Sexual Politics Read Free

it all. But then, he wasn’t a casual observer. When he peered through a lens, he wasn’t looking for the cheesy smiles and perfect photo-ops. He was watching for the true emotions before everyone took their places, and after. His goal was to capture the honesty, the humanity people sometimes forgot to see in each other.
    He hoped she’d come to his show. He would have two tickets to the exclusive preview set aside for her.
    Sean prayed she’d only need one.
    * * * *
    Justine set her book down and took off her glasses, noting the time as she reached to turn off her bedside lamp. It was twelve-thirty and the prick wasn’t home yet. Not that she’d expected him to be. When Gary used the words, “Don’t wait up,” he generally meant them.
    She’d never felt so alone. There was no one she could confide in, not without jeopardizing his campaign. She might not care for the man anymore, but she still believed in his political platform. He was one of those rare men with the talent and stamina to bring off the impossible.
    Thinking back to the beginning of their relationship, she sighed bitterly at how idealistic and trusting she’d been. She didn’t know his every move was calculated with an end goal in mind. When he began to pursue her, she was so flattered her head spun. Their exciting whirlwind romance swept her off her feet and right into his bed. She’d never met a more passionate man. She admired it at the time. Not so much anymore. When you were the wife of a man with a short attention span where women are concerned, limitless passion was downright painful.
    She didn’t regret banning him from her bed. It was the right thing to do. Who knew what he might have brought back to her eventually. What she did regret was not having children. How long had he tried to get her pregnant before she decided to seek fertility treatment? Only then did her husband admit he’d conveniently neglected to tell her about the vasectomy he had two years before they met. He knew she wanted to be a mother!
    Betrayed and denied, she threw herself into creating Open Arms, Warm Hearts, a non-profit that worked to place unwanted children in good homes. There was a wall of photos at the office, a tribute to the success of her mission to build families—even if she never got one of her own.
    She missed her job, but right now she had to stump for the people’s candidate, playing her empty shell of a part with her fixed smiles and private sorrows. If she thought it was all to feed his monumental ego, she wouldn’t bother, but whether they shared a bed or not, they still shared the causes that drew them together in the first place. To see those through, she’d make personal sacrifices.
    It would just be nice to see her husband make a few sacrifices too. Alas, the more she retreated, the more he grew as a man to be reckoned with and the man to beat. She didn’t want to see his opponent in office. Phillip Gould’s agenda concerned her. People would be hurt by the policies he proposed. Unfortunately, Gould was garnering a lot of media attention, not to mention money, which meant Gary had better keep his pants zipped or all her sacrifices, and all his winning smiles, wouldn’t keep him in the senate.
    Unbidden, her mind drifted back to Sean O’Donnell again. She might stray off-topic, but she always returned to him. It was impossible not to contemplate the differences between these two men. Her husband sought the limelight. He had a preternatural instinct for where the cameras were and how to capitalize on his own image. She wasn’t sure if it was even possible to catch him off guard, not that the media didn’t try.
    Then there was Sean—quiet, unassuming, sensitive Sean. Clearly more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it, he had a gift for finding what others missed, or concealed. His revealing images forced people to feel, made them wake up and pay attention. Both men were influential in their own way, only Sean let his