Page 29 of Governor

Which is why I know my secret desire to be able to enact greater good through public office is nothing more than a fantasy I’ll make myself feel lousy and less-than about every time the thought flits through my mind.

“You must really love the GOP,” Carter says. She snorts. “What?”

“I hate the bastards. If it wasn’t for Daddy, I wouldn’t be in the party in the first place. Not very fond of the DNC, either, to be honest.”

“Why not run for office as a third-party candidate?” he asks.

She snorts again. “I’d love to, but that’s not going to happen in this state. Maybe some guy could pull it off, but no way could a female candidate make it like that. At least, not in the current political environment. I hate saying that, but there it is. A female candidate needs to be red or blue, needs the weight of the state’s party behind her. Especially not for governor. I mean, maybe if she was lieutenant for eight years to a strong third-party male candidate who kicks ass and has good poll numbers? Sure. We’re a closed-primary state, so that part would benefit her, at least.”

Carter’s gaze falls on me. Something about the way his gaze steadily holds mine for a long, quiet moment twists things deep inside me in a good way. The one thing I’ve learned about Carter in the short amount of time I’ve known him is that he seems genuine and doesn’t need me to try to impress him. I can be myself around him in a way I can’t around my mother and step-father or their friends.

He doesn’t deliberately make me feel stupid, or in the way.

But I can’t identify the expression on his face right now as he’s contemplating…something.

“What?” I finally ask.

He glances at her, and their gazes meet. The good kind of twisting inside me is suddenly tinged with green, until they both look at me again.

My face heats under their intense focus.

I’m totally fricking lost—yet again. “What?”

Carter seems to do another quick mental calculation. “He’s two years older than you. You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I think so.” She smiles at me.

“Okay,what?”

“But wait,” she says. “You’ll be eligible in two years.”

Carter shakes his head. “No, not me. I have no desire to run for any office. I’ll be happy as chief of staff. That’s where therealpower is, anyway.”

“Ahhhh, smart man.”

I wonder if they’ve even heard me. “Uh, hellooo?” I give a little wave. “What are we talking about?”

Carter awards me with another of those smiles I can’t process but really like. “Getting you elected governor on a third-party ticket.”

“Who, me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“Um, I don’t even have a law degree yet. Can wenotput the cart before the horse?” Never mind the fact that no way in hell could I manage to get myself elected.

Susa chews on her right thumbnail as she studies me. “Timing doesn’t work out exactly with the election schedule. But that’s okay. We shoot for local and lower offices first.” She nods. “Yeah, it’d be totally doable that way. Build his rep, his name. Little cushion of time, in case there’s a strong candidate we don’t want to go up against.”

“You guys can quit fucking with me anytime,” I mutter.

“We’re not fucking with you, “Carter says, his tone completely earnest. “We’replanning.”

“You’ve got the looks for it,” Susa says. “Being a candidateliterallyis ninety percent how you appear to the public. If you don’t fuck up in a horrible way, that is. Or they don’t catch you fucking a dog, a little boy, or a dead hooker. IwishI was kidding about that part.”

Her compliment about my looks is totally swamped by my growing fear. “I don’t have a law degree yet. You remember that, right?”

She dismisses my objection with an airy wave. “We’ll get there. And don’t worry, I’ll teach you what you need to know.” She smiles at me. “We have faith in you.”

Later, I’ll look back on that moment and realize that’s when it was all taken out of my hands.