by K. A. Linde
“Almost?” She arched an eyebrow.
“I think you just need one more thing,” he said, pulling out a powder-blue box from his pocket.
“You weren’t kidding about surprises this morning,” she whispered.
He handed her the box and she took it in trembling hands. Tiffany’s. What the hell was her life? She opened the box and found a pair of pear-shaped drop diamond earrings, each about a carat, set in platinum. They were simple, elegant, and positively exquisite.
“On loan?” she breathed.
His hand found her chin and brought her face up to meet his. “For you.”
Wow. Brady had really outdone himself. But she felt rude rejecting the earrings after he had gone to all the trouble of picking them out for her, and they were beautiful. “Thank you,” she finally said.
She removed the pearls she had been wearing and placed the diamonds into her ears. She took a look at them in the mirror and smiled. They did look amazing, and complemented the dress to perfection.
He kissed her on the mouth softly when he caught hold of her. “You’re going to make it difficult to keep my hands to myself.”
“I sure hope so,” she murmured.
And then she kissed him. If they hadn’t had somewhere to go, she wasn’t sure he would have let her leave the apartment again.
They exited the building through the front lobby again and she noticed a shiny black stretch limo parked in front of the building. “Seriously?” she murmured.
“It’s the only way to travel,” Brady insisted.
The driver opened the door and Brady got in first, since Liz couldn’t possibly slide over in that dress. They drove across town to pick up Victoria and Daniel, who were waiting for them outside their hotel.
Victoria screamed when she saw Liz’s dress. “I feel underdressed,” Victoria said. She was wearing a floor-length halter number that looked great on her curves, but it might have been the first time Victoria was right: she couldn’t keep up with Versace.
“You look beautiful,” Liz reassured her.
“Oh I know, but you look . . .” Victoria pondered the right word and then smiled. “You look like the fucking First Lady.”
Liz blushed. “Can the First Lady wear strapless dresses?”
“You could. Right, Brady?” Victoria asked.
He smiled, that same adoring look in his eyes. “You can wear whatever you want.”
They all piled into the limo and then drove back into the center of the city. The driver dropped them off in front of a convention center, where they were quickly escorted toward a banquet hall. Brady placed his hand on Liz’s shoulder and pulled her aside.
“Mind if I talk to you before we go inside?” he asked.
“Oh, sure,” Liz said hesitantly.
“Y’all can just head in and get drinks. We’ll only be a minute,” Brady told Victoria and Daniel.
“See you inside,” Victoria said with a smile. Liz heard her say something about finding the bar.
“What’s up?” she asked nervously.
“More surprises. I hope you’re okay with this one.” She arched her eyebrow and waited for him to elaborate. “Well, I don’t mean to spring this on you, but my parents will be here tonight.”
Liz swallowed nervously. “Your parents?”
“Yeah. Nothing formal. I just thought it would be nice to reintroduce y’all before we enter the banquet.”
“Oh. Well, okay,” she said, as if she had a choice.
“Don’t worry.” He kissed her forehead. “They’re going to love you.”
Liz nodded nervously and tried to straighten out her wrinkle-free dress. If they were going to pick a night to play meet the parents, at least she knew she looked fabulous.
Brady led her around a corner and into a smaller, nearly empty parlor. Her palms sweated, and she took a deep breath to try to calm herself. Brady squeezed her hand for reassurance and she plastered on a smile.
“Ah, there you are, sweetie,” Brady’s mother said, walking up and giving him a kiss on his cheek. “Your father was just wondering when you’d be in. Liz.” She gave Liz a warm hug. “So nice to see you again.”
“You too, Mrs. Maxwell,” Liz said with a cheery smile.
“Oh, honey, please call me Marilyn.”
“Of course.”
“And I’m Jeff,” Brady’s father said, coming forward and extending his hand. Ever the politician. She shook his hand and felt herself relaxing. “We met at the restaurant in Chapel Hill, correct?”
“Yes, sir,” she responded.
“I love that place,” he said cordially. “We should all go back when we’re home again.”
“I think so too,” Brady said, wrapping his arm loosely around Liz’s waist.
“Then it’s settled,” Marilyn said. “We’ll get together later this spring.”
“Liz is graduating from UNC this May, so maybe around then,” Brady suggested casually.
“Oh, that sounds lovely. I spent so many years there teaching chemistry. My first love,” Marilyn said.
“Second,” Jeff corrected, kissing his wife softly on the forehead.
“Well, of course, but I think I loved chemistry first.” She shrugged unapologetically.
Liz just stared at them in awe. They were totally adorable and in love. She hoped that she would be like them one day.
“Let’s not keep everyone waiting,” Jeff said, ushering them to a side door.
They walked into the banquet hall and found it full of people dressed to the nines in formal wear. Tables were set up around the room for dinner, which was about to be served, and a dance floor took up a large portion of the front of the room.
“What’s this for, anyway?” Liz asked.
Brady shrugged. “Just a state dinner. We have them all the time.”
“Is the president going to show up?”
“Probably not. Usually the money goes to a charity. I believe this one is for children’s literacy.”
“A cause we can all get behind.”
“Indeed,” he said, motioning for her to follow his parents to a table. Victoria and Daniel were already seated at the designated spot.
Introductions were made and then everyone sat down for dinner. A couple appeared to fill the last two vacant spots and they seemed to be good friends of Brady’s parents. Brady filled Liz in that the man was one of the senators from Massachusetts.
Dinner came and went with no problems or pauses in conversation. Brady’s parents were expert conversationalists and kept the company entertained the whole night. At one point, Victoria insisted on switching spots with Liz so that she could speak to Marilyn about Johns Hopkins. She was working in genetics, but Marilyn had worked nearly thirty years in chemistry and knew faculty all over the country. Daniel weighed in at one point and soon the table was full of science speak that made Liz’s eyes glaze over.
Once dessert was cleared and it was clear that they weren’t going to pull Victoria and Daniel away from Brady’s mother anytime soon, Brady stood and offered her his hand. “Dance?”
She glared at him. “You know I don’t dance.”
“I can make anyone look good.”
“Yes, I know, but that was before anyone knew who I was.”
Brady pushed his hand forward, telling her very clearly that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Liz, please.”
Oh, and he asked nicely. She dropped her hand in his and let him help her up. “Only because you begged,” she whispered cattily.
“I won’t be the only one later tonight,” he growled into her ear as he directed her to the dance floor.
She bit her lip. “I’ll promise to act like I don’t enjoy it.”
“Sounds like someone needs a spanking to remember who is in charge.”
Her cheeks felt warm as she moved into
his arms on the dance floor. “You wouldn’t.”
“Don’t tell me what I would and wouldn’t do.”
He twirled her around the floor and she focused on keeping up, but his eyes were gleaming with triumph at stumping her. “What if I enjoy it?” she finally asked him.
He smiled. “Then I’ll spank harder.”
“You should put your money where your mouth is.”
“Oh, I will,” he said, shifting her closer. “And my money is all over your body right now.”
An image of Brady’s mouth touching every inch of her body flew into her mind, and she licked her lips at the thought. Oh, yes, she wouldn’t mind any of this one bit.
The song ended and Brady, knowing what was good for him, pulled her off of the dance floor. She smiled up at him, lost in their own world. Here she was in a red silk Versace dress, Jimmy Choos, and Tiffany earrings at a charity banquet with her boyfriend, a sitting congressman. She knew this was some kind of fairy tale, but she didn’t mind living it for a night.
Then she turned around to go find refreshments, and came face-to-face with Erin Edwards.
“Oh,” Liz whispered. She didn’t know what else to say when confronted with the woman who had singlehandedly lost Liz her job at the New York Times.
“Hi,” Erin said with an easy, casual smile that Liz immediately recognized as the woman’s version of a campaign mask. She looked pretty with her dark hair in loose waves to her shoulders. She was wearing a soft blue floor-length dress with extensive beading that came up over one shoulder.
“Hello, Erin. I didn’t know you would be in attendance tonight,” Brady said formally, not taking his hand off of Liz’s waist.
“I received tickets last minute.”
Liz glanced around to see if anyone had noticed that they were all talking. The last thing she wanted was for it to end up in the paper that they’d had a confrontation with Erin.
“How have you been?” Brady asked, as if she hadn’t sold them out to the press. But of course it made sense. They had to look like they played well with others. Over the course of his life Brady had acquired restraint in talking to people in public.
“Fine. Just fine.” Erin took a step forward, lowering her voice. “How are you? Are you happy?”
This at least Brady could answer with ease. “Yes. Very.”
Erin nodded and tried to hide the pain that crossed her face. It was then that Liz realized she had been looking at all of this wrong. Erin wasn’t out to get them. She hadn’t even been after her fifteen minutes of fame. She was a morning anchor, after all. She was on television every day. She was just a hurt woman still very much in love with Brady.
Liz knew that feeling. She knew what it felt like to be standing in Erin’s shoes. Erin had probably thought that she and Brady would be a power couple, and when it had ended, she hadn’t known what to do. Liz had wallowed for months after she and Brady separated, holding her secret to herself for over a year. Erin had gone straight to the press when she had put everything together, or so she thought. The other woman had done it because she was hurt, thinking that she had loved Brady for nothing even while they had been together.
Maybe Erin wasn’t the bad guy after all. Staring at her looking so small in the banquet hall made Liz actually feel . . . sorry for her.
Losing Brady had been terrible. Liz could understand what she was going through.
“Well . . . well good,” Erin said, forcing a smile back on her face. “I just wanted to check. I know things are . . . tense.”
That was one word for it.
“But I just wanted to talk to you . . .” she continued, “to see how you were doing.”
“We’re doing just fine,” Brady said, emphasizing the we. “I hope you’re doing the same.”
“Yes, of course,” Erin said, stalling. “I should say that I’m sorry, Liz.”
Liz fidgeted. She hadn’t expected Erin to even address her. “Oh?”
“I’m sorry for making things worse than they are. I understand how the press can be.”
Liz wasn’t sure how sincere her apology was, since she had only just talked to the press this week. Maybe she had made a rash decision like Hayden had. A couple days after selling her out to the newspaper, Hayden had tried to apologize too. She wondered if Hayden had been feeling the same thing that Erin had—that he had made a mistake, he loved her, and wanted to make it all right. It was too little too late for both of them at this point.
“Thank you,” Liz said. She didn’t forgive the other woman, but she could accept her apology.
Erin seemed to realize that she couldn’t say anything else to mediate the situation and gave them a half smile before departing.
“Well, that was fun,” Liz said with a sigh.
“She was perfectly nice.”
“She’s still in love with you,” she stated simply.
He shrugged. “That doesn’t matter.”
“Do you think she was really sorry?”
“As sorry as she’ll ever be, I would guess.”
That would have to be good enough.
They walked back over to his parents and saw that Daniel was talking quite animatedly with Marilyn. As they approached, Victoria stood and smiled radiantly at them. She threw her arms around Liz and whirled her in place.
“Thank you for bringing us. Marilyn is brilliant!” Victoria crooned.
Liz laughed and tried to steady herself. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“You seem tense.”
“Erin was here.”
“Brady’s bitch ex?” Victoria said not too subtly.
Liz glanced around. “Yes. Keep it down.”
“Oh right. Present company and all that. So, what happened?”
“She apologized.”
“God, what is it with you and backstabbing assholes apologizing after they do something wrong? I bet these are the same people who slapped kids on the playground when they were little and then turned themselves in to the teacher,” Victoria said dramatically.
“That does sound like Hayden,” Liz confessed.
Victoria giggled. “It really does.”
“Let’s just forget about it. Things will work out.”
“Oh, look at you, Ms. Optimism.”
“Come on, bitch. Let’s go dance!”
And they did. Despite the funny looks at the two of them together on the dance floor, giggling and cracking jokes, they had an all-around good time. Brady commandeered Liz at some point and Daniel scooped up Victoria. They spent the remainder of the night locked in each other’s arms and making the most of their time together.
As the crowd dwindled, Brady’s parents came by to say good night. Marilyn spoke briefly to Victoria and Daniel, offering them any help that they needed and saying to feel free to get hold of her with questions. Liz received a hug from both of them and then they were gone.
“We should get home,” Brady said into her ear as they swayed back and forth to a slow song. “I’m thinking about all of the ways I’m going to make you beg.”
He kissed her softly on the mouth and then gestured for them to leave. Victoria and Daniel followed them out. The limo ride was relatively quiet as they all basked in the afterglow of the party. They dropped the other couple off at Johns Hopkins and then returned to Brady’s penthouse.
Brady closed the door and immediately reached for her. “How fast can I get you out of Versace?”
“It’s just one zipper,” she teased.
“Let me see.” His hand slid down the side of the dress and tugged down on the zipper.
Liz sighed. She had been trying to push this thought out of her mind all weekend, but if the conversation waited until tomorrow then they wouldn’t talk about it at all. She had wanted to tell him in person and here she was with her opportunity.
�
��Can we talk first?” she asked, biting her lip.
“What do we have to talk about?” he asked, nuzzling her neck. “I’m not usually a talk-first kind of guy.”
Liz pressed her hands on the front of his tux. “I know, but I think we should.”
“You’ve been teasing me all night and you’d rather talk?” he asked seriously.
“Rather talk? No. Need to talk? Yes.”
He dropped his hands from her zipper and nodded. “All right. Are you okay? Did something happen?”
“Well, kind of. I just . . . wanted to tell you in person,” she said, walking over to the couch and taking a seat. He sat next to her with a concerned look on his face. “I lost my job offer from the New York Times.”
“What?” he asked. “When? How did that happen?”
“It happened Tuesday after the article ran about Erin.”
“Tuesday,” he said numbly.
“Yes. I, um . . . I really wanted to tell you,” Liz tried to explain. “Nancy, my contact at the paper, called and said that they could have overlooked our relationship and they wanted to see if it would all blow over. But then when more and more information came out, she couldn’t fight her superiors. They had to cut me loose.”
Brady ran his hands back through his hair. “Cut you loose. They cut you loose because . . . of me.”
“Well, because of Erin.”
He gave her a pointed look. “Erin is because of me. I’ve ruined everything for you. You left me for my career to begin with, and now that we’re together I’ve destroyed yours. You’re not working for the UNC paper and you no longer have the Times. That’s the equivalent of my losing the campaign.” Even saying that seemed to pain him.
“Look, it’s not your fault. I chose this, Brady. I chose you. We both knew what could happen.”
“Yeah, but, Liz . . . your dreams of becoming a political journalist. I took you to the White House briefing room yesterday. If I’d known . . .”
“I still would have wanted you to take me.” She took his hand in hers. “Dreams can change, anyway. My mentor is looking to get me into graduate programs’ late admittance. I’m going to apply to some online columnist positions. I’ll be okay.”
“I know plenty of people who could help.”