Candidate: A Love Story (22 page)

“What? Things are just getting started. Aren’t you staying for the whole thing?”

“Nope. Just stopped by to make sure everything was up and running. Looks good and now I’ll make my exit with the rest of the entertainment.”

Grady took her arm and Kate looked around.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I was going to ask you the same thing? What’s wrong?”

Kate tugged and Grady released her arm. “Nothing. I’m doing my job. This isn’t my world, Grady. I have a life outside of this little story we are putting on here and it’s time I returned to it. Besides, I still need to pack for D.C. tomorrow. Last minute trips are not my favorite, I’m a little off schedule. We meet at the airport tomorrow night at five.”

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, it’s just that since I, since we kissed, it’s been hard.” Grady smiled at the innuendo, but Kate didn’t. “It’s been, err, difficult to go back to whatever this is.”

“Right. I understand and I apologize.”

“Oh, please don’t do that.”

“No, I do. I should have never let that happen. I’ve just lost my balance a little, that’s all.”

“Me too,” Grady said. Their eyes held and amid the noise, Kate found herself lingering again. A glass broke behind the bar.

“Okay,” Kate pulled back, “so nothing is wrong. Everything is fine. Enjoy your evening.”

“Okay.” Grady reluctantly let her go. “I hope I don’t get in trouble tonight, Ms. Galloway,” Grady said, falling back on the game they played.

Kate laughed. “Behave, Grady,” she said as she walked toward the exit.

“Doing my best, ma’am. Doing my best.”

Kate walked out and called Reagan to see if she needed to bring anything. Tonight was Wedding Favor Assembly Night, and Kate would probably have to bribe Reagan with pizza.

When Kate arrived, Reagan came to the door in what looked like a kimono, hair at the nape of her neck, and the strange plastic clogs she’d taken to wearing lately. Reagan swore they increased her circulation, and Kate was not going to argue. She looked frazzled, like she’d had two much wedding already, and it was still a month and a half away. When Kate put down the pizza and got a little closer, she could tell Reagan had been crying.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

At her question, Reagan stopped buzzing around and looked at Kate. She started to cry.

Kate pulled her into a hug. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. What is it, honey?”

Reagan wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono and took a seat on the big green overstuffed chair in her tiny living room.

“Nothing. I’m fine. I just—” She started to tear up again.

Kate sat next to her. “Please tell me what’s going on. You’re making me nervous.”

Reagan took a deep breath and tried to explain. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Kate attempted to step in, but Reagan held up her hand and continued. “Normally I’m okay with that, I sort of like my nutty way.”

“Me too,” Kate said with a smile.

“But this wedding is coming and I’m going to have to marry this man and what if I don’t know what I’m doing and I end up messing this up or he wakes up one morning and wonders what the hell he ever saw in me?” Reagan put her hands to her face and leaned on her knees. “I know it’s stupid, but for some reason I’m a mess tonight. I think it’s all this damn tulle.”

They both laughed, and Kate handed Reagan a paper plate with two slices of pizza.

“Everything you’re saying, all of those feelings and all the other ones you will have until your wedding day are normal, honey.” Kate took her own pizza and sat on the yellow paisley couch next to Reagan’s chair. “It’s big deal, getting married, Rea. I kind of think the people who don’t have a bit of a meltdown are the weird ones. Ya know?”

Reagan folded her pizza, took a bite, and moaned up at the ceiling. “Nona’s?” she asked, with her mouth still full.

Kate smiled. “Nothing but the best for you, Mrs. Frazier.” Reagan almost choked at the sound of her married name.

“Holy shit. That’s right. I mean I’m keeping my maiden name professionally, but legally I will be Reagan Frazier.” She took another bite of pizza and then added, “Eh, it’s not that bad. Has a nice ring, don’t you think?”

Kate hugged her dearest friend and said, “It sounds perfect, Rea.”

She smiled at Kate like a hesitant child waiting for parental approval before jumping in the pool. Nerves were normal. Kate remembered not being nervous at all the weeks leading up to and the day she married Nick. Like she told Reagan, those people, the calm oblivious ones, were the ones to watch out for.

“Okay. I’m going to get us some caffeine and we are going to beat this tulle into submission,” Kate said, heading into the kitchen.

“Oh God. Please, no more tulle. Can’t we just give all of these people a damn gift card and a pat on the back?” Reagan laughed from the living room.

“We could do that, but I’m guessing these hand-made bowls from the super successful artsy bride would probably be a nicer gesture.”

Reagan sighed and started on her second piece of pizza as Kate set the drinks on the steamer trunk that acted as Reagan’s coffee table.

“Well, if we must. It’s all right there.” Reagan gestured to her overflowing dining area. “Let’s finish eating first. Maybe you could tell me a story while we work.” Reagan batted her eyelashes and Kate laughed.

“Well, I could tell you a story about the campaign I’m working on and a certain someone who kissed me in the dark campaign headquarters. Sounds sort of slutty and totally unprofessional, because it really was.”

“Oh hell, yeah he did! Tongues, tell me about the tongues.” Reagan jumped up and sat next to Kate on the couch.

“There were tongues, and his knows what it’s doing.”

“Sweet Baby Jesus, should we open a window?”

Kate laughed so hard her sides hurt as Reagan grilled her for every detail. By the time they both fell asleep in Reagan’s living room, the pizza was gone and the wedding favors were finished.

Chapter Twenty-Four

T
he next evening, most of the senator’s staff and a few people from Bracknell flew to Washington, D.C. on a private jet. Kate had been in first class once, but she had never been on a private plane. She felt awkward as her heels clinked up the metal stairs and she tried not to look down. Taking a deep breath, she entered the leather-smelling, neutral beauty of a plane that was nicer than most apartments, her apartment in fact. It looked nothing like a commercial airline, and as she set her bags down on the seat, she pretended not to notice. A model-like blonde touched her shoulder and quietly asked if she could get Kate a drink.

“Yes, um, I’d like sparkling water. With a lime?”

The supermodel nodded and walked away.

Kate sunk into the soft beige leather seat. It was high-backed and swiveled. Kate tried not to act like a five-year-old, but she really wanted to spin around despite it being late and her eyes feeling scratchy. There were blankets draped over each seat, luxurious navy blankets. Kate reached up and pulled one across her lap. Cashmere, of course they were cashmere. Kate was getting situated for a long flight when the woman returned with her drink. She smiled and notified Kate when dinner would be served and where the assortment of snacks were located, should she need anything. Kate thanked her, turned on the light just over her shoulder, sipped her water that was served in a crystal glass, and felt . . . calm. It had been a long time since she felt relaxed, calm, and she wondered, not for the first time in her life, if the wealthy and privileged always felt this way. Was calm for sale?

Kate was raised believing that hard work was the key to success, a fulfilling life. She’d worked hard, shunned excess as frivolous, and made her father proud. Kate could change her own tire in record time and never called roadside assistance. Roadside assistance was for weak or silly girls. Certainly not the only daughter of the Flanagan clan. Kate had always painted her own apartment walls, hauled her own groceries up the stairs, Christ, she even licked her own envelopes. Self-stick was for sissies. Most of the time she appreciated, felt good about her abilities, but there were times she was tired. Tired of proving herself, standing on her own for the sake of saying she stood on her own. Sometimes she thought she overdid it. Worked too hard to show everyone.
Who exactly was everyone?
She wondered now trying to read over Grady’s speech for tomorrow. No one cared if she changed her own tire. It’s not like there was a gold star for that type of thing, and AAA was only $29 for the year. Why didn’t she have AAA? God help her, maybe Grady was right. People ask for help and lean on each other all of the time. That hadn’t been her experience. She made a couple of notes in pencil on the speech, flipped to the next page, and let out another deep breath as Grady took the seat across from her. He looked good in the rich leather and the soft cabin light. He fit right in.

“Kate,” he said in a whisper that made her smile. In the dim light of the cabin it seemed like they were children sharing secrets by flashlight.

She looked up. “Yes, Grady.”

“Favorite part of Washington, D.C.? I assume you’ve been?”

“I have, a few times. Although never like this,” she smoothed her hands over the cashmere blanket across her lap. “Not even close to this actually.”

Grady moved to the seat next her and took some pretzels from the dish the flight attendant had placed in the center of the table.

“Favorite part?” he repeated.

Kate thought for a moment. She already knew her favorite part, but was hesitant to share. She decided it wasn’t a big deal, so she told him.

“The cherry blossoms.”

Grady nodded. “Flowers are always a hit. They are beautiful.”

“It’s not just their beauty. That is lovely, but I like that they bloom in such an otherwise cold town. To me, they feel like the pink of Washington’s cheeks, you know? Everything else is so upright, neat. The blossoms mess that up and give it life, a pulse. I like that they bloom where they probably shouldn’t.”

Grady was quiet, looking at her.

“Eh, I guess that’s silly, childish, but you asked, so that’s my favorite part,” Kate said, feeling awkward.

“I know exactly what you’re saying,” Grady finally said.

When she looked up at him his eyes practically glowed in the dim cabin light. The man was really more than she could take sometimes. He was effortlessly sexy.

“I mean, I can’t say I’ve ever thought of cherry blossoms that way, but I like the way you see things,” Grady continued.

“Thanks,” she said quickly, and then returned to reading. When she looked up again, Grady was asleep. With the blanket up around his shoulder, he looked so calm and vulnerable. There was a part of Kate that wanted to protect him. Even though she was certain he could take care of himself, she wanted to help, keep him safe. That was her last thought before she clicked the light off and tried to get some rest.

They checked into the hotel just after midnight and Kate fell into bed. Grady had helped with her bag and she pushed him out the door before she did something stupid and asked him to stay. Kate was tossing and turning; she could never sleep after a long flight. Her body was sensitive to everything, the blue glow of the alarm clock, the streetlights peeking through the heavy drawn curtain of her room.

She finally resolved that she was awake and grabbed her laptop. Her phone vibrated. It was Grady.

“What’s wrong?” she asked quickly.

“I was hoping to hear your sleepy sexy voice, Kate, but clearly you are always on alert,” he said in a sleepy sexy voice all his own.

“Grady, it’s two in the morning.”

“I know. My room has a clock too, Kate. I’m done trying to sleep, so I thought, if you were up for it, I’d take you somewhere?”

“Not much is open right now,” Kate said, closing her laptop and enjoying the sound of his voice. Her stomach fluttered.

“Yeah, well I’ve got some connections.”

Kate smiled and could think of nothing she would rather do than drive through the city at two in the morning with Grady.
Christ, you have it bad.

“Okay. I’ll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes.”