Page 103 of Nothing to Tell

“Wow,” Roxie said, something saucy curving her lips.“That kind of turned me on.”

“My Lola loves a cynic.”

“Also known as a realist.”

Zairn let that one slide.“There’s all kinds of people out there, some do settle.That’s an unrefuted fact.”

“Thank you, Mr.Patronizing.”Roxie leaned a little closer.“Harper, honey, I was you.I still am you.Sometimes.People do settle.I believe that a hundred percent.”

“That’s exactly what I just said.”

Roxie ignored her husband.“Not everyone.Some.Not all.I was settling with my ex before Z.I didn’t know it at the time, not exactly.He’s an amazing guy.Smart.Funny.On the fast track, or some kind of track, I don’t know.”

“And that’s the first time Lola didn’t lead with his penchant for suicide.”

“His penchant for—”

“Porter does have a penchant for suicide—given he’s a prosecutor going after a mob boss—but that’s beside the point.”

“What is your point, Lola?That no guy measures up to me?That’s public knowledge, babe.Why’d you think you have so much security?”

“Your many, many admirers are my posse now, friend.My Delights, my Crimsettes—”

“My Crimsettes—”

“Formerly,” Roxie said, nudging him with a shoulder when he got closer.Her friend still leaned across the table.“The wheels turn in his world because I power the engine.”

“You power something.”Zairn nipped his wife’s waist, bringing her body backward into his embrace.“My Empress.”

“It’s been almost two years, right?Since you got together.”

“Since we met.”

“I’ve never met a couple who…”

“Still want each other?”Roxie asked.“It’s why some of us have to look so long.It does happen, and not just with us.”

Some of the people she’d met at the Hunt anniversary party were more than just settling.

“I didn’t really think about it, not until… I don’t think you’re settling.”

“You don’t have to settle either, honey.You deserve the real thing.Honestly?I’d say unless it’s real, there’s just no point.I’d definitely rather have lived my life alone than spent the whole thing with Porter.”

“Sure about that, Lo?Could’ve got you all the way to the White House.”

“If I wanted the White House, Skippy, I’d have the White House.I wouldn’t need a man to get me there.”

“If any woman is capable,” Bastian said.“Roxie’s probably our best bet.”

“I’d have no problem serving under her,” Zairn drawled with such innuendo that Roxie laughed.

“You could be First Lord.”

“I’ll be your first anything, baby.”

It wasn’t just that they weren’t settling, they still had fun.Someone could be forgiven for thinking they were in the early throes of a new relationship.If this was what they were like now, what were they before?

“I suppose it’s important to appreciate each other in private,” she said.“It must be difficult to have the whole world watching.”