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Chapter 21

Author: Emily Kendricks
last update Last Updated: 2022-06-22 14:05:37
"You've been married twelve years, is that right?"

Steve nodded. "Yes, twelve years this past November."

The reporter nodded, looking at her phone where she had notes stored. "And you celebrated in the Turks and Caicos Islands, correct?"

Emma couldn't help the tension that slid into her shoulders at the mention of that recently contentious location. Steve squeezed her hand, as though trying to remind her of the pact they had made.

"It was a gift from my in-laws."

The reporter looked up, her blue eyes roving slowly over Steve's face as though looking for some sort of clue in his expression. She had been looking at him that way since she walked into the house. Emma looked away, trying to remind herself that she was no longer supposed to get jealous when women looked at Steve in a certain way. It was no longer any of her business.

But some habits are hard to break.

She shifted slightly on the couch, her eyes roaming the tidiness of the great room. It was perfect for this sort of th
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    "Did you really think they wouldn't put it together?"Steve shook his head as he tugged at the bow tie he had already tied four times and still couldn't get quite right. He dropped his hands to his sides in frustration. Emma glanced at him, annoyed that he was there. If her parents hadn't arrived early to sit with the kids, he would be downstairs in the study, dressing in front of a handheld shaving mirror."How?""I guess investigative reporters are pretty smart, Steve," Emma said. "At least, they aren't as oblivious as I was.""Emma""Don't," she said, her voice filled more with defeat than anything else. She leaned forward, trying to apply eye liner with a hand that shook. He'd turned back to his laptop, tension in every line of his body.Some blogger had printed a post just two hours ago that accused Steve of an affair. Although Steve had managed to ignore the bait Amanda Barker had thrown out at him three days ago, this anonymous blogger had found what he called 'strong evid

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    Emma found herself sitting between the governor's chief of staff and a Houston oil man. Steve sat across from her. She could feel his eyes on her each time she said something to one of her dinner companions, or took a sip of the white wine they had served with the salmon. She disliked fish with a passion, so she swallowed more wine than food."There must be some perks to being married to the mayor," the oilman, Ted-something, said in her ear."A few, I suppose," she said."Like a break on sales tax."Emma laughed. "I wish.""Or prime parking spots."Emma shook her head. "No, not really.""Then what?" he asked, his eyes wandering her chest as he gazed down at her."There's always exciting dinners like this and meeting people like you."His muddy eyes moved up to hers. "But I'm sure you get bored, meeting new people all the time.""Not always. I've met some really good people at these events."He leaned closer, practically drooling down the front of her dress. "How many of the

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  • The Fantasy Maker   Chapter 24

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    It took Emma nearly an hour to decide what she was going to wear. Every time he had seen her before, she had been dressed in one of those pink, cashmere robes. Should she be sexy, dress in a short skirt and a push-up bra? Or would that make him feel like the only reason she had come to him was for more of the same? Should she dress casually? Wear jeans and an oversized t-shirt? But what if he had asked her to come so that they could have some one-on-one time without worrying about the rules of the Ranch?She wished she knew why he was doing this.She had tossed and turned all the night before. Steve would give her the money. She could keep seeing Dante at the Ranch, could keep having those amazing mani-pedis, keep drinking all that expensive champagne, keep disappearing into ecstasy each time he touched her, no questions, no doubts. She could keep up the lie of her disguise. Could keep the mask that hid nothing except the freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose. She could keep hi

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