Chapter 207
Gaston looked down at his chest, then back up at her. His dark eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were trying to solve a particularly difficult equation.
She thinks J.W. is a man.
He fought the urge to laugh. It was absurd. It was tragic. It was perfectly Jocelyn.
“It’s for someone very important to me,” he said slowly, truthfully. “Someone I’ve loved for a long time.”
Jocelyn felt a sharp, physical pang in her chest. Jealousy. It was ugly and green and it tasted like bile.
“He must be very special,” she said, her voice tight.
Downloadable PDFs on FindNovel.com
“She,” Gaston corrected softly. “And yes, she is.”
Jocelyn’s brain short-circuited. She heard the word, but her confirmation bias was a fortress. Of course he’d say ‘she,’ she thought, a bitter certainty settling in her stomach. He just declared himself a happily married man to the entire world. He has to maintain the story. This is just another line in the script.
“I hope you can be with them openly one day,” she said softly, her mind quietly auto-correcting the pronoun back to the safe, unattainable him under the guise of politeness. “You shouldn’t have to hide who you love.”
Gaston sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This woman is impossible.
“Eat your eggs, Jocelyn,” he said, picking up his iPad again.
Miles away, in the dark, wood-paneled study of the Collins Estate, Elbert Collins was shouting into his phone.
“Justin! Have you seen the morning tracking polls?”
Justin Collins held his phone six inches from his ear. He was sitting in his Senate office in Washington D.C., surrounded by flags and framed degrees. He looked tired.
“Dad, I am in a committee meeting,” Justin lied smoothly.
“The voters want a family man!” Elbert roared. “Not a bachelor! Look at Gaston — his approval ratings are through the roof since the press conference! People love a man who defends his wife!”
Justin rubbed his temples. “Gaston is different. His situation is unique.”
“He’s doing his duty!” Elbert snapped. “He settled down. He’s making the family look stable. You need to do the same. The election is in six months, Justin.”
“Gaston is in love, Dad. That’s why it works,” Justin said, the words slipping out before he could stop them.
“Love? Bah!” Elbert scoffed. “He’s smart. He secured an asset. You need to secure a wife. Find someone. Anyone. I don’t care if you pick a name out of a hat.”
“I have a board meeting. I have to go,” Justin said, and hung up. He buzzed his chief of staff. “Prep the jet. I’m flying to New York. Now.”
The silence in the office settled around him, heavy and still. Justin opened the top drawer of his desk. Beneath a stack of legislative briefs lay a file folder.
He opened it. Clipped to the inside cover was a photograph — a candid shot taken from a distance. A woman walking into a hotel, her hair windblown, her face serious.
Carmen Golden.
Justin traced the line of her jaw with his index finger. His touch was reverent, almost painful.
“Soon,” he whispered to the empty room.
.