by K. A. Linde
He cringed. Brady Maxwell actually cringed. “They are, but that’s long in the past.”
“Long in the past like two years ago, when she was your date that time you flew me to Hilton Head?”
“She was my date, but if you remember correctly, I told you that she wasn’t much of a date and that nothing was going on between us. Because nothing is going on between us, Liz. Absolutely nothing,” he told her.
She wanted to believe him. She really did. But she wasn’t sure she could trust his words at this moment. “Then how do you explain those messages? That doesn’t read like absolutely nothing.”
“Those texts were completely out of line. Chelsea and I had a sort of relationship for a while. It wasn’t serious.”
“It wasn’t public? It was on your terms? You had her when you wanted her?” Liz asked harshly.
“No. Please listen to me,” he said, his voice softening. “She is nothing like you. She can’t even compare to you.”
“Then why is she sending you messages asking you to fuck her?” she yelled in his face.
Brady remained resolute. “I don’t know. Probably because she’s drunk. She messaged me at the start of the summer insinuating that she wanted to start something up again, and I told her no, that you and I were serious.”
“What about all the text messages? What about turning your phone off when she messaged you at Justin’s? What about you acting exactly the way you did when you and I were hiding something?” she demanded, crossing her arms.
“I can say it a million times if you want me to. There’s nothing going on with Chelsea and me. I wasn’t trying to hide anything. She was messaging me about work. Insistently, really, and it was annoying,” he said with a sigh. “If I was trying to hide her would I keep telling you that she was calling and have her show up at events and give you my cell phone?”
“Oh, yeah, because it’s great to know that if you really wanted to hide something from me you would be better at it.”
“I’m not saying that! God, this is all coming out wrong,” he said, reaching forward and grasping her shoulders gently. “I’m saying that I love you. I love you with all of my heart. I love you so much that when I look at you I feel completely right . . . like I’ve both found myself and lost myself in the depths of your blue eyes. I could never cheat on you, because the thought of being with another woman repulses me. You intrigued me from day one, and each day it only gets better. Don’t you remember? I’ll always be your airplane.”
Liz closed her eyes as she soaked in Brady’s words. Airplanes. Damn airplanes always did her in.
Why did he have to be equal parts charming and persuasive? Couldn’t she have fallen for someone whose career didn’t depend on being able to convince thousands of people to like him? And the hardest part was that she didn’t like him . . . she loved him wholeheartedly. She wanted to succumb to his easy words, throw herself into his arms, and forget that any of this had happened. But the ache in her chest held her.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Chelsea? I was around her this whole time. She was probably laughing in my oblivious face. You spend all of this time hating on Hayden and being jealous of a relationship that’s dead, but you don’t think that I have the right to know that I’m going to be around an ex of yours?” she asked. Her eyes fluttered open and she met his gaze head-on.
“To be honest, it didn’t cross my mind. After I told her that I no longer saw her that way, I assumed she would just move on and act professionally by never bringing it up again. I was clearly wrong.”
“How does it feel to admit that?” she asked with a harsh laugh.
“It doesn’t happen often, but I do make mistakes.” One hand slid to the small of her back and the other up into her hair. “Like letting you walk out the door two years ago and not following you . . . demanding you see reason . . . offering you the world.”
He dropped his mouth down onto hers, but she pulled back after a second with a sigh. She shook her head and walked away from Brady. Her head was still spinning with everything she’d heard tonight. All she wanted was to forget that this had all happened, but it had happened. So now she had to deal with it.
“You still don’t believe me?” Brady asked.
“I want to. I really do,” she said earnestly.
“Do you want me to get down on my knees? Do you want me to beg forgiveness for not telling you about Chelsea sooner? Do you want me to plead with you to reconsider? I’ll do it. Whatever you want me to do. I’ll do it,” he insisted. “You mean everything to me. I don’t want this to ruin the best thing in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me? If it meant nothing and it was no big deal, why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, searching his eyes for the explanation. “You should have told me.”
Brady hung his head for a second to collect his thoughts and then seemed to relent. “You’re right. I should have. You deserved to know, even if it meant nothing. And it means nothing.”
“Not good enough,” she said, backing away. “When Hayden came up to me at school because he wanted to see me again, I called you and told you as soon as I got home. I didn’t hide anything from you. Not even for a day.”
“I wasn’t purposely hiding it from you. When it happened, you were already dismantling your life and stressed about graduation, being in the paper, and then moving in with me. I didn’t want to lay more stress at your feet.”
She had been insanely stressed out at the start of the summer. Everything seemed to be piling on top of her head, but still she would have wanted to know what was going on. “What about after that, when I met her? No heads-up?” she asked.
“It was over by then. The only contact I had with her the rest of the summer was completely professional and you were there every time. These texts came out of nowhere, and I’m going to ask to work with someone else from EMi from this point forward,” he told her. “I assume they assigned her to work with me because I’ve known her a long time. But I’m cutting off contact. I don’t need this to interfere with the love of my life or my career.”
“Aren’t they the same thing?” she whispered harshly.
“Liz, please just think about this for a minute,” he said, closing the distance between them once more and backing her up against the wall. He placed his hands on her hips and then rested his forehead on hers. “I love you. You are the love of my life. Please . . . please,” he said hoarsely, “don’t let this ruin us.”
She sighed. Blind trust. That’s what he was asking for. Did she trust him? Did she trust him not to play her like that? That nagging feeling crept through her, but then she let his words wash over the anger. This was Brady, the man who wouldn’t even tell her he loved her when he knew he did because he couldn’t promise her a relationship. Now he was promising her everything that she’d ever wanted, and she couldn’t stop thinking that it was all too good to be true.
But Brady wouldn’t give her those things if he didn’t want to. He wouldn’t have gone public, had her move in, travel around the campaign, use her speeches, or tell her he loved her if he didn’t mean it. He had made all of that clear from the get-go. But he was doing those things, and it made her reevaluate her reaction to this.
Maybe it was one-sided. Maybe Chelsea just wanted what she couldn’t have anymore. Maybe he wasn’t playing her. Maybe.
“You love me?” she whispered.
“So much.”
His lips found hers again, soft and tender, with every ounce of that love pouring between them. It was as sweet as honey and intoxicating as the hardest liquor. She couldn’t let a few text messages ruin their relationship. It hurt to even think about letting this go. She wanted it . . . she wanted Brady more than anything else in her existence.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, lost in each other’s embrace, forgetting that an entire gala went on behind them. There was only Liz and Brady
, the taste of his kiss, the feel of his lips, the ecstasy of being completely wrapped up in him.
After another minute passed, they broke apart simultaneously. “We should get back,” she whispered.
“Are we okay?”
Liz nibbled on her bottom lip and then nodded. “Yeah.”
She might be hurting emotionally, but who was she kidding? She was never walking away from Brady Maxwell again.
Chapter 26
THE PRIMARY
Two years ago today, Liz had walked out on Brady. She had given him the campaign and his career free of worry about a relationship that he couldn’t commit to. She had chosen his happiness over her own and inevitably had just made them both pretty miserable. Now they were back in the same spot and yet . . . not in the same place at all.
Standing backstage at the election results party where Brady would give his acceptance speech, Liz paced the small conference room. Brady kept shooting her a look that said calm down, but there were no reporters, so she was able to feel the jitters that she would have to hold back in a minute when they exited.
Heather grabbed her arm. “You’re making me anxious. Go out in the hallway if you’re going to pace.”
“Sorry,” she said, running her hands down the white-eyelet dress.
“If you’re like this now, how are you going to handle the general?” she probed.
“I’ll be fine.” Liz’s eyes drifted to Brady and a smile crept on her face. “I’m just excited to be here for him.”
“You’ll do more good if you appear composed and resolute,” Heather said, dropping her voice as she issued the advice. “He needs someone strong. Be strong for him.”
Liz opened her mouth to say that she was strong and composed, but knowing Heather she would have snapped at her that actions spoke louder than words. So she just closed her mouth, stilled her feet, and found an empty seat.
They had spent the last week working nonstop on the primary campaign. Brady met with constituents, spoke at even the smallest of events, and Liz watched as more and more Maxwell for Congress signs went up around the Triangle. Most nights she fell into bed exhausted from a long day working, then got up early the next morning to start it all over again.
She knew that if the information about her and Brady hadn’t come out earlier that year, this would have been an easy primary election for them. Brady’s opponent could hardly be considered competition, yet he was garnering support from people who were influenced by the negative reports they had gotten about Brady’s character.
It made Liz want to work twice as hard to help Brady before she started graduate school in a couple weeks. She was everywhere at once, and Brady continually told her how appreciative he was to have her there at his side. Part of that was the aftereffect of the Chelsea text messages.
Brady had spoken with EMi the next day requesting a new representative, and within a day he had a meeting with a lanky man in a cheap suit named Gary who looked and acted nothing like an ex-girlfriend.
“So, what happened to Chelsea then?” Liz had asked after they met Gary.
Brady had shrugged. “I never asked. I’d assume if she still has a job that she was transferred out of the state.”
That put Liz at ease. It did make her feel bad that she had potentially gotten the woman fired, but then she had to remind herself that Chelsea was the one who had acted unprofessional. It had been the wrong circumstances. In the end, Liz could only think about herself and Brady, and it was better for them not to have her around.
It made Liz see their relationship with new eyes. Their relationship wasn’t damaged or hurt from what she had discovered. In fact, they were stronger than ever. If anything it was Liz’s hurt feelings that had clouded her mind when she had first found out about it. She hadn’t wanted to believe that he would do this, but her insecurities bloomed and she couldn’t see past it to the man who loved her. She had no such problem right now.
Brady’s eyes flickered to her once again as his campaign manager walked away to talk to some other people in the room. “You want to take a walk?”
She nodded. “That sounds nice.”
They exited the conference room and walked to the waiting area that led to the stage where Brady would be giving his speech. His family was standing there in a small circle, along with Andrea, Easton, and Chris. Liz peeked a look at the audience from their vantage point and gasped.
“What?” Brady asked, concerned.
“There are so many people.”
He smiled, bright and brilliant. “More than there were two years ago.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “I mean, there were a lot of people for you then, but now . . . it’s packed.”
Two years ago they had nearly filled up a convention ballroom in Raleigh. This time Brady had chosen one twice as big as that on the UNC campus and it was filled to the brim with supporters and press. She could see the press line along the center of the room set up to film and photograph the events that were taking place. But the most beautiful thing of all was the sheer number of everyday citizens here to celebrate their own Congressman. Brady inspired people to take action, and it showed today.
“All here to hear your speech,” he said with a wink.
“No one is even going to know that I wrote it,” she insisted.
“Maybe.”
“They’re here for you, Congressman Maxwell. Not for your scandalous girlfriend.”
“I’m sure someone out there is here for the scandal,” he joked.
Liz rolled her eyes. “Yes, those people seem to be everywhere.”
Liz had managed to avoid the news as much as she could, but Heather was sending sporadic updates when Liz showed up in the papers. The rumors were vicious, and even though Brady insisted that the people were just jealous and looking for a story, she still didn’t like it.
Luckily she was swamped and didn’t have a ton of time to dwell on it. The only thing that she had managed to do in the small moments of spare time she had was to write another article for her Dear Congress column about the environmental fracking legislation that was going around right now. Funny to think that Chelsea had given her the idea.
The editor had turned her column into a biweekly thing, and she didn’t want to miss a post amid her hectic schedule. She had even put the blog with Justin on hold for the time being. She told him she would start up again once the primary was over. It was getting harder and harder to do everything that she had on her plate, but she was trying to keep up.
Chris appeared at their side while Liz was still peering out to Brady’s captivated audience. “Hey. Y’all ready?”
“Of course,” Brady answered immediately. “Good to have you here this year.”
“And you?” he asked Liz with his ever-present goofy grin.
“I’m not the one giving the speech.”
“Still, your first election and you look a little jittery.”
“Gah, am I that obvious?” The guys just shrugged. “What? Are y’all born with the ability to hold your nerves in during the election?”
“Just a lot of practice,” Brady told her, rubbing her back comfortingly.
“Well, where’s Mollie? This is her first election. She should be here nervous with me,” Liz said.
Chris glanced away and grit his teeth. “We, uh . . . broke up.”
“What?” she and Brady asked at the same time.
“You didn’t tell me,” Brady said.
“I know; you’re in the middle of an election.”
“What happened?” Liz asked.
Chris shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “It actually happened after the fund-raising gala. Well, you know she left early for work stuff. That wasn’t the first time that happened. I was fed up with always coming behind work. She didn’t take it very well. It’s been kind of a rough week.”
That sucked. She li
ked Mollie, but Chris deserved someone who would put him first.
Brady glanced at her and she could see he was thinking the same thing. She was glad that they were on the same wavelength.
“Well, I just wanted to check on y’all. I’m not still in your speeches, am I?” Chris joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“I got a new speechwriter,” he said, placing his arm around Liz’s shoulders. “And she insisted that I take you out of them.”
“Thank God. The man needed new material. I was tired of hearing my sad story replayed over and over again,” he said, nudging Brady. Then he turned to Liz. “So, you’re writing his speeches now, huh? Busy girl. Speeches, grad school, and those articles you’re writing.”
“I have to keep up with my boyfriend,” she joked.
Brady kissed her on the top of her head. “You’re the only one who can.”
Chris laughed softly. “I’m glad that Brady manned up and went after you. You two belong together.”
Brady’s team emerged from the back conference room and Chris took that as his cue to leave. Heather and Elliott led the group with Alex trailing, permanently attached to his iPad.
“We just received word that results will be in in a matter of minutes,” Heather told him.
All eyes turned to the mounted television screen, where muted broadcasts of the primary results were taking up the local news channel.
“Do you hear before they announce on television?” Liz asked.
“The results come to us first and then they’re reported out,” Elliott informed her.
Liz realized she was wringing her hands and quickly hid them behind her back. Composed. Resolute. Strong. She repeated the words that Heather had uttered like a chant in her head. It helped her get through the next few agonizing minutes.
“Just got it,” Alex said. Brady’s campaign manager walked forward. “Here we go. Final numbers read fifty-nine to forty-one percent to Congressman Maxwell.”
A cheer rose up from the people backstage with Brady. Liz turned and threw her arms around him. She didn’t know why she had been so freaked out. She knew the likelihood of his losing was small, but this was her first election. She felt compelled to hold on to her nerves for the unknown. Maybe one day this would all seem like a piece of cake, but right now it was fresh and new and exhilarating.