“Exactly like you have.”
Jesus, the fact that he was calm made me even madder. “That’s all you have to say?”
He sat up as well and looked me square in the eye. “Tatum, I have so much to say to you, but I want to make sure you’re able to hear it. If you want to yell and scream at me, then go ahead. I’m not going anywhere.”
I looked down at myself and back at him. Dark ink curling around his muscular torso threatened to distract me. Instead of listing all the reasons why I was pissed at him, I wanted to press my naked body against his.
“Put some clothes on,” I said, getting out of bed. “I can’t talk to you naked.”
He unsuccessfully tried to smother a laugh as he stood up. “Hey, do you mind if I take a quick shower? I’ve been up forever, and I feel filthy.”
“Suit yourself.” I threw my comfy clothes back on and headed out to the living room to try to compose my thoughts.
When Reed walked into the living room a few minutes later, I had to look away. His wet hair slicked back and his bare chest glistening with water were more than I could handle. I was grateful he was at least wearing a towel, though it was slung so low on his hips I couldn’t help but think about what was beneath it. Without the least bit of self-consciousness, he pulled off the towel and slipped on a clean pair of jeans from his backpack. I waited for him to put on a shirt, but apparently he had no such plans.
I could handle this. Reed without his shirt was not going to derail me … much.
“You didn’t have to do all the dishes,” Reed said, walking over to the kitchen counter. “I would have helped.”
“You can owe me one.”
“I can’t wait to repay you,” he said, his deep voice giving me butterflies.
“Quit it, Reed. We need to talk, and I can’t concentrate if you’re going to flirt with me.”
“Fair enough.”
I poured myself a glass of wine and pushed the bottle and a clean glass toward Reed. I planned on keeping the counter between us, a physical barrier that I hoped would keep me from unzipping his jeans and falling right back into bed.
“So, here’s the thing—and I want you to hear me out without interrupting me.”
He nodded, pouring half a glass of pinot grigio.
“I’ve thought a lot about why I was so upset with you after Tahoe. Part of it was justified, I think. You withheld information from me, and I can’t tolerate anything less than complete honesty. I understand why you did it, but that didn’t make it right. Does that make sense?”
“Yes.”
I could tell he wanted to say more, but he closed his mouth and let me continue.
“So complete, total honesty is nonnegotiable for me.” I took a deep breath. “But I realized that my obsession with privacy was a little ridiculous. Actually, I have Garrett to thank for making me realize that I was acting like a spoiled little girl. I was so horrified in high school by all the negative publicity that instead of learning to manage the spotlight, I chose to run away from it.” I took a drink. “I think you’d be surprised by how I’ve been handling the campaign appearances while you’ve been gone. I’ve given a couple of interviews, and I’ve learned—with Stanford’s help—that if I actively manage the attention, I’m less of a target than I was when I ran away. It’s like they think you have an exciting secret to hide if you’re shunning the press, but if you share just a little, it satisfies the reporters.”
Reed smiled, and I could tell he knew exactly what I meant. “I’m glad you’re feeling better about it.”
“But.” I paused to emphasize the importance of what I had to say next. “Just when I was feeling like I was in a place that would let me handle the attention you—and we—would get from your father’s name, you take the fuck off to Europe. Reed, I just can’t trust you. I know you said you didn’t have sex with anyone while you were gone, but I saw the pictures. I saw you and that woman in France before the tour. I saw you with your hands all over fucking porn stars. Those women aren’t picky. I won’t be with a man who sleeps with just anyone.”
I was practically out of breath, and I knew I needed to calm down. I set down my empty wine glass and walked to the back door, the glass giving me a view of the back yard. I took deep breaths, trying to calm down, and I could hear Reed walking toward me. When he slid his arms around me from behind, I wanted nothing more than to melt into him and let all my worries disappear.
But I couldn’t.
I shook his arms off and walked away, turning to look at him. “I’m finished talking. I don’t trust you, Reed, and that’s the end of it.”
“Are you willing to listen to me?”
I nodded and went to refill my glass.
“Tatum, I should have told you about my father right away. You’re right that I withheld information from you, and it was wrong. I’m sorry.”
I nodded an acknowledgment and turned my attention to my wineglass, rather than his spectacular chest.
“For the record, I did try to catch you before you blew out of town in Tahoe. And I called, texted, emailed … you wouldn’t talk to me. If you had, I wouldn’t have gone to France with Gordon. But you didn’t, so I did.”
Part of me was angry, but I knew he was right. “I know I shut you out, and I can’t even really hold that girl in France against you. I couldn’t really expect you to become a monk, but after we talked … after we had phone sex, for Christ’s sake, you got all distant, busy with the tour, and I started seeing these pictures of you with half-dressed women, Reed. What am I supposed to think?”
“I understand what you’re saying, but I didn’t have sex with a single one of them. I promised you I wouldn’t, and I am a man of my word, Tatum.” He walked over and took my face in his hands. “I came home because I love you, Tatum. I need you. I don’t like the man I am when I’m away from you, and you are the only woman I want to be with. That’s the truth.”
I shook my head, pulling away from him. “Reed, I just can’t let myself believe you. I want to, but I don’t.”
“Tatum, can’t you trust what we have between us? I’ve never wanted a woman the way I do you. You feel it, too. I know you do.”
“Just because I fucked you doesn’t mean I trust you, Reed. It’s that simple.”
Reed looked hurt, as if what I’d said had wounded him in some way.
“Look,” I said, trying to explain myself. “I know what you’re talking about, but being attracted to you isn’t enough. The sex is great, but I can’t have a relationship with someone I don’t trust.”
He looked at me, and I could feel the determination in his gaze. “What will it take?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I wish I did.”
Reed walked out of the room. He brought his dirty clothes out of my bedroom, shoved them in his backpack, and walked over to face me. Taking my face in his hands once again, he kissed me. Slow and sweet, a very different kiss from the sex-starved ones we’d shared earlier.
“Tatum, I love you, and I will prove that you can trust me.”
He walked out the door without another word, and I sank onto a kitchen chair and cried my eyes out, conflicted and drained by the turmoil of the day.
I was still sitting at the table when Garrett got home.
“Good Lord, Tatum, you look terrible. I take it things didn’t go well?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Garrett was pacing, clearly excited or upset about something.
“What’s wrong with you? You seem awfully antsy.”
He rushed over to the remote and turned the television on. “I know you’re a mess, but you gotta see this.” He flipped through a couple of channels before he found one of the local news stations. “Watch.”
“Garrett, I don’t care. There isn’t anything on TV that I could possibly …”
My voice trailed off as I saw the headline at the bottom of the screen. “BUSTED: Tina Monroe’s Sexy Rendezvous.” I couldn’t even hear what the reporter was saying. I was dumbfounded by the images on the screen. Tina kissing a man in the corner of a bar. Tina holding hands on the way to an elevator. Tina making out in an elevator, and finally, Tina and the man at the door of a hotel room.
“Oh my God,” I said, finally turning to Garrett. “Does Stanford know?”
“Hell, yes. We were having a drink when the story came on the TV in the bar. He called Donald and headed over right away.”
“My poor dad. I guess I should call him.” I picked up my phone, but my call went straight to voicemail. “No answer.”
“I’m sure he’s inundated right now.”
“Should I go over?”
“I don’t know, honey.” Garrett covered my hand with his. “You okay?”
“I don’t know. I can’t even think about Reed…holy shit, Reed! I wonder if he knows.”
“You could call him,” Garrett suggested.
“I don’t think I have the energy for another conversation with him.” I picked up the phone again and sent him a text.
Your mother’s in the news, and it isn’t good
.
That would have to do.
“I guess I better go wash my face and put some makeup on,” I said, standing up. “I’m sure there are reporters swarming all over Dad’s house.”
Even though it was late, Garrett offered to drive me over to Dad’s. I called Stanford on the way, just to make sure Dad was home and wanted to see me. Stanford sounded remarkably calm, but he thought it was a good idea for me to come over.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said, opening the front door of the mansion. “And Garrett, good idea to drive her. The crowd at the gate must be terrible.”
“It was,” I answered. “Where is he?”
“He’s in the study. He said he wants to see you, but no one else.”
I took a couple of steps into the foyer before I turned back around. “Tina’s not here, is she?”
Stanford shook his head, eyes wide. “No. Haven’t seen or heard from her since the story broke. Donald has no idea where she is, and he says he doesn’t care.”
“Got it.” I made my way to the study and knocked before I pushed the door open. “Dad?”
“Come on in, honey.”
I walked inside and saw Dad on one of the leather couches, beneath the only lamp that was on, its dim light illuminating the glass of whiskey he held.
“You doing okay?”
He shook his head and took a drink. “Help yourself to some whiskey so I don’t have to drink alone.”
I poured myself a scotch, added an ice cube, and sat down across from him. “How are you?”
“Well, Tatum, to tell you the truth, I feel like a big, fucking idiot. I married a piece of trash, and instead of thanking me, she embarrasses me in front of the entire world. I’ve got another failed marriage and a failure of a campaign.”
“This might not ruin your chances in the election,” I said, hoping to soften the blow of what he’d learned.
“Bullshit. It makes me look weak and foolish—neither of them qualities folks want in their mayor. I’m sunk, plain and simple.”
“Dad, I’m so sorry. I wish there were something I could do.”
“We both know there’s not.” He drained his glass. “You know the only good thing about all this?”
“What’s that?”
“You’re here. I must not be a complete failure as a father.”
“You’re not a failure at all.”
“That’s sweet of you to say.” He shook his head. “I could kill that fucking bitch right now.”
I wondered if and when I should tell him what I knew about Tina’s secret account and the money she’d taken from him. I decided it could wait. “I’m sure she’s miserable, wherever she is.”
He stood up and refilled his glass. “I can only hope.”
The silence stretched out between us. I wasn’t sure what to say.
“You doing okay?” he asked, startling me. “I haven’t seen much of you in the last week.”
I thought about the planning sessions Stanford and I had spent, realizing that Tina had done our work for us. “I’ve been busy on a new case at work,” I half-fibbed.
“Gonna make this my last,” he said, holding up his glass. “I have my attorney coming over first thing in the morning so we can beat Tina to filing for divorce.”
“Did you have a prenup?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t be in a position to wipe him out.
“Unfortunately, no. I wasn’t thinking about finances in Costa Rica. I’m a complete fucking moron.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. I know. I’m prepared to throw some money at her if she’ll just sign the fucking papers and move on to her next victim.”
“Let me know if you’d like me to review your filing before you submit it. I mean, I don’t practice family law, but it never hurts to have another set of eyes on documents that important.”
Dad nodded, considering my offer. “I’ll let you know. I may send the papers to you at the office if you’ll have time to look at them tomorrow.”
“I’ll make time for you, Dad.”
“You heard from Reed?”
“Well, that’s an abrupt change of subject,” I said, trying to decide how to answer his question. I decided he definitely did not need to know I’d been in bed with him just a few hours before. “He’s just gotten back to Vegas, actually. I’m sure his mother’s crying on his shoulder now.”
“Well, at least you won’t be stepbrother and stepsister any longer, huh?” Dad laughed without much humor.
“I don’t think that’s really going to matter, unfortunately.”
I could tell my mother was drunk as soon as I opened the door.
“You picked a helluva fuckin’ day to come home, kiddo.” She was leaning against the wall, and as she fumbled to light a cigarette, she dropped her car keys.
“I think I’ll just take those for you,” I said, picking them up and shaking my head.
One of her back tires was in my yard, rather than on the driveway. There was no way on earth she should have driven.
“So I guess you saw the news, huh?” she slurred as she stumbled inside.
I got her into a chair and put a glass of water in front of her. “Yeah. I saw it. Tatum texted me about it.”
“Tatum,” she said, her disgust clear. “That stuck-up fuckin’ bitch. She thinks she’s so much smarter than everyone else.”
“She is pretty smart, you know.”
“You’re just saying that because you want to fuck her.”
“Nice mouth, Ma.” I sat down and looked at her. “You’re a mess. What the hell happened?”
She shook her head. “I may have had a little too much to drink.”