Page 53 of 7 Dirty Lies

“And yet here I am,meddlinganyway.You like her.You might evenloveher.”

Ohgod.

“Who am I in love with?Annie?Or Lily?The artist I fell for on vacation or the actress I’ve been fucking in my bed?See, that’s why you need to keep your nose where it belongs.Yes, I’m sleeping with her and yes, I’m confused about what that means becauseyesI’m still aselfishdick.”

“Youarea selfish dick,” she bit out, clearly upset.“You should go to bed and stay far away from the rest of us for thenight.”

“Join us for dinner,”Christina begged.“You’ve been busy forweeks.”

It hadn’t been weeks, per se.Just two.“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”Even with Colt holed up in his room for the night, I didn’t want to take a chance we might see each other.Not after that conversation Ioverheard.

It was clearer to me than ever that Colt needed time to sort through his feelings before he saw me again, otherwise there was a very good chance one of us would say somethingterrible.

“He won’t be there.”She arched an eyebrow.“He’sexhausted.”

I noticed that she left offcranky, crabby,andin denial.“I kind of want to do the same thing.Shower, food, bed.”And maybe squeeze in some of the edits Ted sent back on myscreenplay.

Which, I might add, he loved.After I made some changes, he wanted to present it to thecompany.

Heck.Yeah.

So maybe I was a little on Cloud Nine with that news when I did the phenomenally stupid thing of agreeing todinner.

It was an hour later that I found myself full, a glass of wine in my belly, and a really cute Jonas demonstrating his vast knowledge of lizards atmyfeet.

“I had no idea there were so many different kinds.”I stared at the glass box with a collection of dead lizardsinside.

Lizards that he’d collected over the last two months.Himself.

Boys weregross.

“Oh, just you wait, Miss Lily.My spiders will blowyourmind!”

“Jonas,” his mother shushed him.“You need to learn to pay attention.You’rescaringher.”

He looked back at me, confusion written all over his young face, then shrugged.“They’realldead.”

I shuddered at the thought.“Dessert?”I felt a change in topic was necessary if I ever wanted Jonastostop.

“Dessert!”he yelled as he peeled out of the small dining room and into thekitchen.

Christina laughed.“You certainly know how to play to youraudience.”

I’d finally learned what she did for a living.Christina was a state senator in the middle of an intense campaign for the open seat in congress.She was projected to win, but it wasn’tpretty.

Her husband David helped manage the Landry museums.Talk about nightandday.

“Can I ask how a nice woman like you wound up in the most ruthless business in all the land?”She was a really nice person.I genuinely enjoyed every meal we’d shared and, if I was being honest, was starting to think of her as afriend.

That didn’t scream politician.I knew a few, my sister married into one of the biggest political families in the country.Christina didn’t fit their moldatall.

“Family business.”She shrugged.“When dad died Colt took on the ranch.It was always going to be him.He loved the ranch and working for dad.He just,” she shook her head, “didn’t expect it to be so soon, or in such disarray.And me?I took on the political dynasty.Colt thinks it was unnecessary and that I should be here, but I don’t agree.Our family has served in some capacitysince1922.”

“Really?”I guess this is where my lack of interest in politics got me.I had no idea the Landry’s were alsopoliticians.

“It comes from mom’s side of the family,” she explained.“TheHunter’s.”

That explained why she went by Christina Hunter Landry and didn’t use her husband’s last nameatall.

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