Page 66 of Caught By the Chief of Staff

He rolled his eyes at me, but they still crinkled in the corners in that way I love so much. He touched his mouth to mine. It was light and firm, and he kept his eyes open to look at mine. And then it was over far too quickly.

And then I squeaked when he swatted me again and said, “Off with you.”

And I haven’t seen him since. Grace said he’s around here somewhere smoking cigars and drinking whiskey with Jake and Ryan, but that only makes me even more nervous. I can’t tell Jules and Grace what Rick said, because what if we’re wrong? But then again, what if we’re right and he’s the bad guy? And when did my life become a spy novel? This is way too stressful.

And I thought New Jersey was bad!

I press my hand flat against my belly and take a deep breath. I need to calm my nerves, but I’m so afraid that everyone will see I’m a big fraud. That I don’t belong in this life and that I’m only searching for my daughter.

“Come in,” Grace says, when there’s a knock at the door.

Jake and Rick walk through the door. I notice Jules looks up like she’s expecting someone, but when no one shows, she busies herself with clipping a large dangling earring through her ear.

Jake makes no effort to hide the affection he has for his wife as he wraps his arms around her and kisses her stupid.

“My lipstick,” she says when he pulls back.

“Is fixable.” He winks at her.

“Hey,” Rick says softly, drawing my attention away from a couple who loves each other so very deeply you wouldn’t know that less than a year ago he blackmailed her into being in a relationship with him. Well, Rick did most of the blackmailing. The memory makes me realize there’s a lot more to this older, wiser Rick than I realized. Maybe he does carry a darkness after all.

“Hey yourself.”

“You look beautiful,” he says, looking at me—I meanreallylooking at me. It’s like he’s seen it all, the good and the bad, and he still likes what he sees under all the paint and spackle.

“Thank you.”

“I brought you something,” he says, looking a little nervous, and I wonder what has him so anxious and… unsteady. It’s so unlike him.

“What is it?”

Rick doesn’t say anything but produces a small velvet box from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He holds out the tiny package like it’s a rattlesnake about to strike, and the thought makes me smile. I gently lift it from his hands and crack open the hard shell. Nestled on a satin pillow inside are a pair of large diamond earrings with two small circles of tiny, shimmery diamonds around them.

“They’re beautiful,” I say. “Thank you.”

“The lady in the shop called them lovers’ knots, and I liked that,” he says as he plucks them from their safe little slot. He gently tips my head to the side to expose my ear, and he slips the stud through before turning me to the other side.

“Why’s that?” I think he’s going to tell me something sweet like our hearts will always be connected or that we were always meant to be, but he does not.

“Because I like the idea of you tied up again.” He smirks, making me laugh.

“You’re terrible.”

“I know, but I’m still yours,” he says, sounding more than a little unrepentant but still in a way that is romantic in his own way.

“It’s time, Mr. President,” Gus says from the doorway. He must have knocked when I wasn’t paying attention.

“Ready?”

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” I sigh.

“Don’t look so down.” Rick winks at me, showing me a hint of the happy-go-lucky guy I married almost a decade ago. “You have the best-looking date in the room.

“You’re supposed to say I’m the best-looking date, silly!”

“Oh,” he says, faking an affronted look. “My apologies.”

“Goober,” I reply, rolling my eyes. “I guess we need to go.”