Page 31 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
Thunderclouds must have appeared above him. He knew because he heard the crash inside his head. He pointed to the kitchen table with his spatula. ‘Sit down and tell me everything.’
‘They’re old pictures,’ she said hurriedly. ‘Of me and Samuel at events.’
‘That means they’re looking into you.’
‘I know,’ she sighed. She went to the refrigerator and pulled out the rest of the meal she’d prepared. She grabbed two beers and silverware before joining him at the table. ‘One celebrity show was evaluating my dresses.’
‘Hell,’ he muttered. He’d known it was coming. The locusts were swarming. They were looking for her. They’d want to know everything. ‘You didn’t think that was important enough to wake me?’
‘My dresses?’
‘The focus on you.’
She shrugged. ‘We knew it was going to happen. That’s why I’m here.’
And that was why he wanted to hide her away from prying eyes. The DC press could be relentless and the news they published didn’t stay within the city limits, it went nationwide. ‘What did they say about you and Gunderson together? Was there any talk about you two as a couple? Any mention of the age gap?’
‘No.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Why would there be? Senator O’Hearn is dating someone younger than me.’
‘O’Hearn?’
‘Didn’t know that one?’
No, he hadn’t. O’Hearn usually kept his nose clean. Was he going to have to add him to his list, too? Brody frowned. Then again, there was one key difference there. She and Gunderson hadn’t been dating.
‘What about the other?’ He cleared his throat. ‘Did they mention anything about you being an escort?’
‘Hmm.’ She tapped her chin. ‘Would that have qualified as something important enough to wake you up for?’
‘So no.’
‘No.’
He pushed at his pasta salad with his fork. It was good, but it had suddenly lost its taste. ‘I know you don’t want to talk about Luxxor’s other clients, but that could really bite us—’
She put down her burger. ‘OK, listen. I understand you’re trying to help, but I’m not going to betray Nina.’
‘She got you into this mess.’
‘No, she didn’t. I made the choice.’ She held up a finger of warning before standing up and walking to the refrigerator. When she returned, she dropped a pudding pie onto the table with a thud.
Brody stared at it dumbly. When the hell had he bought pudding?
‘Nina’s had my back every step of the way. She’s looking out for me.’
Frustration rumbled through him. So was he. ‘I’m just trying to mitigate all our risks.’
‘She’ll handle Luxxor’s issues just fine, trust me. This conversation is over.’
He stewed as Genieve served them both up some deep wedges of gooey chocolate. He recognised the crust. Those graham crackers had been on the second shelf. She slid the dessert in his direction, and he decided to try one more time. ‘I—’
‘Put the pie in your pie hole, Brody. I have something else I want to discuss with you.’
Something else? Warning bells went off inside his head. What could be worse than the potential exposure of a high-class escort ring working within DC?
She picked up her fork and twirled it at him. ‘You talk in your sleep.’
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