Page 10 of The Senator

I wanted to laugh, because my wife loved food and had a hearty appetite, sometimes eating me under the table. She never gained a damn pound, god love her.

Nash, our new caretaker, grabbed a plate and began filling it for me. Once it was sufficiently piled up, he placed it in front of me before going to the cart to grab a coffee cup and saucer.

It all smelled delicious and looked tasty, but the food was no match for Nash’s ass… assets... which were on display in the black chinos he was wearing. I glanced up to see Vanessa smirking at me before she took a delicate bite of toast and winked. I was more than a little leery of that look.

“So, Nash, tell me about yourself.” He poured me a cup of coffee from the carafe resting on the table near Vani.

“Uh, well, I’ve got a vagabond heart. I don’t like to stay in one place too long.” He passed the sugar and creamer to me for my coffee.

“Spencer, Nash is new to town. He works part-time as an escort for the men and women in town when they attend events, and his other job is working for Naomi Chu when she has a catering job. Remember? Naomi catered Judge Dean and Rett Beaumont’s wedding in New York. We were supposed to attend, but it snowed, and the airport closed. It was on Christmas Eve a couple of years ago. Anyway, Nash knows Georgia Symington.” Vanessa spilled every one of the man’s secrets and spilled them in a hot minute.

I glanced at Nash to see he was smiling at Vani, which made me wonder if he wanted in my wife’s panties. “Where’d you get the tracksuit. Not your usual style,” I pointed out.

“Nash went downstairs and picked it up for me from the gift shop, so I don’t have to walk out in my cocktail dress. He brought you a sweatshirt and a baseball cap as well. Oh, NBS had no problem outing Blaire. His name was released early this morning. He was unable to be reached for comment. Have you been contacted?” Vani scrolled through her phone.

I reached for my shirt pocket to retrieve mine, only to find it dead. I flipped it around to show the blank screen to Vani just as her phone rang. She looked at it before handing it to Nash. “Answer it and say the Senator and his wife have no comment, please. Otherwise, they’ll keep calling, and I don’t want to turn it off in case Jay needs us.”

I started to grab her ringing phone when Vani slapped my hand. “Leave it alone, Spence. Nash, go ahead, please.”

The man cleared his throat. “Hello? Senator and Mrs. Brady have no comment. No, you can’t have my name. Don’t you people use a source or a spokesperson when you make shit up? You’re welcome.” Nash ended the call and handed the phone back to Vani with a sexy smirk.

“That should take care of things, at least for a while. So, Senator?—”

I held up a hand to stop him. “Spencer, please.”

He smiled. “Right. Spencer. So, we need to figure out how to sneak the two of you out of here and get you home, sir.” Nash glanced between the two of us.

I nodded as I poured syrup over my hotcakes, not ready to face reality. We ate until the food was gone, and I was as stuffed as a tick.

Vani rose from the table and began to clear when Nash stopped her. “I’ve got it, Vani. Finish your coffee.” He stacked the plates and platters before moving everything into the kitchen.

“Vani, what the fuck are you doing? He might be a reporter in disguise,” I hissed at her.

Of course, she giggled, as she shook her head at my paranoia. When one lived in the shadows, it was hard not to jump to conclusions.

“Now, Spencer, he’s not a reporter. He’s a gorgeous young man who has a compassionate heart, I just know it. He mentioned he’d read about everything in the free paper they give out at the metro, and he asked if we were okay. We got to talking, and I find him quite charming.” Vani smiled at me, which made me wonder if she was attracted to him.

I cocked my eyebrow again, and she rolled her eyes. “Not for me, Spence. For you. He’s bisexual. I think the two of you would make a very attractive couple.” Vani’s mind was clearly made up on the matter.

“Oh, bullshit. He’s, what? Twenty-three? You think he’d be interested in these crow’s feet?” I pointed to the lines around my eyes that had become more prominent in the last three months.

Vanessa rose from her seat and walked around the table, pulling out the chair next to me before sitting and taking my hand. “I love you, Spencer. You have been my best friend since we met, and I have loved you like a brother for longer than I can remember not loving you. I’ve been very happy with the life we’ve built together, but it’s got to feel good to finally have your truth out there, even if it wasn’t the way you’d have preferred it to be told.

“For twenty years, you’ve been my rock, and you’ve sacrificed so much for Jay and me. We got through my PTSD, and all the counseling I had to endure because of the rape and the feelings I had surrounding the miscarriage. You were there for me, supporting me every step of the way, for which I will always be grateful. Hell, you married me to salvage my honor, Spencer. You’ve lived your life for everyone else, even down to running for the Senate.”

I stared at Vani. “Vanessa, you don’t owe me anything.”

She smiled. “You’re wrong, Spence. Running for office wasn’t your choice, was it? Your parents, the bastards, they pushed you into it! Hell, I guess I pushed as well. I thought it would be glamorous to be a senator’s wife, and you hated practicing real estate law, remember? I was selfish not to consider how much you denied yourself to help me find my happiness. I’m sorry I haven’t thanked you before now.”

“Now, here we are. We have the chance to start over and for both of us to find our happiness, not just me. Jay is going to come around, Spence. He’s in shock right now, and it can’t be easy to be the son of a tarnished senator on a large college campus, but he’s making the best of it. How about you and I make the best of it as well?” Clearly, my wife was up on her soapbox.

As per usual, Vanessa hit the bullseye. No, I’d never wanted to be a lawyer, but my father, Ronald Brady, who was a retired circuit court judge in Norfolk, had insisted law school, and then Congress, was the right path for me.

It was the only way he and my mother, Hillary, would attempt to accept Vanessa, and back then, she needed that acceptance. Considering they’d abandoned us after I became front-page news, maybe Vanessa was right? Maybe we should worry about ourselves for a change?

“So, what? I should take him back in the bedroom and?—”

“Aw, now. I’m not quite that easy unless I’m being paid five-hundred bucks an hour. Mr. Fitzpatrick called to say he’s going to send a car for you. The driver will be on the third level of the parking garage next to the freight elevator. He’ll be here in half an hour, hardly enough time for me to show either of you a good time.” Nash had a sexy smirk and a healthy amount of humor in his voice.

---