Page 16 of Eye Candy

Sure, that was one reason. A small reason.

“Honestly, when you got kidnapped, he went ballistic. He did everything he could to find you. The whole city did. I helped. We went door to door, handed out flyers, stapled them everywhere we could, held vigils for you…” She grew quiet, but only for a moment. “Support for him skyrocketed after that. Everything he did to get you back was more press for his campaign. It’s like you got kidnapped at the perfect time.”

Funny she mentioned that. It’s something I’d come to the conclusion of, too, hence why I wasn’t so concerned with my dad’s public image… and also why I wanted to act out and make a fool out of him.

Kelly sucked in a breath. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s okay,” I told her, meaning it. “I’m sure winning the race helped keep my dad sane while I was gone.”

“Totally.” Kelly pulled out a black dress. “How about this one?” She offered it to me.

It was a short black number I’d originally gotten for some school dance, back when all I had to worry about was blending in and being a good daughter, not showing too much skin and not letting any boy take advantage of me and catching me in a compromising position. It ended just above the knee, strapless, simple in its design but pretty in the way it hugged your body once it was on.

“This could work,” I said, nodding along. I hung the dress on the door behind me as Kelly started to dig through my shoes, finding a pair of heels to go with it. She found a pair of pink pumps and handed them to me. The hue of the heels was a shade darker than the pink in my hair, but in a dark club, they’d look the same.

Kelly and I walked out of my closet. I set the heels on the floor while she was busy saying, “This is so exciting. The last thing I thought we’d be doing is going out tonight, but I’m so here for it. Live your best life, you know?”

I nodded. “Yeah, my best life.”

Kelly stayed for another hour. We sat on my bed and caught up with life. She obviously did most of the talking, while I sat there and listened, every once in a while asked a question or two. Kelly could talk for hours about herself; it was one of her semi-endearing qualities, why I’d stuck to her in school and dubbed her my best friend. In the past, I’d lived vicariously through her, but now…

Now it was my turn to live, my turn to do what I wanted, my turn to act up and be bad, maybe even a little naughty.

When it was time for her to go, I walked her out. She gave me another hug before going, and I waved at her as she backedup her car and left. She told me she’d message me the name of the club once she got home and picked it out. Frankly, I couldn’t wait to go out and have some fun.

Fortunately, there were no reporters hanging around, trying to get a scoop today. I bet we’d seen the last of them. Maybe my dad had some choice words for them and scared them into leaving us alone.

Heading back inside the house, I found Kieran standing in the hall, leaning against the wall, a suspicious look on his face. “I’m pretty sure I heard you two talking about going out tonight,” he said. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“Eavesdropping on us, Kieran? That’s not a good look.” I started to walk past him, my intent to head upstairs, but right then I happened to smell something faint wafting from the kitchen, so I decided to follow my nose instead. What was Mike making now?

“Please, where Kelly is concerned, I think eavesdropping should be the least of your worries.” Kieran trailed after me. “She’s not… I don’t think she’s changed much, Laina. In fact, I’m reasonably certain she’s gotten worse.”

“And how would you know?” I tossed him a glare.

“I don’t know for sure, but I can guess. I just… I don’t want you to bite off more than you can chew. I know you’re eager to live a little after your ordeal, but this city isn’t exactly the best place for someone like you to go out and party—”

The smell grew stronger the closer I got to the kitchen, and when I stepped into the wide-open space, I saw Mike pulling something out of the oven. The mixer was pulled out, along with a mess of ingredients on the counter. On the other side of the stove top sat cooling trays full of cookies.

“Someone like me?” I repeated, avoiding frustration solely due to the fact that there were warm cookies waiting for me. “What’s that supposed to mean?

I mean, they weren’t for me specifically, but I was going to have some, anyway. And if I wasn’t allowed… well, let’s just say I wasn’t afraid to fight the mountain man for them. I bounced over to the cooling tray and snatched one up, bringing the cookie to my mouth and biting off a huge chunk. The rest of the cookie hadn’t quite cooled fully, so it crumbled apart in my hands, and I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling to myself as I tried to catch the crumbling cookie pieces in my hand.

Mike’s hazel eyes were on me, and I swore I heard him mutter something about “That’s why you let them cool first,” but Kieran had followed me into the kitchen and was trying to defend what he’d said before, so I couldn’t really hear him.

“You’re the mayor’s daughter. His only daughter. His only child. You just escaped from a two-year kidnapping—which most people would call a miracle,” Kieran rattled off, leaning on the island countertop as he watched me struggle to eat the crumbling cookie. “All I’m saying is, you should try to get back into the swing of things before you go out and party with Kelly. I don’t think your father would appreciate you going out with her, anyway.”

I finished up the cookie, sending Kieran a glare. “I’m not a kid. I’m nineteen now, so if I want to go out and party, that’s what I’m going to do. He can’t control me any more… and neither can you.”

At that, Mike tossed a glance Kieran’s way, his brown eyebrows lifting somewhat.

Prickling at the look from Mike, he said, “I never tried to control you. He told me to go get you, so I went and got you, dragged you back home. Why are you still so salty about that?”

“I’m done having this conversation, Kieran.” I gave him my back and plucked another cookie off the cooling tray. Warm, gooey goodness filled my mouth again soon enough, and my ears heard Kieran huff and puff and storm out of the kitchen.

Wanting to change the subject and talk about something else, I said, “These are good. Did you make them from scratch?” I turned my head to look at Mike, and it occurred to me then just how huge he was. Up until now, I didn’t think I’d actually stood beside him before. Now that I was, I could comprehend just how massive the guy was.

Actually, I think the wordmassivewas an understatement when it came to him. What was bigger than massive? Ginormous? Whatever. He was huge. Like four of me could melt down and make him. Well over six feet, he was at least a foot and a half taller than me. And the muscles on him were just… impressive.

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