Mad About You

retreating back. "That might be true, but I'll wager that Jasmine Crowne can't be bought."
    The bullish man stopped with his hand on the doorknob. "Listen, pal, I know she's a looker, but get real." He glanced around Ladden's messy showroom. "Do you honestly think the lady is going to dump the governor for this?"
    Ladden frowned, stricken. The man was right, of course.
    "Besides," Duncan said, his voice deceptively innocent, "I'd hate to see the fire marshal or the health inspector hanging around here all the time."
    Anger sparked deep in his gut, but Ladden remained outwardly calm. "I run an honest business and I have nothing to hide," he told the man, spreading his hands wide.
    "I was thinking more along the lines of your family's bar." Duncan's mouth twisted. "Cousins, I believe?"
    "That sounds like extortion," he said between clenched teeth.
    The man shrugged his thick shoulders. "Don't make it hard on yourself. If you ask me, the gov's doing you a favor—keeping you from humiliating yourself even more." Duncan jerked his head toward the crowd. "As for all those reporters out there, this billboard thing was a little joke that got out of hand, right?"
    Ladden nodded slowly, biting the inside of his cheek.
    "And you're a big supporter of the governor, right?"
    Once again, Ladden nodded.
    The man lowered his chin. "And you'll stay away from Jasmine Crowne."
    Ladden clenched his fists. "She comes here to buy furniture for her clients."
    Duncan leaned toward him, shaking his head as if Ladden were dense. "This Crowne woman has her sights set on being the first lady of the state. You think she's going to risk that just to shop in some junk store?" The man snorted, then exited Ladden's Castle with a bang.
    Ladden listened as the sound of the clanging bell faded, the noise obscured by the rising din of the crowd outside. His aunt pecked on the glass and waved. In a daze, he opened the door and held up his hands to stave off the swell of nearly two dozen bodies. Immediately, microphones were shoved in his face.
    "Mr. Sanderson, are you having an affair with Governor McDonald's girlfriend?"
    "Mr. Sanderson, how long have you been sleeping with Jasmine Crowne?"
    "Mr. Sanderson, have you made a cuckold out of the most powerful man in the state?"
    He winced, waving his aunt and uncle into the safety of the store. "This is a place of business, and I would appreciate it if you would all leave."
    "Sir," a woman shouted, "will you comment on the billboards that link you romantically to Jasmine Crowne?"
    He glanced at the cameras and saw Duncan standing in the back, apart from the crowd. Sweat popped out on his forehead. Although the odds of conjuring up any kind of smile under the circumstances seemed insurmountable, he forced the corners of his mouth upward and took a deep breath. "Ms. Crowne and I are... business associates. I have acquired several pieces of antique furniture at her request for use in her clients' homes and businesses, including her recent job of refurbishing the governor's mansion." He swallowed hard before continuing. "The billboards are a practical joke between friends that got out of hand. I have the utmost respect for Governor McDonald and I apologize if my, um, sense of humor has embarrassed either Ms. Crowne or the governor."
    "Mr. Sanderson," the reporter persisted, "are you saying you're not interested in Jasmine Crowne?"
    For one crazy instant, Ladden was tempted to say that yes, he was very much interested in Jasmine Crowne, that he loved her smile and her hair and the way her skin smelled, and that he'd be willing to challenge the power of the governor's office just to be near her... but he would be gambling with his cousins' business, painting himself as a nut, and Jasmine would never speak to him again—if indeed she would now, anyway. "I explained the nature of our relationship. I'm sorry if it isn't juicy enough for a scoop."
    He ducked back into the store and locked the door, feeling nauseated. He desperately needed to get away from here. Although he rarely used the window blinds, he lowered the ones that worked, stirring up a good amount of dust and dimming the interior of the store.
    "Beats all I ever did see," Ernie boomed, thumping Ladden on the back. A grin split his broad face as he informed Silvie, "He inherited my smarts, you know."
    Ladden gasped for air while Silvie laughed. "Ernie drove me to work this morning and when he saw those billboards, he nearly ran off the road." His aunt