When we arrived at Gretchen’s apartment building, I pulled up at the curb and turned off the engine. “Let me walk you in.”
“I’ll be fine, big brother. You can watch me go in, and I’ll flash my living room light when I’m inside.” She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Please don’t give up on your dreams, and that includes Lucy.”
I watched her walk in, and just like she said, her light flashed and she waved out the window. Satisfied she was safe, I pulled away and drove home.
• • •
The next morning, I called Ben and told him I needed to talk with him. He was not only my campaign manager, he was my PR guy, and he needed to know what was going on.
Naturally, I didn’t tell him Lucy’s entire life history; I just gave him the CliffsNotes version. He didn’t need the nitty-gritty details, just the threat Emily made and the knowledge that I was sure she’d go through with it. He advised me to talk to Lucy, which I planned on doing anyway. She was my next call.
I went to my contacts on my phone and saw a picture of us I’d taken at the baseball game. Her head was tilted and her smile was bright, and she was all mine. Now I wasn’t sure where we stood. All I could do was pray she wasn’t with Gregory.
I pressed her name and connected the call. After two rings and about a hundred heartbeats, she answered.
“Hi, Drake.”
“Hi. Is this a good time to talk?”
“Yes, I’m not far from your place. I can come over.”
The sound of her voice was soothing, and yet I was anything but calm.
“That would be great. I’ll see you soon.”
I disconnected the call and rested my head on the back of my couch as what-ifs ran rampant through my brain.
When I heard the doorbell, I took a deep breath and opened the door. Lucy was smiling on the other side, obviously happy, and I felt twin spikes of pleasure and despair at that.
Her eyes bright, she said simply, “Hi.” Then she stepped inside and wrapped me in a tight hug.
She felt like home in my arms, all warmth and sweetness and comfort. I didn’t want to let her go, but I eventually did, and stepped back.
“I’ve missed you,” she said as she looked into my eyes, and I was lost.
“I’ve missed you too. Come on in.” I watched her hips sway as she stepped into my living room, and she had a bounce in her step I hadn’t seen in a while, if ever. “So, what were you doing in DC?”
“I just came back from Reagan. I took Greg to the airport.” She gave me a huge smile as she said, “I don’t know if I could ever repay you for what you did for us yesterday.”
He left?
“He went back to Georgia? Will you be joining him?”
Her brows lowered and she stared at me as if I asked her if she was going to Mars.
“Why would I be joining him?” Then her eyes widened. “Oh my God, Drake. Did you think I want to be with him? Even after I told you I love you?”
Uncomfortable, I shrugged. “That was before you knew he was alive. I wasn’t sure what to think.” I ran my hand through my hair. “But I’m so relieved.”
“Greg is my past. He has his life and he’s happy, and I have mine. Yes, it was a complete and utter shock seeing him again after all these years, but we’re different people now. We talked about it this morning on the way from his hotel to the airport.” Her eyes lit up as she added, “He thinks you’re a great man and wishes you luck in the election.”
I stepped forward and took her face in my hands, cupping her cheeks as my mouth covered hers. I’d missed her taste so much, and poured all the love I had for her into that kiss.
When she pulled me closer, I couldn’t let go. There was no way on earth I could lose this woman.
After our lips broke apart, I took her hand and led her to the couch. “I need to tell you something.”
“You can tell me anything.”
“Please sit.” I motioned toward the sofa.
After we both had sat down, she looked at me with such trust and adoration, my heart sank. “You’re not going to like what I have to tell you.”
“Just say it, Drake. You’re scaring me.”
“I went to a fundraiser last night, and Emily was there.”
“Your ex-girlfriend?”
That thought made my stomach roll. “Yes, the one and the same. But she’s engaged to Grissett’s campaign manager.”
“Oh,” she said with a frown, then her eyes shot open wide. “OH!”
“Exactly. But that’s not what I wanted to tell you.” I paused, wondering how in the hell I could tell her what I’d done.
“Drake, whatever it is, you can tell me.” She placed her hand on mine, which was vibrating on my knee.
“Gretchen came as my date,” I said, and Lucy smiled. “I told her what you told me about your past. I just needed to talk to someone. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’d never want you to feel as if you couldn’t go to your family. They’re wonderful people. I almost told them myself.”
“Thank you, but that’s not all of it.” I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed her knuckles while inhaling the sweet scent of her skin.
Before I could say more, her phone rang. “Do you need to get that?”
“It’s Mason. I can call him back.” As soon as it stopped ringing, it started again, and she gave me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, it must be important.”
“Answer it.”
“Hey, Mace. Is everything—” She paused for a moment, the blood draining from her face as she listened. “What?”
Her lips opened and she glanced at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. My chest tightened with worry, not knowing what he was saying to her.
“Um, okay. I’ll come home now.” She swiped at her phone to end the call and jumped to her feet, looking completely disoriented. “I need to go. I’m sorry.”
I placed my hand on her elbow. “What happened? Is everything okay?”
She shook her head and grabbed her purse to pull out her keys. “I don’t know. Mason said he went to my apartment to see me, and a reporter stopped him outside and asked him questions about me.”
Damn it! “A reporter from what publication, and what did they want?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. Can we finish this later?”
When I noticed she was trembling, I gently took the keys from her hand. “I’ll drive you.”
In the car, her nerves became more evident. Her leg frantically bounced, and if she kept twisting her hair, she’d end up with dreadlocks.
“Lucy, what did Mason say exactly?”
“All he said was a reporter was at my apartment from some tabloid, I think he said, Reveal or something like that. He lied to the reporter and told her I was at the aquarium in Maryland, just to get her away from my home. To be honest, as soon as I heard the word reporter, my head felt fuzzy and everything sounded muffled.” She dropped her head in her hands. “Why is this happening to me?”
When we pulled up in front of her apartment, Mason was on her front porch. He hustled to Lucy’s door, opened it, and pulled her into his arms.
At this point, I was an outsider. All I could do was watch as he rubbed her back, which was now trembling. Mason looked up to me and gave me a tight smile.
“Hey, Drake. Let’s get our girl inside.”
Our girl.
I still had Lucy’s keys, so I unlocked the door and we all walked in. Mason went to the kitchen and grabbed three bottles of water from the refrigerator, and handed us each a bottle as we sat on the sofa with Lucy nestled between us.
“Mason, I need to know what happened.” Lucy’s voice was shaky, at best, but she was holding it together.
“I came by to see how you were doing, and this woman was knocking on your door. When I asked if I could help her with something, she said she was a reporter from National Reveal and wanted to get in touch with you. She asked if I had your phone number, but of course I told her I didn’t. Then I asked what this was about.”