Rumor Has It by Cheris Hodges

I’m guessing she took his side. You want to lash out and that’s why you’re here. If you really want to help me, send a donation to my campaign, vote for me, or”—he closed the space between them and drew her into his arms—“let me kiss you.”
    â€œWhat?” she asked, blinking as he lifted her chin.
    â€œI want to kiss you.” Before she could reply, Jackson covered her mouth with his and Liza melted. He was a skilled kisser. Smooth. Tender. Delicious. And his bare chest against her body caused a river to flow between her thighs. Just before losing herself in lust and longing, she remembered why she’d come there.
    Pulling back, she took a deep breath and turned for the door. “Liza,” Jackson called out. “Wait.”
    In midstep, she stopped and looked at him. “What?”
    â€œI’m sorry, I shouldn’t have . . .”
    â€œNo, you shouldn’t have. Instead, you should’ve done this,” she said as she rushed over to him and threw herself into his arms. Liza nibbled his full bottom lip and then gave him a wonton lick across his lip. Jackson moaned, caught off guard and highly aroused.
    â€œDamn.”
    â€œNow that we’ve gotten that out of the way, can we talk business?”
    Jackson looked at the clock on the coffeemaker. He now had thirty minutes to get to his event. “I can’t now,” he said. “How about we meet later for dinner?”
    She slapped her hand on her hip. “I know you’re going to this voter turnout thing, organizing drivers and a couple of churches to get ‘souls to the polls.’ You won’t have to do all of that if you just expose Robert for the lying piece of—”
    â€œYou’re really starting to sound like a jealous ex,” he said. “Meet me at seven-thirty.”
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œAnywhere but the Capital Grille. Bad things seem to happen to politicians who eat there.”
    Liza laughed, despite herself. “There’s always Amelie’s,” she said.
    â€œSounds good to me. Or better yet, meet me here. I don’t think this is a conversation we should have in public.”
    â€œSounds even better,” she replied as she walked to the front door. Jackson fought the urge to kiss her again, and from the look on her face, she was doing the same thing. But that kiss was simply amazing and the only reason he wanted to see her tonight. He wasn’t going to use her photos or any inside information she had on Robert. What he wanted was to get inside Liza’s mind, heart, and soul. Even if she was the enemy’s best friend.

Chapter 11
    Liza sat in her car feeling confused and angry. Angry with herself for being so distracted by a man without a shirt on and not being able to keep her mouth and tongue to herself; she hadn’t gone there to kiss that man. But goodness, it felt so good.
    What was she thinking? Someone needed to see those pictures and bring Robert down. Had Jackson been right? Was she acting like a jealous ex because her feelings were hurt? The truth of the matter was, she’d been more disappointed by Chante’s reaction. Her sorority sister should have known that if she’d wanted Robert she would’ve had him a long time ago.
    If either of them thought she’d be envious of what she now knew was a farce of a relationship, they were wrong and weren’t the friends she’d believed they were. As she started her car, her phone beeped, signaling she had a Google alert. She’d deal with that later. Right now, she wanted to see if Robert was worth saving. Pulling into the parking lot of the Montgomery campaign headquarters, she decided that maybe she’d been mistaken and he’d confessed his sins to Chante after she left.
    She walked in the front door and was about to bypass the receptionist when Nic appeared out of what seemed like thin air.
    â€œYou can’t be here,” he