No, that wouldn’t help. Keep reading.”

“‘Curiouser still, Cameron’s wife, actress Simone Lancaster, has also been seen without her ring recently. Unlike its owner, the distinctive two-carat emerald cut has made few public appearances in the last month.’” Three photos were lined up like crime suspects: one of Simone eating lunch with a friend, one of her greeting voters at an event, and a third of her leaving the house with Dean behind her. Just like the photo of me, each image included an inset with a red circle highlighting her bare ring finger.

I exhaled. “Jesus Christ.”

“It’s all about perception,” Anthony said quietly. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Jesse. If we hadn’t been—”

“No, don’t apologize.” I shook my head. “It was my choice as much as yours, and I could have left my ring on anyway. Or put it back on afterward. Either way, we can’t do anything about it now.” I rolled my shoulders andstretched some stiffness out of my neck. “So how do we do damage control on this?”

“Well, any idea why Simone hasn’t been wearing her ring?”

Lowering my voice, even though there wasn’t a soul around to overhear, I said, “My guess is it’s because she’s losing weight again. It’s…” I swallowed hard. “She probably stopped wearing it because it’s too loose.”

“Then it’s only a matter of time before the press picks up on that part, especially if she keeps the ring off. If she suddenly starts wearing it again, it’ll look like you two are just trying to counter what the press is saying.” His eyes lost focus for a moment. Then he snapped his fingers. “Got it. Hopefully she’ll be on board with this, but have her yank one of the…the…” He rolled his hand in the air. “The prongs or whatever the fuck they’re called. The things that hold the diamond in place. They’re usually not too hard to bend or break. Simone’s been so busy lately, it won’t take much to convince people she just hasn’t had time to take it in and get it fixed. Have her drop it at one of the jewelers downtown, and make sure she’sseen. Instant cover story.”

I grinned. “You’re good at this.”

He laughed. “This is why people pay me.”

“What about my ring?” I gestured at the gold band beside the bed. “How do we explain it being gone?”

Anthony shrugged. “You caught your hand in something and your knuckle swelled up. With as much traveling as you do, it wouldn’t exactly be shocking if you snagged your hand on a suitcase handle or slammed your finger in a baggage compartment. It swelled, so you left your ring off for a night. People do it all the time.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Jesus. I wanted to go into politics with some semblance of honesty, and I’m down to lying about my fucking ring.”

“Jesse.” He slipped his arm around my waist and kissed me lightly. “You’re a politician. If this is the biggest lie you tell in your campaign, you’re doing just fine.”

“Except it isn’t the biggest.”

He shrugged again. “No, it isn’t. But in the grand scheme of things, this one isn’t worth losing any sleep over.”

“Which won’t stop me from losing sleep over it.”

“No, I’m sure it won’t.” He touched my face. “But if there’s any politician out there who has the right to sleep at night with a clear conscience, it’s you.”

“I’d hate to think what they have on their minds to keep them from sleeping, then.”

---