Page 61 of The Senator's Secret

“So gorgeous,” Jules agrees. “She has black hair and—get this—purple eyes. She’s so beautiful it almost hurts to look at her. And so down to earth.”

“I love that.”

“Me too,” Jules murmurs.

“I didn’t know Jake knew them…” I trail off, wondering how much more I don’t know about him.

“I guess he was on the same SEAL team as Jake and Rick,” Jules says. “And her brother. I think there’s a story there, but I didn’t want to pry. Speaking of Rick, have you seen him and Cara shooting daggers from their eyes at each other from across the room? That is, when they’re not eye fucking each other. Seriously, I’m a little hot and bothered just from being in the vicinity.”

I laugh, because she’s not wrong. “I know what you mean.”

“So, Ohio is going to be… fun.” And she’s not wrong about that.

“What about Ohio?” Jake asks as he wraps his arms around me from behind. I look over my shoulder at his smiling face. He looks so happy and carefree. It’s gestures like this that make me think some of it is real. God, I want it to be real.

“We were just talking about how fun the campaign stops are going to be with the former Mr. and Mrs. at each other’s throat,” I whisper.

“I think they’ll be fine once they fuck it out,” Jake replies, and Jules throws her head back and laughs.

“I like you,” she says, pointing to him. “And he’s not wrong.”

“You’re both terrible.” I roll my eyes.

“Whatever. You love us,” she adds.

“Yeah, you love us,” Jake repeats bringing my attention back to him. I love at him over my shoulder again and see that twinkle in his eye. He has been trying to get me to admit that I’m in love with him since I may or may not have said anything as I was falling asleep. Or maybe he’s just a really good read of people and body language. I don’t know. What I do know is he hasn’t said he reciprocates the feelings he’s been trying so desperately to pull from me. So why should I admit my weakness, when he doesn’t suffer from the same affliction?

“You look beautiful, baby,” my mom says as they approach our group.

“That she does,” Jake agrees.

“My girl is going to make a beautiful bride, Jake,” dad warns. “Just see that you deserve her.”

“I’ll do my best,” Jake promises before we say goodbye to my parents, and they head out for the night.

“You ready to get out of here?” Jake asks me before placing a kiss to the side of my head.

“Yeah,” I whisper.

The crowd had dwindled in the last hour or so, and the party was officially over. While some still lingered, Jake and I were free to go, and I had been ready to go for hours.

He takes my hand in his and leads me out to the car, where he helps me in and then climbs in after me. I lean back against the seat and close my eyes.

“Tired?” he asks as he brushes a lock of hair back from my face.

“Very.”

“It’s tough being a blushing bride-to-be,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

“You don’t know the half of it,” I grumble. “You just get to shower and throw on a suit and show up. What the fuck is that about? I had to spend hours getting ready. And Cara only fed me apples and cheese beforehand! I’m starving.”

“Hey, Joe. Can you drive us through the burger joint on the corner?” he asks our driver. And just like that, Jake is anticipating my needs and taking care of me. My heart pangs. I want this to be real.Please don’t let this be an act.I don’t think my heart could handle it if it’s all a ruse.

We pick up cheeseburgers and fries for us, Joe, and Gus and then head back to the brownstone. Jake even ordered an extra patty for Sarge. And we eat in the kitchen at the table in our fancy clothes. I wipe my hands off on a napkin before reaching down to pull my heels off my feet one by one.

Jake grabs my ankle in his hands and puts my foot in his lap. He kneads the aches and pains out of my foot before switching to the other one. He sets my foot back on the floor before pushing his chair back to stand, collects all our trash, and tosses it in the receptacle hidden under the sink before walking back to where I’m sitting. When he holds out a hand for me, I take it without questioning it, and then he helps me stand, scoops me up into his arms, and carries me upstairs, leaving my fancy shoes under the kitchen table.

Jake kicks the bedroom door closed behind us before setting me on my feet next to the bed. He turns me around so my back is to him, and one by one, he gently plucks the pins from my hair and tosses them to the nightstand, letting my long hair hang free. He sifts his fingers through it and massages my scalp and neck before dropping his hands to the top of my dress. With nimble fingers, he slides the hidden zipper down my back, letting the material part and fall to the floor before turning me back around to face him.