by Sienna Snow
“Don’t worry. Sam said Ashur had a meeting in New York, so he couldn’t make it.”
She visibly relaxed.
Tara and Ashur had been a couple the summer before Tara had left for college. Ashur had just graduated from Harvard and was transitioning into his role in his father’s company when he’d run into Tara, who was interning on the data collections floor.
They’d fallen for each other so hard, but Ashur’s father had orchestrated the demise of the relationship. He was against his son having any relationship with the daughter of a no-name programmer in his company. Minesh Kumar expected his children to marry within their circle of influence, and Tara was definitely not part of that group. Ashur’s father threatened Tara into choosing between Ashur and her family’s livelihood. In the end, Tara called it off with Ashur. She’d never told him the reason, and until a few years ago she hadn’t known that Minesh Kumar had told his son that she’d left him for another man.
“Good. I’m not ready for any incident with Ashur. He hasn’t gotten over the past, and I’m too tired right now to battle with him or his representatives.”
I frowned. “Did I miss something? When did you guys interact? Last I knew, the two of you avoided each other like the plague.”
During Samina’s election, Tara had used honed disinterest to handle any contact involving Ashur, pretending she couldn’t see him or his six-foot-three frame.
“Do me a favor, forget I said anything. I need a relaxing weekend without any reminders of the world outside your gates.”
“Okay, I hear you. Let’s partake in a few drinks and lounge by the pool before dinner. I have all your favorite food on the menu.”
“That sounds incredible. Hopefully, I’ll be able to roll out of here by the end of the weekend.”
“God, this is the life,” Tara said as she relaxed back in her lounge chair.
She wore dark gold-rimmed shades that matched the beading on her bikini, giving her the look of a world-traveling goddess. The golden hue of her skin made me envious and wish I could tan as beautifully as she could without burning.
“No kidding. Now the only thing missing is a hot cabana boy to wait on us,” I said and then sipped my cocktail.
Thoughts of Veer wearing a tight pair of board shorts and serving me drinks popped into my mind. That would be the perfect addition to the day.
“Stop thinking of my almost-brother as if he were some edible candy. That’s gross.” Samina came to sit at the bottom of my deck chair and handed me a bottle of sunscreen. “Put this on before you burn. You, my dear, aren’t blessed with the golden complexions Tara and I are.”
Sam’s soft pink-and-blue long-sleeved chiffon cover-up showed the slight swell of her pregnant belly underneath. No one would know her little secret unless they were looking. She was so beautiful. I’d told her pregnancy made her glow and it was true.
“Yes, ma’am.” I took the container, squeezed out a quarter-sized amount, and began to rub the protective lotion onto my arms and legs. “Fantasizing about the man I’m with is a huge difference from you banging my brother every chance you get and not hiding the fact. At least Veer and I keep it under the radar.”
“What? Wait.” Tara coughed and sat up, taking off her glasses. “I thought you were seeing Kevin. Did you guys break up? Someone tell me when you and Veer George started bumping uglies? I’ve been out of the country, but I would have heard any gossip about the governor of Texas and the junior senator from Texas.”
“Yeah, about that. You see. We umm…” It had been so long since Tara and I had gotten together that she’d never learned about the change in Veer’s and my relationship status.
“The reason you haven’t heard about it—” Sam pushed my legs to the side and then shimmied her body into the minuscule space next to me, “—is because the two dummies have it under wraps. Kevin is the cover for their illicit affair.”
“Sam, there are at least four other loungers for you to use. We don’t have to share one as if we were little kids who can’t be without each other.”
“You’re comfy.” She rested her head on her hand and leaned against my thighs.
I rolled my eyes. “Veer and I weren’t supposed to happen.”
“I knew you’d end up jumping each other one day. There was always this undercurrent of sexual tension with you two.” Tara set her glasses back on her face and then took a sip of her drink.
I frowned. Was everyone around me aware that we’d had the hots for each other for years? I guessed so if Tara picked up on it.
“Anyway,” I interjected, “now that we’re together, we have to protect our careers.”
Tara nodded. “I get it. If you want the Republican nomination in four years, you can’t be seen as a liberal. And coming out with Veer as your man will cost you dearly, no matter your conservative voting record.”
I stared at her. She’d hit the nail on the head with minimal information.
“Don’t look at me like that. Why do you think I haven’t gotten into anything serious with any of the guys I’ve dated over the last few years? I’m a human rights attorney with many liberal ties. Any man who gets involved with me will have to be someone who can handle my agenda and my ability to get into politically costly situations.”
“Or maybe it has to do with the fact you’re still in love with my brother,” Sam said, not looking in Tara’s direction, but smiling like the Cheshire cat. “For the record, he’s not over you, either.”
“Sam, I know you mean well, but you have to stop meddling. Ashur and I are ancient history. I gave up that dream years ago.” Tara clenched her jaw and gazed out into the distance. “All I can hope for is that we can be in the same room without it filling with tension. So far, we’re failing miserably.”
Something besides the media fallout from the last week was happening.
“What’s going on, Tara?” I asked and looked at Sam, who shrugged her shoulders. “We’re here for you. Did you and Ashur hook up and it went badly?”
Tara set her cocktail down. “God no, nothing like that.”
“Then what?” Sam probed.
“I suggest you ask Veer. He knows all about it.” Tara released a deep sigh. “Can we please forget about everything else and veg? The next few days are going to be my only free weekend for months. You see, my law partner decided to become a senator and left me with ten years’ worth of cases.”
“Sorry, not sorry,” Sam retorted. “I have enough on my plate with members of the Senate.”
“On second thought, I’d rather deal with the Clint Bassetts of the world than deal with members of Congress. I say, more power to the both of you.” Tara lifted her glass toward Sam and me with a grin, then almost immediately her smile disappeared. She slipped to sitting, and her relaxed demeanor turned tense.
I glanced in the direction she looked and nearly swallowed my tongue.
Veer, Ashur, and Kevin walked in our direction.
Damn, they looked good. The three men oozed masculine power and confidence. They were all well over six feet tall with bodies honed from years in the military and triathlon training. The first time I’d seen them together, I’d thought a girl had to be dead not to notice their sex appeal. They’d just returned from a tour in Afghanistan and had come down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. By the end of the long weekend, they’d had every woman they’d encountered thinking unladylike thoughts.
“Nice outfit, Jaci.” Veer scanned me from head to toe, making me feel a tingle that I should have assuaged with his body earlier in the morning.
“Thank you.” I licked my lips and sat up. The last thing I wanted anyone to notice was the arousal pooling between my legs. Thankfully my bikini top had enough embroidery to hide my pebbled nipples.
Ashur’s expression was anything but happy. He stared at Tara with an intensity that said he either wanted to fuck her senseless or yell at her. It was probably both. I was going to have to have a long talk with Veer about inviting Ashur when he knew Tara wa
s going to be at the house.
I peeked at Sam, who had a scowl to match her brother’s. She glanced my way and mouthed, “What the fuck is he doing here?”
I shrugged and mouthed back, “He’s your brother, how should I know?”
“Hello, ladies. Devin asked me to tell you the caterers have just left, and everything is ready for dinner.” Kevin approached me, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “Are you planning on feeding an army?”
“One thing you can say is that you never leave my house hungry.”
“That’s true, I can’t dispute that.” He moved to greet Sam.
“Hiya, handsome.” Sam reached up and hugged Kevin tight and then gestured to Tara. “Kevin, have you met my law partner? Tara Zain, this is the super handsome Kevin Stanton.”
Kevin moved toward her and crouched down beside her.
“Hello. I can’t express what a privilege it is to meet you in person. I follow all the adventures of Commander Zain.” He took Tara’s hand in his and kissed it. “Is it true that you told the terrorist Usaf Nazarri to go fuck himself when he refused to negotiate with you because you were a woman?”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Tara said tightly, and I knew those words were directed at the man whose presence she was doing her best to ignore. “Perception and hearsay aren’t always reality.”
“If I were you, I’d be proud of the press coverage. You’ve started a movement that has brought attention to the plight of women across the world. You’d make a fabulous running mate for Jacinta in four years.” Kevin winked at me.
His idea had merit. Once the drama of Tara’s current situation with the president calmed and her name was cleared, hopefully sooner rather than later, if my plan came through, her liberal side would be the perfect companion to my conservatism. Together, we’d appeal to a majority of voters. I’d have to talk about this in private with Tara sometime during this weekend.
Never mind. Strike that thought.
If I couldn’t be seen with Veer as the man in my life, having Tara with me on the ticket would be even more detrimental. Her stance on issues was twice as liberal and leftist as Veer’s.
“Uh-oh, I see the wheels turning,” Kevin said. “I’d be worried, Tara, very worried.”
I caught the amused gleam in Kevin’s eyes. He knew as well as I did that Tara wasn’t even a remote possibility. He was only steering the conversation away from the tension between Ashur and Tara.
Tara smirked. “I’m familiar with her antics. Too bad for her that I won’t be old enough when the time comes to pick a running mate. I don’t turn thirty-five until after the election.”
I huffed and then stood.
“Shot down before the idea could take root. I completely forgot you’re a baby compared to us.” I walked toward Ashur, hoping if I brought him into the conversation, he’d stop staring daggers into Tara. “How’s it going, grumpy?”
He moved his gaze from Tara to me and smirked. “As usual. Nothing new to report.”
“Right. I buy that. You’re always up to something, Ashur Kumar. How was New York?”
“Uneventful. My meeting never happened because I was stood up.” He glanced behind me at Tara for a second. “I guess they had better things to do.”
Okay, something was definitely up between those two and it was more than their past. When I got Veer alone, he was going to get an earful.
“Think of it this way—you get to spend a fabulous weekend with three gorgeous women and your closest friends.”
A smile touched his lips. “I can see the merits of that.”
I threaded my arm through his and turned us toward the house. “Come on, everyone. Let’s freshen up and have dinner.”
Chapter Six
“They haven’t killed each other,” I said to Kevin, a little before eight as we walked down the path leading to the gazebo overlooking the Colorado River. “Dinner was fun, albeit a bit tense.”
“It’s early.” Kevin adjusted the drink cooler he carried in his hands. “Besides, they’re avoiding one another. I cringe to think what it will be like if they end up alone. At least we have Tyler to play buffer.”
At the beginning of dinner, Ashur and Tara had taken opposite ends of the room and for the most part engaged in various conversations around us. It wasn’t until my twin Tyler arrived from DC that the mood lightened in the house. Tyler had announced no shop talk was allowed. He’d endured a hellish week in the House like I had in the Senate, and all he wanted to do was pretend he wasn’t a grown-up for one weekend.
He’d ordered me to keep drinks and laughter flowing. And since I lived on a private estate, my security would keep anyone who thought to invade our hiatus from public life at a distance.
All of my security personnel were former Navy Seals who’d gone into private protection. And anyone who thought to cross them would encounter five very angry men who would kick the trespasser’s ass.
“Since we’re alone, I have a bone to pick with you, Senator Camden.”
I had a feeling I was about to get my ass handed to me. I’d made what Veer and I shared a secret. The only thing Kevin knew was that we saw each other on occasion to scratch an itch. Now, with the heated looks Veer and I sent each other, there was no way of hiding the true depths of our feelings.
“Okay. What did I do now?”
“Why didn’t you tell me that you and Veer were a hell of a lot more than fuck buddies?”
I opened my mouth to deny it instinctively but shut it fast when Kevin glared at me.
“Don’t even pretend that you have no idea what I’m talking about. I saw the looks the two of you were passing. Hell, if it weren’t for the ice between Ash and Tara the room would have combusted from the emotions and sexual tension between the two of you.”
I cringed and then felt my cheeks heat. Veer had taken every opportunity to brush by me or give me his I-plan-to-fuck-you-stupid looks. There was no way I could hide my reaction to him. For most of dinner, my libido was doing overtime as was my will to keep from jumping Veer right in front of everybody.
“For the same reason you haven’t told me who you’re dating or that you are head-over-heels in love with him.”
“Mine could ruin our careers.”
I stopped walking and folded my arms. “Did you forget it would be the same for me?”
“It is night-and-day different to be found out you were dating a liberal than for anyone to find out I’m gay. Yours is about ambition, not your sexuality.”
I sighed. “Sorry, there’s no contest. I’m an asshole.”
“It’s okay, Jaci.” Kevin set the cooler on the ground and then wrapped an arm around my waist. “Did you think I wouldn’t approve?”
“Well, since Veer is one of your closest friends, I thought you’d be pissed when you found out that our relationship had gotten deeper than scratching an itch. After all, you and I are the ones positioning ourselves to get married.”
“Do you think I would ever begrudge you happiness?” He turned me to face him. “Just as you’d do for me, I would step aside without a thought. Besides, I’d hoped it would become more than the two of you scratching an itch.”
“For the record, I was the one who convinced Veer to keep the depth of our relationship under wraps.”
He lifted a brow. “I have no doubt it was all your idea. Veer isn’t a sneaking-around kind of guy. He’s more in your face. If he did this, he’s in love with you.”
“And I love him.”
“Baby girl. You’ve been in love with him for the past ten years. I’m just glad you finally did something about it, instead of pining for him from afar.”
I frowned. “How would you know this?”
“I’m not blind. I knew how you felt since Veer and Ashur deployed for the first time. Then when Veer and Ash were shot down, you took it as hard as Samina did.”
I hated thinking about the day I’d learned the news. I’d come back to the apartment I’d shared to find Sam rolled into a ball o
n our couch crying. No matter what I’d done, I couldn’t get her to tell me what happened. After a little while, I’d pieced together some of the puzzle and called my father, who could get details. He’d used his connections to learn Veer and Ashur had gone missing a week earlier. Insurgents had held them captive until a rescue mission found them barely conscious and with severe injuries. The base doctors had placed them in medically induced comas to keep them stable and then transferred them to Germany for further treatment.
Thankfully, Kevin was working on a different assignment that kept him restricted to the base. When I’d emailed him for information on the status of Veer and Ashur, he’d told me it was classified, and he wasn’t allowed to give me any updates.
For weeks, both Sam and I were walking zombies, going to class, work, and then back home to study. We’d shut ourselves in our apartment. The only visitor we had was Devin. He’d come to see Sam every chance he’d gotten to keep her strong. My poor brother had had no clue that I needed comfort too.
“You’re right. Veer meant something to me from the first time I met him.” I took a seat on the cooler and Kevin joined me.
“If it makes you feel better—” he nudged my elbow, “—he had the hots for you back then too.”
I scrunched my face. “Right, I buy that.”
“You learn a lot about a man when you’re stuck in a foreign country for months on end. He had it bad for you, but he knew as well as you did that you ran in different circles that could never mix. He was a liberal even then, and we were in the middle of combat.”
“Apparently it didn’t stop us in the long run.”
“It was bound to happen. And Vegas provided the perfect opportunity to act on your attraction.”
“How did you figure out it was Vegas?”
I’d never told Kevin when my affair with Veer had started. I’d only said to him that Veer and I hooked up whenever I was in town.
He scoffed. “You may be the child prodigy, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look back and see when the vibe between the two of you changed from innocent flirtation to a constant emission of lust.”