Scandalous Secrets

by Synithia Williams

  Zoe hugged her daughter tight. “I’m so sorry, baby. The accident on the interstate held me up, my tire went flat and my phone died.” She pulled Lilah back so her eyes could scan her daughter. There were a few scratches on her face along with the bandage, but otherwise she looked fine.

  “What happened?” Zoe’s voice shook.

  “A car ran into us.” Lilah’s eyes were wide. She spoke in a high, rushed voice. “It knocked us off the road and into a ditch. Byron was great, Mom. He kept his cool, cut the seat belts and pulled us out of the car. Once he got me on the side of the road he went back and pulled out Mr. Wesley. He saved our lives.”

  Zoe pulled Lilah back into her arms and looked at Byron across the room. His face was solemn. Beneath that she saw something else. He was angry. She didn’t blame him. She wanted to hurt someone, too.

  “Did the other driver stick around?” Zoe asked.

  Byron shook his head. “It was a hit and run.”

  Zoe clenched her teeth. Who would do something like that and just drive away? She wanted to scream and ask a thousand questions, but instead she hugged Lilah tighter. Her daughter was fine. She’d gotten out of the car with a few scratches. Byron was okay. Things could have been worse. She would take this small blessing.

  Elaina stood from where she sat on Byron’s other side. “Lilah, let’s go get you changed and cleaned up while Byron gives your mom and update on what happened.”

  Zoe slowly let go of her daughter. Lilah smiled and nodded at Elaina. “Okay.” She looked back at Zoe. “You’re coming back to the pool house?”

  “As soon as I’m done here,” Zoe promised.

  Elaina came over and placed her hand on Lilah’s shoulder. “I’ll sit with her until you come over. Take your time.”

  “Thank you, Elaina,” Zoe said.

  Elaina nodded before wrapping an arm around Lilah’s shoulders and leading her out of the room.

  “We should get going, too,” India said.

  She and Travis sat opposite Byron. They stood and Byron got up carefully. Zoe’s hands clenched into fists as she watched his stiff movements. He hugged his sister and then his friend. She didn’t miss the grimace on his face when Travis patted his back.

  “Holla at me tomorrow,” Travis said. “Drinks on me.”

  “I’ve got a campaign event tomorrow,” Byron said.

  Grant quickly rose from the leather chair. He slashed a hand through the air. “You can skip one damn event because of a car accident. I’ll tell Roy to wait.”

  “No,” Byron said in a hard voice. “I’ll talk to Roy. You’ve done enough.”

  Grant’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t argue. He held a hand out to Patricia. She stood and took Grant’s. Grant nodded stiffly. “Suit yourself.”

  Patricia moved toward Byron and placed a hand on his cheek. He jerked his head back and stepped out of her grasp. “Good night, Patricia.”

  She placed her hand on her chest. “Stay here tonight. Please.”

  Some of the stiffness left Byron’s shoulders. “I’ll think about it.”

  The family filed out of the room. Travis closed the door behind him as they left. She and Byron stared at each other for several long seconds. She was supposed to be angry with him. She was supposed to be telling him he couldn’t use her and Lilah for political favor. That he couldn’t say things about wanting to be with her and make things work if he was going to go behind her back and release photos of a day she’d thought was private and between them.

  But when he shifted his shoulders as if to relieve tension and winced, none of the anger from earlier found a foothold. She was across the room and examining his face just as closely as she’d examined Lilah’s.

  “Are you okay?”

  He gave her a half smile. “Stiff, but I’ll be fine.”

  She placed her hands on his cheeks then ran them down over his shoulders. There were cuts in the shirt she knew should have been crisp and white. Now it was torn, dirty and spotted with blood.

  “Lilah said you saved her life,” Zoe said in a tight voice.

  “I just got them out of the car. That’s all.”

  “You went in a ditch?”

  “It was a little more than that. We almost went into a creek. That’s why I got them out so quickly.” He took a shaky breath. “If the car had gone under water...”

  She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. “It didn’t. We aren’t going to talk about that.”

  Byron eased down on the couch with her still in his arms. “I’m fine. Seriously.”

  Zoe eased back to examine him again. “Did you go to the hospital?”

  He nodded. “An ambulance came, but by then I’d gotten Lilah and Wesley out of the car. There are no broken bones, just a cut on her forehead.”

  Zoe placed a hand on her chest and let out a relieved sigh. “And you?”

  “I didn’t get checked out. Before you fuss, I’m going to the doctor tomorrow.”

  “So, no campaign visit. You’ll take the day off and get some rest.” She pointed at him.

  He didn’t argue with her the way he had with his dad. Instead, he took her hand in his and pressed her palm to his chest. “I promise. I’ll get some rest. I just didn’t want to give my dad the satisfaction of telling me what to do.”

  “Do you have any idea who could have hit you?”

  Byron’s entire body stiffened. “I don’t. Wesley said a black SUV came out of nowhere. They t-boned us and knocked us off the road toward the creek. After we went over, they drove off.”

  A terrible thought sent icicles through her veins. “Was it on purpose?”

  His jaw hardened. “I don’t know.”

  She trembled but didn’t want to think about that. “I’ve got to check on Lilah and make sure she’s okay. Promise me you’ll stay at the estate tonight.”

  “I should get home—”

  Her fingers curled against his chest. “Promise me. Once Lilah is asleep, I want to see you again.”

  Byron nodded. “I promise.”

  * * *

  WHEN ZOE WAS sure Lilah was asleep, she left their room to find Byron. Lilah had insisted on coming back to the main house after taking a shower and changing clothes. They’d sat in the upstairs family room talking about anything but the accident until Lilah finally fell asleep leaning against Byron’s side. She’d woken up and complained when Zoe told her to go to bed, so Zoe pretended to be going to bed, too.

  It wasn’t often Lilah showed the tendency to want to have her mom by her side or needed her close in order to go to sleep. The fact that it took a damn car accident to get her daughter to feel this way made Zoe want to take Lilah’s bow and play target practice with whomever hit their car. Seeing Lilah so scared not only angered Zoe, but it also scared her. There was too much happening, and it was all happening too close together to be a coincidence. She’d avoided trying to be overly paranoid, but she couldn’t shake the feeling these incidents weren’t just accidents.

  Byron was still in the sitting room. He was alone and had stretched his legs out on the coffee table in front of the leather sofa. His head rested against the back of the couch and he breathed deeply. His eyes were closed. Zoe settled down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

  He turned his head so his cheek pressed against the top of hers. “I wondered if you were coming back.” His voice was a low rumble.

  She slid an arm around his midsection and relished the feel of him next to her. “Maybe I should have stayed in the room. You’re almost asleep.”

  He shook his head then wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “I wanted to wait up on you. I needed to talk to you.”

  “About the accident?” Had he come to the same conclusion she had?

  “About the pictures. I didn’t tell Roy to release them. That was my dad.”

  A knot
in Zoe’s chest loosened. She’d been willing to let the conversation about the pictures slide for the day. With everything going on that was the last thing she wanted to dive into. She was glad he understood she would be upset.

  “Why did he do it?”

  “For the typical reasons. To make me look good in the public eye.”

  “Did it work?”

  “It did, but I wouldn’t have let them be released without talking to you first. I didn’t even know they’d been taken.” He shifted and Zoe met his gaze. “One of my staffers saw us out and thought it would make a good visual.”

  Apparently, the staffer was right. Elaina was right. The Robidoux men would do whatever they needed to pursue their own goals. “Have you said anything to you dad?”

  “My plan was to talk to him today but...”

  He’d gotten knocked off the road into a ditch. “Yeah... I get it.”

  “I did talk to Roy. If he does something like that again without talking to me first he’s going to be looking for another candidate to support.”

  She didn’t want to see Roy fired, but she understood Byron’s decision. He trusted Roy with his career. He’d have to trust Roy wouldn’t listen to other people instead of Byron.

  “I’m surprised your dad didn’t talk to you first.”

  “We haven’t been seeing eye to eye lately,” he said blithely.

  “I noticed. It’s because of me, isn’t it?” Byron had always idolized his dad, but ever since she’d been here, they’d been at odds. Starting with the argument they’d had the first day she’d come to the estate.

  “Actually...it’s because of Patricia.”

  Zoe sat up and tilted her head to the side. “Patricia?”

  Byron sighed and sat up. “Yep.”

  “Why? I thought she got along with the family.” Zoe hadn’t had much interaction with Patricia. Grant’s fiancée was pleasant, but it was obvious her focus and loyalty were for Grant.

  “We get along with Patricia because Dad wants us to get along with her. It wasn’t easy when he started seeing her before Mom died. But when he kept seeing her and gradually made her a part of his daily life, it was either learn to accept her or constantly fight with him about her.”

  “What’s changed?”

  “After you came back, Patricia tried to warn me to be careful. She said she knew what my mom wanted and why she didn’t want me to claim Lilah as my child. She pretended as if she was my mom’s friend.”

  “Was she?” Zoe couldn’t imagine it, but stranger things had happened in this family.

  “Of course not. My mom tolerated Patricia because she was sick and couldn’t be there for my dad, but they weren’t friends.”

  “Did your dad agree with her?”

  “I haven’t brought it up. Our unspoken rule in this family is not to question Dad on anything. He makes the plans and we go along with it. I can’t live like that anymore. Especially not if he’s going to expect us to sit back and take the same treatment from Patricia.”

  “Sounds like you’re really mad at your dad for butting in, but instead it’s easier to pick a fight about Patricia.”

  Byron’s brows drew together. He sat up quickly. Zoe moved back.

  “That’s ridiculous. I’m mad she’s acting like my mom.”

  “No, Byron, you’re mad your dad told your employee what to do without consulting you. I know you look up to him. I know he’s the person you’ve tried to emulate. He loves you, but you have to set the boundaries.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. You’re running for Senate. How are you supposed to handle major political and policy decisions if you can’t even tell your dad to butt out? You’ve got to be the grown-up in this.”

  Byron’s mouth snapped shut. He stared at her for several seconds before shaking his head and chuckling. “You see, that’s why I love you. You always tell me like it is.”

  Zoe was struck speechless. He loved her? Nah, couldn’t be like love love. He had to mean like friendship love.

  She waved off his words. “That’s what friends are for.”

  Byron took her wrist in his fingers and brought her hand to his chest. “You’re not just a friend, and I’m not joking around.”

  “We just started sleeping together.” Sex was the only reason a guy thought he was in love so soon. It had to be. She thought back to her conversation with Ashiya and the pressure she’d felt of living up to the version of herself Byron saw.

  Byron shook his head. “Us sleeping together has nothing to do with how I feel. We weren’t sleeping together back in college and I felt similar.”

  She frowned. “Now is different?”

  “Yes. You were amazing back then, but you’re incredible now. If anything, I love you more.”

  Zoe pulled away from him. “Love isn’t enough,” she blurted out. “Love feels good, but it makes you do dumb things. It makes you put up with dumb things. I don’t want to be in love.”

  Byron let her go. “Do you really believe that?”

  The incredulous look in his eye, as if she were an oddity he couldn’t figure out, made her cheeks burn. How could she explain this to him without hurting him again? How could she explain that love made her heart race for all the wrong reasons? Right now, in this moment, she believed in what she had with Byron. It was the future that frightened her. Falling in love meant not wanting to disappoint the other person, and eventually she would disappoint him. She supported him becoming a senator, but she didn’t want to be a senator’s wife. She was excited about starting her own business. She was still looking for a place to live. She didn’t want her daughter to get completely sucked into the Robidoux’s world. Love would make her lose focus, or worse, lose herself in an effort to fit the mold of perfect political partner.

  She looked into his eyes. He looked at her as if she were the key to his happiness. She didn’t deserve that, but she was selfish enough to want it.

  “I believe we’ve both had a long day and our emotions are high,” she said.

  “I’m serious—”

  Zoe slid across his lap and straddled his waist. “Shh. I know you are.” She kissed him softly. “Let’s focus on today. You’re alive. Lilah is okay. We get another day together. Please.”

  He met her eyes and she saw the argument churning in his gaze. “Zoe—”

  She kissed him again before he could utter another word. “You’re alive,” she breathed against his lips. Her next kiss was longer, deeper and filled with all the joy of knowing he was okay after the accident. His body relaxed. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

  He could have been gone. He and Lilah could have both been gone. While she’d been stuck in traffic. Tears pricked her eyes. She kissed him harder. The fear, frustration and relief from the day made her movements urgent. She jerked on the edges of his T-shirt until he lifted his hands and she tossed it aside. She kissed each scratch and bruise on his chest and shoulders.

  His kisses and touches became just as urgent as hers. His breathing ragged as his body trembled. She reached for the waistband of his pants. Byron lifted his hips and pushed them down. Zoe snatched up the edges of her nightgown. His fingers shoved aside the edges of her damp panties. Then they slid through the wetness pooling there. A low groan rumbled in his chest.

  He raised her hips until the tip of his erection rubbed across her opening. She slid down on him hard. For several long seconds they clung to each other. Zoe squeezed around him, pulling him deeper. Byron’s fingers dug into her hips. He lifted her slowly then lowered her quickly. Then repeated the movement faster this time. Until they were making love hard and fast on the couch. The fear and exultation of making it through another day fueled the fire between them.

  She couldn’t say the words he wanted her to say. Love had only led her down the wrong paths before. Loving Byron might make her ignor
e the way he deferred to his father, put up with the demands of his family, try to become the impeccable partner he’d originally had in Yolanda. She didn’t want to love him, but she could show him she cared in other ways. When his body tensed, and he clutched her tighter as he climaxed, she kissed him deeper. He could have her friendship, her respect, her desire, but she wasn’t sure she could give him her heart.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  BYRON SOUGHT OUT his dad the next morning. He found Grant in the kitchen, laughing and teasing the family’s chef, Jules.

  “Okay, now, you promised me bacon on Friday,” Grant was saying with a grin.

  Jules rolled her eyes then pointed a finger at Grant. “You know good and well I said if you ate all the meals I prepared this week you’d get bacon. How are you planning to stay healthy if you don’t eat properly?”

  Grant pounded his chest. “My heart is as strong as it was twenty years ago.”

  “Mmm hmm, I bet.” Jules put several slices of bacon on the plate Grant held out.

  Byron cleared his throat to get their attention. “Dad, can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

  Grant turned away from Jules and eyed Byron with cool detachment. A look he’d seen Grant give to Elaina hundreds of times, even India on a few occasions, but rarely had he gotten the look. He’d never crossed his dad. This was the first time Byron could remember ever being on the outs with him.

  “So you did stay the night,” Grant said.

  “I was tired, and it was a long day,” Byron replied. He walked over to the counter with the coffeemaker. “Good morning, Jules.”

  “Good morning, Mr. Byron,” she said. The teasing tone she’d had with his dad was replaced with the professional voice she used for the rest of the family.

  “Regardless of the reason, I’m glad you stayed.”

  Byron poured himself a cup of coffee. When he faced his dad again Grant watched him as if he was unsure of what to expect. His face may be indifferent, but Byron heard the concern in his dad’s voice. He’d been worried about him.

  “Upstairs or down?” Byron asked.