Page 41 of Senator

Chapter Twelve

“Hey,beautiful. Ready to party it up?” Kevin said as he entered my townhouse three weeks after my birthday. “We’ve got two nights of back-to-back events.”

He was dressed to the nines tonight in a custom-made black-and-gray shawl-lapel tuxedo and his white-blond hair was in a slightly messy style, giving him a rakish appearance. He carried a big box wrapped in light-pink paper with a giant fuchsia bow on top.

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him. “You stood me up for my birthday.”

“Sorry, I had no choice. I was in the middle of negotiations. Let me say for the record, I’d rather have spent my time with you than on a flight to West Africa.”

“Promise to make it up to me this weekend, and I’ll forgive you.” I smiled.

Following tonight’s gala, Kevin and I planned to drive to NYC. We had to attend a giant bipartisan charity fundraiser and thought to make it into a fun trip instead of all business. I hated all the back-to-back events, but it couldn’t be helped. This was a national election year, and every Tom, Dick, or Harry with political ties wanted to throw a gala. And it would look very bad for the party if the “Republican Darling,” as the media had dubbed me, didn’t attend the bigger ones.

Plus, a trip to the Big Apple with Kevin would give us the perfect opportunity to create a fairy-tale proposal. Especially since the media was expecting an engagement announcement any day.

“Will telling you that you look stunning tonight start the process?”

I glanced down at my Elie Saab black-and-gold high-slit gown.

“It’s a start.”

“I think this will get me back in your good graces sooner rather than later.”

He handed me the box, and I couldn’t help but squeal a little. Kevin had gift-giving down to a science, and I knew whatever was inside would be amazing.

“Damn, this is heavy.” I set my clutch and the box on the sideboard and began tearing at the pink paper.

When I opened the lid, tears burned my eyes. “Oh my God, you didn’t.” I carefully pulled out a Chihuly one-of-a-kind blown-glass sculpture. Blue, red, and gold shot out from the center, like fire trying to reach outward, and at the bottom it said, “Jacinta, never stop aiming for the sky.”

A hiccup escaped my lips. I had fallen in love with Chihuly’s unique style of artwork years ago on a trip I’d taken with friends to St. Thomas. The hotel we stayed at had ceilings made with Chihuly’s glass masterpieces. I always said I’d have one of his creations in my house, and now I would.

“How did you get him to do this? I thought he rarely did commissions nowadays?”

Kevin approached me, taking the piece from my hands and walking to my office, where he placed it on the large window table next to my favorite reading chair.

“You know these things I am involved in called resorts? Well, my hotel group commissioned Chihuly to design the ceiling of the casinos in two of our new properties.”

I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tight. “You’re the best.”

He held my waist and squeezed. “Back at you.”

He pulled from me and offered me his arm. “Ready to enjoy an evening with the Washington elite?”

“Not really.” I slipped my hand through his. “I hate galas. If you’ve been to one, you’ve been to all. I’d rather sit on the back porch and stare at the stars.”

“How about this? We’ll mingle for a few hours, make up some excuse to escape the festivities, and then spend the evening here relaxing. This way we can get in a few hours’ sleep, hit the road before dawn, and make it to New York just in time for all the shops and attractions to open up.”

His idea had merit. “What excuse will we give?”

“Let’s leave it open so everyone can jump to conclusions.”

“I think that’s the perfect plan. Time to go, Mr. Stanton.”

“After you, Senator.”

* * *

We arrivedat the National Building Museum for the Charityworks Dream Ball a little before seven. Cars lined the driveway, and we had to pass through at least three security checkpoints.

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