Stef reminded herself, again, that she hadn’t known the dirty details when Blake charmed her into his hotel bed one lonely night a few years back. She certainly had never expected him to release pictures of them leaving the hotel together.
Penelope Ferguson had summoned a PR magic spell to bail Stef out of her Blake-related problem then, and she’d had a hand in smoothing over Chase and Miriam’s relationship last year. With Chase’s imminent reelection looming—Stef refused to consider the possibility of him losing—she had zero worries that Pen would be able to work her magic again and smooth this one over, as well.
“You should’ve called me the second Blake the Snake sent you that text,” Penelope scolded from where she sat in front of her computer screen. Her full mouth was a firm line of displeasure, her eyes narrowed in frustration.
Stef stopped pacing and wrapped herself protectively in her own arms. “It was late. I didn’t want to bother you.”
And she hadn’t wanted her sister-in-law to hear the raw vulnerability in her voice. Stef might have refused to respond with the intent of letting Blake know how little he’d affected her, but in truth he had. Like the first time those hotel photos saw the light of day, she felt cheap and used.
He’d been charming and—she’d thought—vulnerable the night he’d told her he wanted her. She’d been fresh off a breakup and vulnerable herself. A night with an attractive man who appreciated her—even one who disagreed with her brother the mayor—was supposed to have boosted her confidence and relieved a long drought of physical affection.
They’d both been attending a boring fund-raiser at the time. Champagne had flowed and he’d been accommodating and, she knew now, lying. He’d been seeking revenge on Chase and would take any of the Fergusons as his pound of flesh. She’d allowed herself to be talked into going to bed with him and she still felt the sting of embarrassment and anger at her naïveté.
The next day, the photos had surfaced and she’d been accused of slutting around with the mayor’s nemesis.
And now this.
“When was the fund-raiser where this was taken?” Pen turned her laptop screen to show the most recent leaked photo of Blake and Stef cheek to cheek on the dance floor.
“Last weekend.”
“You’re looking cozy.”
“He asked me to dance by taking my hand and dragging me to the floor. I didn’t want to cause a scene by telling him where to shove his invitation.”
She’d caused enough problems for her brother and his campaign. Chase didn’t hold her accountable, but she couldn’t unshoulder her fair share of responsibility.
“What you don’t see in this photo is that I’m telling him off. I used some very unladylike language, hence my leaning in close. I told him if he didn’t leave me and my family alone, I’d castrate him with a pair of dull shears.”
Stef smiled, proud. At least she’d stood up for herself then. Pen wasn’t smiling with her.
“What you did was step into a snare of his making, Stefanie. Again.” Pen shook her head. “He timed the release of this photo on purpose, to coincide with the reelection. Why is he hinting that you two are going to be married?”
Stef felt her cheeks warm as she recalled the rest of her conversation that night. “That...is partially my fault.”
Pen raised her eyebrows and waited.
Stef, you’ll be single forever with a mouth like that. You have to be a good little girl if you ever hope to land a husband.Blake had swept her in another circle on the dance floor while her ire had risen to dangerous levels.
Ha! You’re one to talk. Is there a female on this planet who would willingly perch in your family tree or do you have to trick them all into going to bed with you?
You came willingly. A few times if memory serves.
“He was holding me tight, and twisting away didn’t loosen his hold on my waist.” Stef licked her lips, regretting her words now that she’d felt the sting of retaliation. “I may have mentioned something about a ‘tiny prick’ and ‘faking it’ and that if he didn’t let me go, I’d tell everyone within earshot how unsatisfying it was to be bedded by Blake the Snake.”
Pen’s eyebrows climbed higher on her forehead, and just when Stef was sure she’d be read the riot act, her sister-in-law’s smile burst forth like the sun after a hard rain.
“You know how to find trouble, don’t you?” Pen asked through a laugh. She must’ve caught Stef’s crestfallen features when she looked up because she was out of her chair in a shot. “I’m sorry I said that. Ignore me.”
Pen grabbed Stef’s shoulders and Stef felt the wobble in her chin paired with heat behind her eyes.
“I don’t try to.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. Seriously.” Pen pulled Stef into a hug.
Stef felt like a fragile piece of china lately, not wanting to be in the way of Chase’s campaign or too involved while Pen and Zach raised their daughter. Heck, even Mom and Dad were going through a second honeymoon phase, so Stef was trying to stay out from underfoot in that capacity, as well.
“You can fix this.” Stef swallowed her budding tears. “You have unraveled some of the biggest knots in Dallas since you moved here. Tell me the easiest, fastest, most succinct way to crush this fake news.”