Page 14 of Capitally Engaged

“I won’t tell them. They’ll have some questions, but it won’t entirely surprise them. It wouldn’t be entirely out of character to show up with a serious partner. There’s only one area of my life I’ve ever been known to be impulsive, and this falls under that category.”

I saw in her eyes when her analytical mind pieced together exactly why I had a commissioned ring so readily available to give her. Jax nodded, a look of understanding on her face.

My phone dinged in my pocket. A message from Mitchell with a question about his speech that evening awaited me. We rode the rest of the way in silence while I made the changes he requested and reached out to my contact at the hotel. I hoped we’d be able to use a printer on the premises to print an updated version.

The car arrived at the curb of The Dupont Circle Hotel and I got out, walking quickly over to the curb side of the car to open Jax’s door and helped her out onto the sidewalk. The hand she placed in mine for balance twisted in my palm and our fingers interlocked. I glanced down quickly at our entangled hands and then up at her face.

“Ready?” she asked, her smile genuine and reassuring all at once.

“Ready or not,” I said, smiling back.

We mingled a bit before dinner. I briefly abandoned Jax while I followed a hotel employee to a dark office and made a new copy of the speech for the senator that evening. I returned to find her engaged in conversation with one of our largest donors, her laugh carrying to my ears twenty feet away. I smiled and walked up to the group, sliding my hand onto her lower back, just like we had practiced.

“So this sparkling young woman is here with you this evening, Preston?” Donovan Fitzgerald asked, reaching out to shake my hand in greeting.

“Yes, she sure is. This is my fiancée, Jacqueline.” I introduced her the way she had in my office yesterday. She smiled up at me, pleased I had picked up on the subtle detail of how she preferred to be addressed in professional settings.

“Oh, I love meet cutes,” Donovan’s wife, Olivia, practically squealed. “Please tell me how you all met.”

I looked down at Jax, unsure how we hadn’t anticipated this question. My gut started to knot in panic. “Well,” I opened my mouth to start spewing bullshit, when I felt Jax’s hand on my arm.

“It’s my turn to tell the story, sweetie,” she said, and I snapped my jaw shut, happy to have her take the lead on this one.

“I was a reporter, covering politics in the city. We kept crossing paths at different events, Preston always made eyes at me from across the room. Finally, I walked up to him and said, ‘Will you just ask me out already?’ He did, and well, here we are.”

The group laughed at my expense and I found myself joining in because it fit like a story plucked from my actual life.

At that moment, a member of the hotel staff came up to our group and encouraged us to find our seats. Hands were shaken, promises of lunches and drinks exchanged, and Jax and I headed for table three.

“I made eyes at you, huh?”

Jax smiled up at me, as I pulled out her chair.

“Your eyes tell the story, Preston.”

After everyone took their seats for dinner, I scoured the room for Hayden. I didn’t find him at any of the tables. Noticing movement by the doors, I spotted him and Charlotte sneaking in late to join the party. From Charlotte’s flushed cheeks and my brother’s shit-eating grin, it wasn’t hard to guess what had delayed them.

Our eyes met, and I rolled my eyes at him, softening it with a smile. He waved his hand in greeting at the same moment Jax laid her hand on my arm. I leaned in to hear her, laughing gently at her joke. My gaze returned to Hayden’s. He glanced quizzically between Jax and myself, nudging Charlotte and pointing—somewhat obviously—to the two of us. She pulled his hand down, shaking her head at his behavior, leading him toward the empty seats at their table. The look Hayden speared me with before he turned to help Charlotte into her seat left no room for doubt. I’d be getting the third degree from my younger brother before the night was out.

Text Interlude

BRANDT BROTHERS GROUP CHAT

Preston

All right, I have some news.

Hunter

You won the lottery.

Duncan

The Euro crashed.

Spencer

The senator finally asked for my number.

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