Page 113 of Riding the High

“But that was before she was used to us,” Mabel croaks out. “Can she stay while I go to school?”

I sigh and brush her bangs back.

“You like Ginger, don’t you. It’s nice to have her around, especially when you miss Mommy?” I ask.

Mabel shrugs and looks down at her fingers. “Sometimes I miss Mommy,” she answers honestly. “But I will miss Ginger all the time. She always plays with me, and she smells nice.”

I grin. “She does smell nice, doesn’t she?”

“And she gives me hugs like you do. Plus she cooks yummy food,” Mabel continues sleepily.

“She does do all those things,” I reply.

“Rachel’s daddy got married and now she has a new mommy.” She mentions her little friend from school. “You could get married to Ginger and then she’d be my new mommy?”

She trails off then, before turning her eyes up to mine in the dark.

“I like Ginger on our team all the time,” she whispers, and my heart sinks. “But you’re the best daddy.” She says this with a yawn. She’s already an incredibly caring girl and would never want to hurt my feelings.

“You’re the best daughter, and you want to know a secret, little one? I like Ginger on our team too,” I tell her, taking her hand as she closes her eyes.

I snap out of my memory of last night’s chat with Mabel when my in-office phone buzzes. I pick it up.

“You got some news for me, Bev?” I say into it.

“You have a space at the Town Hall for seven. You want to tell me what’s going on, boss?” she asks. I tap the pads of my fingers on the desk.

“Not just yet, Bev, but soon. And thanks,” I reply.

“Course,” she says, before hanging up.

I stand and start to pace. I’ve been doing this for most of theday. Like the true pussy he is, Brent called in sick this morning, clearly not wanting to face me.

I have spent hours setting everything in motion for later. I have the use of the Town Hall now if I need it, and the local news is on standby for a seven o’clock press conference. I’ve racked my brain and retraced my steps, trying to remember every place Ginger and I were that night in Vegas, but I still can’t figure out how Brent found out about our marriage, unless he did in fact have me followed. He says he has proof. I’d like to believe he’s full of shit but, in my profession, I can tell when someone is lying. And I know he’s not.

If it was only about me, I’d tell Brent to go fuck himself. But it’s not. I have Mabes and Ginger to think about, as well as Ginger’s family. Plus my own. If I step down, Ginger and her father won’t be talked about or dragged through the local news. It’ll be gossip at best. But I feel so protective of her, I would never want anyone saying anything less than noble about her. And as for Mabel, chances are she’s too young and wouldn’t hear about this, but it’s possible. Parents talk in front of their kids sometimes. I would never want her to think her father is just as unreliable as her mother, and maybe, if I step down and give Brent what he wants, I can keep my little family just as it is, give Mabes everything she deserves and keep the scandal at bay for Ginger.

Just when I think I have my mind made up, my phone buzzes again.

“Ginger is here,” Bev says through the speaker. Of course she is. She knows something is going on and, if I know Ginger, she’s about to come in here and read me the riot act for keeping anything from her.

Thirty seconds later, my door swings open and Ginger is standing there, a hand on her hip, the sass and determination I love with everything in my fucking soul pulsing through her.

“Cole Weston Ashby. I am not leaving this office until youtell me what the hell is going on,” she announces before slamming the door behind her and stalking over to my desk. She’s wearing a little pair of flimsy linen shorts and an off-the-shoulder shirt. Her hair flows in loose waves down her back. It’s the complete opposite of how she looked last night and exactly how I love her: wild, fresh-faced and free.

“Now, you once told me that we’re closer than best-friends close.” She makes her way over to my side of the desk, leans back against it and presses her palms against the top. A tiny sliver of skin peeks out from under her cropped tee, just in line with my face. My cock twitches at the sight.

“We’re you-and-me close. Remember?” She raises an eyebrow and gestures between us. “And as Mabel reminded me this morning, we’re a team, whether you want to admit it or not.”

I lean back in my chair and take her in. She’s fucking sensational when she goes after something she wants.

She’s in full flow now as she continues her speech.

“I’d say two people that close wouldn’t have secrets, so it’s about time you cut the shit and tell me what’s going on, don’t you think?”

Ginger’s breath is heavy and her eyes are full of fire. But under all of that is the tiniest flicker of uncertainty and I’m not having it. I stand to wrap my arms around her, crushing my lips to hers, leaving her breathless when I drop to my knees in front of her. I yank her loose shorts aside and pull one of her legs up to rest on my shoulder. I push one finger in and her tight pussy clenches around me.

“You won’t shut me out, Cole,” Ginger says as her head tips back.

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