Page 59 of Trick of Light
They didn’t talk much, just a murmur here and there—pointing out an especially graceful tern winging across the shore, or a giggling child rolling down the grassy hill, or the first pinpricks of stars.
“Sometimes you can forget how screwed up the world is,” Gabby said at one point. “The planets keep turning, the ocean stays salty, the stars keep rising. It’s nice to get some perspective now and again.”
“A break from the dirty rotten bastards?”
“Yes. There’s almost as many of them as the stars. But not quite.”
He felt her weight against his arm, and shifted to make her more comfortable. “How’d this become your passion, this podcast?”
“Want to know the real story?”
“Of course I do.” He wanted to know everything about her.
“My usual answer is that I want to do real journalism. The job I had before this was a celebrity gossip blog. Someone purchased it and paid me a lot of money.”
“Congratulations.”
She shook her head. The buttery scent of her shampoo drifted into his nostrils. “I don’t accept your congratulations. Here’s the real story. I’d gotten a tip about a senator. I can’t name him because I’m under an NDA. That was part of the deal for the purchase of my blog. My source told me the senator had gotten three women pregnant and paid for their abortions. The problem is, he’s married and very prominent in the pro-life movement. Some people came to me and threatened me with a lawsuit if I published it. They said they’d sue me. I was scared to death because I’m such a little fish, you know. But I consulted a lawyer, and my sourcing was solid, I had tons of evidence. I decided to go forward anyway.”
“Brave.”
She snorted softly. “I’m not done yet. They amped up the threats, said they’d derail my mother’s next campaign. They were going to out my little brother. He hasn’t even come out to our parents yet. That was the stick, and it worked all on its own, but on top of that came the carrot. They offered me a killer deal to buy the entire blog. I’m talking, enough money for me to live on for years. I thought about how much more I could accomplish if I could change my focus. I never wanted to do celebrity gossip anyway. So I took the deal. I still feel bad about it. That’s another reason I need this podcast to succeed. Otherwise, I sold my soul for nothing.” She said it lightly, but he could tell her jauntiness was a front. Her choice still bothered her.
“But you were protecting your family.”
“Yes, and I’d do that again in a snap. But it was such a lesson in how money and power operate, how people get away with things. Anyway, the podcast is named after that senator and his billionaire campaign donor. That’s who bought my blog, that donor, though I can’t say his name. Those two are the original dirty rotten bastards. Unfortunately we can’t expose them, but we can go after the others.”
“And they’d better watch out, because Gabby Ramon is a force.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far. We’re keeping it low-key for now and focusing on old crimes that people can’t sue us over.”
“The Carmichaels could have sued.” He wished he could take that back as soon as he said it.
“What are you talking about? It’s historical fact. You can’t sue over that.”
“Don’t you know how litigation works for the wealthy? We can afford the legal fees, so we sue whenever and whoever we want. If the other side can’t keep up, they lose. They settle and go away. So yeah, we could have sued. Some of the legal team wanted to. I told them no.”
“But…” Gabby shoved her hair away from her face. “Your father was the one who wanted me to do the story, him and Denton. Why would he turn around and sue me?”
“He can be easily manipulated, that’s part of his dementia. The team was hoping to stop the podcast before it got any traction.”
“And you said no.”
“I said no. But don’t give me any cookies for that. I thought it would be a mistake for many reasons. It would bring more publicity, it would make us look even worse, and it wasn’t really what my father wanted. Also, it would be doomed to fail. Your reports were accurate.”
He felt tension run through his body. What a perfect reminder that he and Gabby came from different places and were seemingly on different “sides.” Would she count it in his favor that he’d refused to follow the lawyers’ recommendation? Or would she decide that a billionaire’s son could never truly be trusted?
His answer came in the form of soft lips pressed against his. He stayed still as she explored his mouth with hers, soaking in the sensation and flavor of her lips. Although she closed her eyes, the better to lose herself in the kiss, he didn’t. He wanted to see her beautiful face, her skin in the light of dusk, the tremble of her eyelids.
God, she was something. Was this brilliant, caring, funny, real, but also cautious and pragmatic woman really choosing him? He had the feeling that she moved carefully when it came to men. The fact that she was allowing him into this kind of intimacy felt like an honor.
And then it just felt like heat and invitation and fireworks.
Without any discussion, they changed positions so she was kneeling between his legs and he was sheltering her body within a tight embrace. They could kiss more deeply this way, and he could run his hands up and down her slim back. She moved like a cat in response to those long strokes. Hot need engulfed him, arousal beating through his bloodstream.
When they surfaced from that long, world-changing kiss, it was full dark. With the moon yet to rise, the only light came from street lamps on the road above and the shoreline far below. The scent of fresh-cut grass rose around them and somewhere, kids were playing tag. “You’re it!”
Everything felt clear and brilliant and present, and he knew he would never forget this moment for as long as he lived.
