Page 11 of The Senator's Secret
The look on my face must show my surprise at his answer, because he throws his head back and laughs. It’s one of the nicest sounds I have ever heard, and watching his whole face light up like that while the always-ready posture of his body relaxes just a tiny bit is one of the sexiest I have ever seen. It’s in this moment that I know I could give in to him and it would be amazing. But just as amazing as it would be, I also know it would be devastating.
“I do have friends, you know,” he says with a smile.
“You do?” I question as I try to pose my face in a faux-shocked expression.
“I do.” He smiles so that his twin dimples wink at me like stars glittering in the sky. Good Lord, there is something about this man. There’s just… more to him and I can’t help but want it even though I shouldn’t.
“Who?” I continue to play along, and the banter is so easy and fun that part of me wonders why I have kept him at arm’s length for years. Why haven’t I given in to this pull between us?
“Rick, for one—” he starts to answer.
“And where is your delightful henchman tonight?” I ask, blinking my eyes innocently.
“One, Rick isn’t that bad,” he manages to say with a straight face.
“He really is,” I say on a laugh. Clearly, their friendship has desensitized him to his friend’s evil political deeds as his campaign mercenary.
“There’s more to Rick than meets the eye,” he says cryptically.
“Of that, I am absolutely sure of.”
“And two, I’m allowed to go out without him from time to time,” he adds. I look over his shoulder and see two of his regular Secret Service agents standing with their backs against the wall, watching for anyone who might want to do the senator harm. He might be allowed to go out without Rick Donovan from time to time, but he isn’t allowed to go anywhere alone. Ever. That thought makes me feel kind of sad for him.
“I suppose you are,” I tell him softly. “I bet you’re a heavily sought-after man.”
“I am,” he sighs.
“And you come here to unwind?” I surmise.
“I do. Rick and I have been meeting friends here for a while now,” he answers honestly.
“You mean women.” I laugh when he rolls his eyes. “What? You know you’re popular—”
“No, we do not meet women here,” he says in a rather disgruntled fashion. “The Magic Boarding House Tavern is sacred and not to be defiled.”
“So, you come here to what? Play Magic?” I ask incredulously.
“Yes, I do,” he responds to my question, mirroring my wide stare with one of his own.
“With Rick?” Somehow, I can’t picture the most feared man in politics playing a nerdy card game with friends. The idea of him in a relaxed environment is jarring. Like two puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit together.
“With Rick and sometimes Wes and Lee, but not Wes so much, because he recently got married and likes to stay close to home,” he explains.
“And you don’t like that?”
“No, I’m happy for him. Claire is a great woman. We should all be so lucky, and after she almost died last year,” he explains, “I would stay close to her and home if she were mine too.”
“You don’t mean Claire Goodnite—the detective from New Jersey who was kidnapped as a young girl?” I ask.
“The one and only.”
“Wow, I read about her in thePostlast year. You really know her?”
“Yeah, her brother and her husband are friends of mine,” he explains. “We served together on the same team when we were in the Navy.”
“Wow.” I knew Chancellor had served as a Navy SEAL, but I didn’t know he was also connected to local heroes as well. I guess I should have paid more attention to him instead of just running for the hills every time he walked into a room.
“So, you said you have a problem….” He trails off, breaking me free from my wayward thoughts. This is good. I need him to help me stay focused so I can solve my problem and move on with my life. Then Jake Chancellor and his magic penis won’t be a threat to me anymore, because I’ll be hiding in some remote village in South America and he will be fully entrenched in the Oval Office. Then I can come back to New York and forget this whole time in my life ever happened, right?