Page 70 of Innocent

Okay, so I’m alittlesnarky. Sue me. I never claimed to be perfect.

He slowly shakes his head. “He’s miserable. These last six months have been fucking hell on him and me both.”

They haven’t exactly been funsies for me, either.

Which is why I can’t control my mouth any longer. “You? Why were they hard onyou?Yougot exactly whatyouwanted. Congratulations, Mister Vice President. You have Leo all to yourself. I thought you’d be happy about that.”

“Having him to myself doesn’t mean I’m actually getting to spend much time with him. Or thathe’shappy.”

I will not gloat… I willnotgloat.

“Besides,” he continues, “I know he stayed with me for the ‘greater good,’ not because he loves me more than he loves you. In a perfect world, he’d have both of us. He made that absolutely clear. After everything that happened and meeting you, I know I wasn’t his first choice anymore. I don’t blame him, either. But then you chose for him and took the decision out of his hands. He wouldn’t force you to stay when you were obviously determined to go. He’s been grieving.”

It takes me a moment to process that. “Did he tell you that?”

“Not at first. He didn’t have to. Even Kev pulled me aside to ask me what the hell was going on, if there was anything he needed to know, because he could see how miserable Leo’s been. I finally told him what happened.”

I always did like Kev. He has a good head on his shoulders and he’s handsome as sin. I learned a hell of a lot from him. I don’t know how Chris, Kev, and Shae have managed to keep their secret for as long as they have, but they definitely belong together.

Wait, I do know how they’ve kept their secret—Leo’s greatly helped them with that part.

Leo’s a master of many things, including that skill.

I take another deep breath and say probably one of the stupidest things that’s ever come out of my mouth. “Vice Presi—”

“Elliot.”

I take yet another deep breath and start over. I’m saying this for my sake, not his, and I keep my voice quiet, so he doesn’t hear how it trembles. I guess I’ll be crying myself to sleep tonight after all.

“Elliot, I don’t think it’d work out, me being your body man. I’m not an emotional masochist. I can’t be around Leo every day, not be with him, and it not break my heart.”

“You can be with Leo.”

I’m pretty sure I misheard him. “Whut?”

“You can be with him.” He softly snorts. “Although, if Shae’s schedule stays as crazy as it has been, I suspect you won’t get much more time with him than I have lately. Not unless he finally quits.”

He toes the carpet with his left foot. “Can’t say I’d blame him if he does. Especially once he’s got you back. I doubt he’d let you get away a second time. I wouldn’t blame him if he walked away from me to be with you if you returned.”

I stare at him as I try to process his words. “You don’t know if he’ll even take me back.” I wouldn’t blame Leo if he didn’t.

“He will. He misses you like hell. I talked to him right before he left. He finally admitted how much he misses you. He says he doesn’t blame me, but I blame myself.I’mthe reason he’s miserable, when the truth isyoumade him happier than I’ve ever seen him, the happiest since I’ve known him.

“I know he loves me. Eventually, he’s going to come to hate me over this. I know he will. He can’t live feeling that miserable andnotgrow resentful of me, no matter how much he loves me. It’s been building inside him ever since he lost you.”

He chews his lower lip, pausing for a moment. “I love him too much to do that to him. When I tried to tell him I’d understand if he left me to be with you, he ordered me to shut up and not suggest that again. So…”

He shrugs. “I decided I needed to handle this some other way. The irony is, you working for me as my body man reallyisthe most logical choice to kill a bunch of birds with one stone. He was absolutely right about that. I was wrong not to give in to this from the start. Not that it’s any excuse, but if you haven’t guessed, I have a lot of emotionalissues.”

I’m still stunned into silence.

“I have two conditions, though,” he adds.

Ah, here’s therealask.

My heart’s pounding again. I know I’m going to hate myself for even considering this, because this is a few levels beyond insanity. “What conditions?”

He steps forward. Before I fully register what he’s doing, he’s straddling me on the sofa, grabbing the front of my sweater, pulling me in, and kissing me.