Page 48 of The Senator's Secret

“I have one more thing for you,” Jake says with a cheeky grin. His happy mood is contagious, and I think for a second that all my worry was in my head. We’re going to be just fine.

And then I look to see another jewelry box sitting in the palm of his upturned hand. But this one is much smaller.

“What’s this?” I ask as I stare at the velvet box.

“Go ahead and take it,” he says. “It won’t bite.”

I pluck it out of his hand and snap open the lid. The most gorgeous engagement ring sits nestled in the soft silk pillows. My breath seizes in my lungs, because if I could ever have chosen a ring for me, it would be this one. It has a large Ascher-cut diamond set in platinum, and tiny diamonds of various sizes make up the halo.

Jake takes the ring from the box and slides it onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit.

I sit there staring at it on my finger, thinking it’s the loveliest thing I have ever seen and that while he didn’t actually ask me to marry him, his proposal is very Jake. I think I’ll remember this night for the rest of my life. The night a man I am falling in love with hard and fast gave me the most beautiful engagement ring while on our way to a gala. And I’m dressed like Cinder-freaking-ella. If this isn’t a fairytale, I don’t know what is.

“Rick said the new Gallup polls are showing we’ve been living together too long for the evangelicals. It was time to put a ring on it.” He laughs.

I was wrong. This isn’t a fairytale; it’s a nightmare.

I’m in love with a man who doesn’t love me, and worse yet, I have to marry him.

I smile at him. It feels a little brittle on my face, but that’s to be expected. Jake doesn’t seem to notice anyway. I can pretend to be the loving fiancée tonight. And tomorrow too. I’ll just take it one day at a time.

I guess sometimes you just have tofake it till you make it.

Or at least I’ll die trying.

“A princess fit for the senator.”

Chapter 14

I just want you

“It’ll never last,” the hateful words are whispered in my ear and I hate that part of me knows it’s true, while the other half bristles at the idea of ever not belonging with Jake. And above all else, I should have known that this reckoning was coming. How could I have been so distracted?

Jake and I stepped out of the limo to our names being called and camera flashes popping left and right like I had never seen before. And that’s saying something, because the crowd that followed us around was growing to a small army’s size by leaps and bounds every day.

Jake made sure to always be touching me in some way as we slowly progressed up a step and repeat toward the entrance to the gala. And each move, each brush of his hand on the small of my back or the way he holds me close to him with a strong grip on my hip, each swish of my skirt as it rustles against his tuxedo pants, causes another fissure to tear in my heart, because it was never real, and it was never going to be real. And nothing really slams that point home like the twenty-pound rock weighing down my left hand.

Reporters asked him about the charity we were here to support, and he spoke openly about what his time in the Navy meant to him and how his time in service makes him able to understand what our military goes through every day. It was a great segue into his campaign platforms. I was even drawn into his spell.

Finally, we make it to the door, and Jake is drawn into conversation. He’s a popular man, and everyone wants an audience with him. I’m going to use that as an excuse to put a little much-needed distance between us.

“Oh,” I say excitedly. “I see an old friend. You’ll be all right, won’t you, darling?”

Jake narrows his eyes on me like he doesn’t quite believe me. I smile a little brighter and hope it doesn’t look like a grimace. If ever there was a time I needed him to not see through me, it’s now. I’m not ready to admit how I feel about him, not now, and maybe not ever.

“Sure, sweetheart,” he says adoringly. He’s really laying it on kind of thick, and I want to throw up. He leans into me, and his lips brush the shell of my ear. “Don’t be long.”

“I won’t,” I promise, and I’m pretty sure we both know I’m lying through my teeth. And then I excuse myself and make my way to the complete opposite side of the room. I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Too bad it doesn’t last long.

• • •

“DANCE WITH ME,” JAKEsays from behind me. I look over my shoulder and feel my heart pang painfully against my chest at the sight of him. He’s too damn handsome for his own good—or mine.

“Sure,” I answer him. “If you gentlemen will excuse me…”

I reach for Jake’s outstretched hand and let him lead me onto the dance floor. He pulls me close into his arms and surprises me with sure footsteps as he waltzes me around the floor.