Page 72 of Tips and Trysts

I face my father again and saylowly, “I’m your only child, and someone tried to shoot me to send a message to you. How did that persuade you to run for a more public, more important political office?”

“It’s an opportunity, Everett—one that certainly benefits you long-term. The Logan political dynasty is about to embark on a zenith, and you’re here to witness it.” He raises his whiskey. “Cheers, son.”

The look on his face should make me sick to my stomach—sicker than I’ve felt in the presence of the half-eaten veal parmigiana on his plate. Thing is, I’ve seen this look before. Warren is thrilled.

He’s thrilled someone tried to kill me. He’s thrilled Cora took a bullet for me—my Cora.

…Is she my Cora now? I would know if I weren’t being held against my will at a tacky DC steakhouse.

“Cheers, Dad,” I reply, forcing a placid expression while I raise my water glass. “The people of Virginia continue to be in good hands under your unerring leadership.”

“Thank you, Everett,” my father replies, beaming.

“What a lovely thing to say, darling,” my mother agrees. She reaches to touch my hand again, but before she can, I grab the cloth napkin from my lap and drop it on the table.

“I should get going. I’m meeting Lander to debrief.”

My father bobs his head with approval. He knows I’m lying, but he’s fine with it. He wants me to lie.

He taught me how.

“Well, before you go, let me say again: You were exceptional tonight.” He beams at me. “You were everything I expected you to be.”

I push my chair back and rise before buttoning my jacket. “Thank you.”

“I mean it,” he continues. “I’m unbelievably proud of you, son. You’re a real man now and you make this family so damn proud.”

A real man now.

I bob my chin. “Making this family proud is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” I reply, loathing the words—not just their sentiment, but how convincing they are. They’re bile and spite, but they sound like honey. “Thank you, Dad.”

Satisfied, he downs the last sip of his whiskey. “Tell the boys it was good to see them again. I’d love to host them at the mansion once the primary is over.”

“I’ll tell them,” I reply, even though Dalton would rather give up liquor for a month than spend a minute with my father, and last time we were at the Executive Mansion, Lander was so done with my father that he pretended he didn’t know who Ronald Reagan was for a solid half hour, and my father nearly had a conniption.

Warren nods, eyes crinkly and kind, smile straight and white and beaming. “I love you. Try to have a low-key night, please. People are paying attention now.”

And I stare back at my father, holding eye contact when I respond, “Of course I’ll be low-key.”

Twenty-Four

EVERETT

“Princess, I’m two minutesaway,” I say when the call connects. Then I swerve into the next lane, nearly clipping the car behind me. The driver lays on the horn, and the sound resonates through the plunk of raindrops hitting my car.

“Okay, and?”

“Fuck, I love the sound of your voice,” I respond, changing lanes again. “Will you meet me in the lobby, or do I have to go upstairs and carry you to my car?”

There’s aDing!on the other end of the call followed by Cora saying, “I’m already on my way.”

Five words without innuendo have no business sounding so promising, but they have me pressing the gas and tearing through the rain-slick streets of Dupont Circle until I get to the Halcyon. The car hasn’t even come to a complete stop when Cora emerges from the building’s double doors.

Her black hair is loose and immediately goes shiny when the rain skims her. I stop breathing for at least three seconds, trying to comprehend how one person could hold that muchgravitas. She’s astoundingly beautiful, yes, but her intelligence, her confidence, and her resilience are beyond definition. I’m just so fuckinglucky.

“Hey,” she says as she slides into the passenger seat.

All I want to do is kiss her, but we’re idling in front of a well-lit building that certainly has security cameras. I have to settle for squeezing her hand before I loop out of the driveway and back on the road.

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