25. Nash

CHAPTER 25

NASH

As much as I believed it was best if I walked away from Spencer Brady, I was struggling not to cave when he begged me not to leave. "I don't want to be a problem for you, Spencer. It's not like I'm not known around town. I can't get a fucking job because I have no skills. I'm a whore, and that's all I'll ever be."

Spencer got up from the bed and stepped in front of me to stop my pacing. He took my face in his hands. "No. No you're not, Nash. You're a beautiful person who was trying to get by the best way he could. Sex work is nothing to be ashamed of. You had a good that was highly marketable, and you sold it. Hell, I was no different in my job as a senator. Your business with Caroline Bering-Turner was the same shit I was dealing with on Capitol Hill when it came to her husband. I had a vote that he wanted desperately, and I used it to get what I wanted from him. Please don't walk away from me because of what I did." My chest pounded at his heartfelt plea.

"You have a chance at a new life, Spence. You have a family who loves you, and a real opportunity to make something great working for Sean Fitzpatrick."

"None of that matters if you leave me. I love you ." He was so fucking sincere I wanted to drop to my knees in front of him because I worshiped the ground where he stood. I'd never loved another person the way I loved Spencer Brady.

There was a knock on the door, which brought our conversation to a halt. "Jay heard us having sex this morning. I hope he's not hearing this conversation."

Spence opened the door to reveal Vanessa standing there in her robe. She came inside and closed the door.

"I'm here on behalf of Jay and Cole. Can you two keep it down? What's going on? You're obviously not in the throes of passion." She had a smirk on her face.

I ran my hands through my hair because it was too damn surreal. Why the fuck couldn't I find a regular guy to fall in love with?

"I wish to hell that's what's going on. Now, I'm begging Nash not to leave me. Ron and Hillary are the ones who had me outed. They funded the whole thing. Nash, show her what you showed me."

I pulled up the documents Pacman had sent me and handed the phone to Vani. She flipped through the charts and when she landed on the most telling, I thought she was going to throw the phone. Considering I was giving Spencer back the Christmas gifts he'd given me—except the nice robe because that would always remind me of him—I had to snatch the phone away from Vani.

"That's fucking twisted, Spencer. I knew they were bottom-feeders, but this is low, even for them." She pulled him to sit on the side of the bed with her.

I went into the closet and grabbed the first shirt I found, which happened to be his, and I left the room. It was yet another example of me not fitting into their close-knit lives. They would never be able to let each other go. I could see it clearly, even if they couldn't.

"Hey, sorry for ratting you guys out last night. Did she put you in a time out?" I opened my eyes to see Jay standing by the couch in the den where I'd fallen asleep. My neck was killing me because of the odd angle.

I sat up, placing my feet on the floor, and gently rolled my head until I heard the expected pop. "It wasn't what you think it was. You'll need to talk to your folks about it."

Before I'd dozed off, I'd made up my mind to call Caroline Bering-Turner to see if I could get a referral from her to another escort business. I'd decided maybe Atlanta was a good place to start over, and considering Caroline had contacts everywhere, I hoped she'd help me out.

"Jay, Dad wants to talk to you. Where's Cole?" Vani stepped into the room, her eyes red and swollen.

Jay turned to her. "Damn, Mom. You look like hell."

The lifted eyebrow she gave him made me grin. "Where's Cole?" She meant business, that was for sure.

"He's in the shower. What's going on?" He glanced in my direction, but I wasn't saying anything. It wasn't my news to share.

"Your grandparents were behind my public outing. They gave money to Blaire and Mitch Flora to get evidence that I was gay, and then they leaked it to the press." I glanced toward the door to see Spencer had walked into the room.

He sat down next to me on the couch. "Why didn't you come back to our room? This affects you too."

"I'm going to Atlanta. You deserve a fresh start, and you can't have it with me as a millstone around your neck." I stood and left the room without waiting for comments.

I went to the bedroom and placed the Christmas gifts Spence and the family had given me on the dresser. I emptied the dresser of my clothes and shoved everything into my duffel. I dressed and went to the ensuite to get my toiletries.

Once I had everything, I grabbed my coat. I'd given no thought to where I would go, but there was an all-night diner two miles away. It would be a cold walk, but it was best for everyone involved.

I opened the bedroom door and listened, hearing Jay, Vani, and Spencer down the hall having a heated discussion, so I put on my coat and grabbed my bag and shoes. I quietly walked down the stairs and stopped at the door to slip on my boots.

"Where are you sneaking off to?" Spencer's voice didn't sound happy.

"I'm not sneaking. I didn't want to track dirt through the house. I'm going to the diner on Georgetown Pike to get a cup of coffee and figure things out. I'm sorry if I ruined your Christmas."

Spencer went to the closet by the front door and slid on a pair of boots, tucking his pajama pants inside before he pulled on a sweatshirt and a thick coat. "Let's go. I want pumpkin pie."

So much for my quiet getaway.

The Friday after Christmas, Spencer had a breakfast meeting with Sean Fitzpatrick at the same Georgetown hotel where Sean held his birthday party last fall. "Sean wants to talk to you, too, so come with me. He was going to call you later, but we can handle everything with one breakfast."

I was busy folding towels. Jay and Cole had gone to meet Cole's family to spend New Year's with them on a ski trip to the Pocono Mountains, and Vanessa was busy packing things she wanted to take with her to New York. Spence had ordered boxes to pack up the rest of it, and we were supposed to go apartment hunting over the weekend.

My idea of going to Atlanta had flown the coop when Spencer sat down at the diner and ordered a whole pumpkin pie for us to split. We ate it out of the pie tin and laughed like loons.

"Why would Sean want to talk to me? I know nothing about the lobbying business." Man, that was no joke. I'd overheard Spence on a phone call with him the day after Christmas, and they were talking about some press conference Sean was planning to hold on January third. I wasn't sure what it would be about, but I wondered if Spence did.

"I'm not sure, sweetheart. I told him when he called that I could bring you along with me, and he agreed. He mentioned something about a business proposition he had for you."

Spence was wearing jeans and a sweater, so I went upstairs and showered. I pulled on black jeans, a tan sweater that had been a Christmas gift from Denver, and my black boots. I dried my hair and put finishing spray on it, and I walked down the hall to find Vanessa in the den looking through the bookshelves.

"Do I look okay? I'm going with Spencer to meet Sean Fitzpatrick for breakfast."

Vanessa turned to me and smiled widely. "You look handsome. I think that sweater is perfect. So did Spence say why Sean wants to see you?"

"A business proposition, but that's all. I'm nervous. I'm not sure what skills I have that—" I froze. There was no way Spencer would be okay if Sean was planning to pimp me out, was there?

"No, no. Don't even think about it." Vanessa touched my shoulder. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I can tell you Spencer won't go along with it for any amount of money. He'll lose his mind if Sean even hints at asking you to do anything of the sort."

I took a deep breath, hoping she was right. "I hope so. Anyway, you'll be here when we get back, right?"

Vani giggled. "Yes, I will. The truck isn't coming until the thirtieth, so calm down. You're as bad as Spencer."

I hugged her and left the den, heading to the kitchen where Spencer was rinsing our mugs to put in the dishwasher. "I'm ready."

When Spencer turned around, his eyes scanned my body, making me self-conscious. He walked closer and put his forearms on my shoulders. "You, my love, look fantastic."

He leaned closer and kissed my lips. I wrapped my arms around his waist, feeling his strong body next to mine. How could I ever think of leaving him? I must have been out of my head.

Before the kiss could turn into something I didn't have the power to stop, Spence ended it with a soft nip of his teeth on my bottom lip. "Come on. I'm anxious to find out what Sean was so excited about."

Yeah, I was anxious about that myself, though I doubted it was the same thing Spencer was thinking. My stomach tied itself in knots at warp speed.

We headed into DC, Spencer holding my hand as he drove. The radio played a smooth jazz station that filled the silence as my mind raced. After we crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown, we hit a red light, so Spencer stopped.

"I have a question. What if Sean wants to pimp me out? Use me to get dirt on some of your former colleagues or people in the elite Washington set?" The words came out fast, and Spence did a double take.

When the light turned green, he turned right onto M Street and pulled into the curb lane, turning on the emergency flashers. There were angry horns and a few middle fingers, but Spencer didn't see them because he was staring at me.

"What are you talking about? Sean pimp—there's no fucking way I'd let him even hint at something of the sort."

Spencer turned in his seat to face me. "I love you. We're going to make a life together, and I would never stand for Sean to ask something like that from you. If I catch a whiff that he's thinking along those lines in any way, we'll leave. We'll figure out our next steps, but we're doing it together. You feel the same, right?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I still think?—"

Spencer put his finger over my lips. "It's a yes or no question, Nash. You feel the same way, right?"

I kissed his finger before pushing it away from my lips. "Yes, Spence, I feel the same way. I love you and want to make a life with you, but I think you'd still be better without me."

He chuckled. "I can assure you, I wouldn't."

Spencer checked the rearview mirror and the side mirror before pulling into traffic, seemingly satisfied that we'd put the argument to rest.

I was sure something would happen that would prove to him I was right.