Chapter Two
That was why he’d dragged her here on a Saturday afternoon after six months of silence?
Stephen had the grace to look abashed. “I know you’ll say it bends our rules, but the situation is unique.”
“Bends?” Tasha sent him a speaking look. “Try shatters.”
The rules between them were clear, and they hadn’t changed in the years since college—she was Owen’s old high school friend and he was Owen’s brother, and as far as everyone else was concerned, that was the extent of their relationship. They didn’t see each other in public outside of family functions or accidental meetings on the street. They didn’t travel in the same circles. They’d certainly never met in his office or gone on a date.
But a convenient loophole existed for those times when she and Stephen couldn’t help but give in to the chemistry between them. When that situation arose, usually every year or so, they found a private or semi-private place where they could jump each other’s bones and get it out of their systems. Then they went back to their lives, no harm done and no regrets.
Over the years Stephen had grown lax about those rules, but she never had. When he tried to approach her at the pub or one of Jeremy’s backyard parties to engage her in small talk, she made herself scarce. When he sent invitations to charity events, the way he did for every member of his family and their friends, she was always too busy to go. When she came with Jeremy to volunteer during Stephen’s reelection campaigns, she never looked his way or gave any indication that she was willing to lick more than stamps for the sexy politician.
Tasha had learned the hard way that diligence was essential when it came to resisting a Finn. She couldn’t let herself forget that this was the only kind of relationship they could have. Some might argue that it wasn’t a relationship at all, that it wasn’t healthy. But whatever it was, healthy or not, she’d never been willing to risk it. She didn’t want to think about the day it would end.
What Stephen was asking might speed that day along.
Setting the paperweight back on his desk, she tried not to sound as panicked as she felt. “Being your plus one in front of other politicians, in public, is definitely against our rules, Senator. You have to know that.”
His lips curled disdainfully. “Phil Burke is no politician.” Ignoring her gasp, he continued, “But he is big on security and secrecy. This is a very private function, with me as the special guest and the only representative present. Technically we wouldn’t be together in public.”
Tasha gaped at him. Philip Burke was wealthy, dangerous and, as the owner of the biggest newspaper in the state and his own talk radio station, responsible for revealing the scandalous secrets of any politician who wasn’t malleable enough to accept his money and play his game. No one could ever definitively prove Burke was crooked, but everyone knew it was true.
“Stephen Finn, what the hell kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?” she finally demanded.
“The complicated kind.” He grimaced. “I didn’t seek it out, believe me. Burke has been focused on me for a while. I think he sees me as something of a challenge. The feds contacted me a little over five months ago to let me know he was under investigation and ask for my help.”
“Which you said yes to because you’re a closet masochist with a death wish?”
He ignored her question. “Since then I’ve been slowly but surely allowing him to woo me. Lunches, dinner meetings where I let him think he’s getting to me. That I’m frustrated and not as idealistic as I used to be. Not exactly a lie, and that truth has served my purpose. I’ve also led him to believe my appetites are not for public consumption.”
“Has he threatened you?”
Stephen waved off her concern with a flip of his hand. “He likes to bring up my past, but there’s nothing threatening in that. I’ve never lied about it. He has implied knowledge about the rest of the family that could be construed as vaguely threatening—Seamus and his precarious situation with the kids, Dad’s connections to the Irish mob through good old Grandpa Finn…”
“Owen and Jeremy?” Tasha asked, concerned.
Stephen smiled at that. “Ours was one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage, Natasha. When the law passed, this city threw an impromptu weeklong celebration that was so over the top it got national media coverage. Coming after me for that would only make Burke look bad.” He shrugged. “But he’d no doubt pile it on top of the mountain of bullshit he’s collecting to use as leverage. I’ve been trying to keep his attention away from Jennifer, but she hasn’t made it easy. Now I have this invitation and I need to accept it. This is my chance to get him to make me an offer and be done with the whole dirty business.”