Page 90 of Marriage (Red, White &) Blues

“Jupiter,” my husband admonished, and I bit my lip.Notthe time.Alwaysthe place.

“Can we stop?” Brock spat and Emily moved to his side, linking both of her arms through one of his, and how veryFirst Ladyof her to show a united front even in private. “I don’t care if she’s still a virgin or fucked the entirety of Fort Liberty, she’s already been passed off as a Parker.”

“Sheisa Parker,” Blake shot back.

“What do we do now? The election is right around the corner.”

“Calm down, Brock,” Robert ordered. “We’ll do damage control.”

“‘Damage control’?” Blake asked. I still hated being thought of as ‘damage’ but this was what we came here for.

“We’ll get this to go away, but for the remainder of the campaign, no one sees her face in public.”

“That’s impossible. She’s not a prisoner.”

Robert rolled his eyes. “It’s just until the election.”

“You’re not putting my wife under house arrest.”

“We need the public to lose interest in her. No new job, no new friends, no new anything.”

“Then what is she supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, knock her up. Voters like children and it’ll keep her occupied.”

I choked on a cough. “‘Knock me up’? Like I’m a puppy mill?”

“Well, you obviously can’t be trusted to do much else,” Brock snapped snidely and I felt myself balling my fist down at my side. I really wanted to punch this guy. Just lay him flat. That would feel so good—no, it wouldn’t, Gloria. You’re better than that, even if he is one of the biggest assholes you’ve met in your life.Actually, I kind of wanted to punch myself for attempting to be reasonable.

“We’re not having a child to further your career. We’ll have children when we’re good and ready.” Yay, Blake! But I wanted to be the one to land a verbal blow. I fed my utter and complete dislike of the man with the fumes of his sheeraudacityto think that I’d bring a child into this world simply to help him win an election.

And it probably showed all over my face.

Blake squatted down in front of me, placing his hand on my arm just above my elbow to talk only to me. “What do you want to do, Glory?” he asked in a soft tone that caressed my soul. I schooled my expression.

With a clearer head, I thought about his question. Time to plan. Once the answer came to me, I nodded at my husband.“Mom,” I whispered to him and he nodded back. “My mother is getting married back in Michigan. The wedding is in a couple of weeks.”

“There,” Adair said, clapping her hands together once, and sounding almost chipper. “That’s our answer. She can go back to Michigan until this blows over.”

“Absolutely,” Brock agreed.

“Okay. Blake and I will go to my mother’s wedding in Michigan.”

“Oh—you’ll be going,” Robert said, “but Blakewon’tbe joining you.”

That—notpart of the plan.

Chapter Twenty

“So let me get this straight—” I said trying and failing to keep my voice level. “You’re agreeing with them?” We were in the car heading home from the meeting and my husband appeared to have lost his ever-loving mind.

“Would you please calm down and let me talk? I’m not agreeing with them, but I have several meetings scheduled for ‘Operation Distance Myself from Parker Holdings.’”

Clearly, we were still trying to maneuver that, too.

“But I’m your dik-dik,” I whined.

“Forever. But with no job and no friends, how long do you think you’ll last?”

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