Page 208 of The Liar's Reckoning

“Sure,” I say boldly. “Why not?”

“Because you’re fucking him like nothing ever happened.”

I glare at him. “Did I mention how good the sex is?”

Gibson snorts.

I think I’ve probably mentioned it a lot. I’ve been uncharacteristically talkative tonight.

“You’re still in love with him,” Chris says, like the wet blanket he is.

“Yeah, well, sucks for me.”

“Sounds like he still loves you, too.”

“Do you have a point?” I ask.

Chris’s mouth hovers over the rim of his drink. “It just sounds like you want to be together. Both of you.”

I shrug. “I don’t know what he wants. I don’t think he does either.”

“So you’re not ruling out the possibility of working it out?”

“I’m not optimistic,” I say. “And as for what we’re doing right now, it’s more like…closure.”

“Closure? It sounds more like pouring salt in a wound.”

Okay, maybe it is a little more like that,but the sex…“Forgive me for wanting to live in the moment.”

“Is that what you call it?”

It’s what it is. I’m not deluding myself about that, at least.

“Because it’s not what it sounds like,” Chris adds.

“Well, I’m not you, and he’s not a U.S. senator.” I gesture at Gibson. “I didn’t get into this with any expectations, not even at the beginning. What happened, happened. It sucked, and it can’t be undone. I’m not trying to wait around for three years for a maybe. I can’t do that. And I don’t think he knows he’s capable of living without his safety net.”

“Doyouthink he is?”

“Of course he is,” I say, exasperated.

“Maybe he just needs someone to believe in him,” Gibson says.

Christian slides his hand into his husband’s and gets a firm squeeze in return. I look at them, a little stunned when the words manage to puncture my thick, drunken haze and sting my heart. Because it’s not like Idon’tbelieve in Graham. I believed in him too much, and he broke that trust. “It’s up to him,” I say, “I can’t say no to him, so…”

“You need to be able to say no to him.” Chris says. “As much as I believe in second chances, you deserve someone who’s going to put you first.”

“I don’t know about deserving it,” I say, “but yeah. That’s definitely new criteria for anyone I decide to take a chance on in the future.”

“Good. Out of all the problems I had with you seeing him in the first place—beyond his shitty politics—it was the idea of you being his guy on the side.”

“It was never?—”

Christian holds up a hand. “Yeah, I get that now, but good partners prioritize each other. They become each other’s family. Imean, maybe that’s not what you want, but it’s what I would want for you. Because it’s great to have.”

Gibson’s smirk is more charming than it is smug.

“You two make it look good,” I concede. “I should leave you to it.”

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