Page 24 of Capitally Engaged

“I’m not on OnlyFans, but respect the hell out of people who are,” I responded. “I’m a romance author,” I said, raising my own eyebrow back at him, waiting for the usual scoff that often accompanied the genre.

To my surprise, he only nodded. “That explains this whirlwind engagement shit you and Brandt have going on. Idon’t have space in my life for that fluff, but if you believe in love and can make a living on it, good for you.”

Senator Marsden and I were more alike than I would ever admit out loud. Of course, I believed in love, but for others, not for me. I had been alone too long and lost too many important people to risk opening my heart again.

“Well, Laurel will get you the paperwork, and I’ll get Brandt to send you all the reading you’ll need. Get caught up today and be ready to work tomorrow.” The senator stood up, breaking me out of my thoughts, buttoned his suit jacket, and opened the door. He stood beside it, clearly ready to move on with his day.

“Thank you, sir,” I said as I exited, and he nodded, his eyes meeting mine. In the brief moment, I knew he recognized parts of himself in me as well.

“And Ms. Carter, make sure you leave any drama with Brandt at home. There’s no place for it here.”

I rolled my eyes as I walked away, somewhat relieved to have the asshole back in full force and we could move on with the status quo.

I knocked on the wall of Preston’s cubicle, unable to stop the smile that spread on my face when he looked up and just looked happy to see me.

“So?” he asked, standing from his desk.

“I guess we need to agree on a place to go for lunch,” I answered, smiling back.

“I never had any doubts.” Preston enveloped me in a hug. While his arms wrapped around me, something twinged in my gut at how much I liked telling someone my good news. A good, but dangerous, feeling.

“Well, I never thought we’d need an office PDA policy because of you, Preston. Strange things happen every day.” Laurel appeared behind us, her tone teasing.

“And because of that, you’re definitely not invited to lunch,” Preston said, releasing me, but kept his hand on my back. It already seemed like second nature to him to be touching me. The twinging intensified.

“Lunch?” Senator Marsden came out to join our little group. “Not today, Brandt. I need you with me at the weekly committee briefing. Hopefully, they’ll have tuna salad, your favorite.” As quickly as he appeared, he left again, exiting the office suite.

“I hate tuna salad,” Preston grumbled. I made a mental note, trying not to smile at his annoyed face.

“I can still grab lunch with you if you want?” Laurel leaned against the doorjamb, her smile genuine and inviting.

“Thanks, but I think I need to get home and get reading, so I’m ready to start tomorrow. Plus, we have that couch delivery happening this afternoon. Right, sweetie?” Preston tensed beside me. Was it the sweetie or the couch that got that reaction? “But definitely lunch, or maybe even drinks after work, another time soon,” I said, directing my gaze at Laurel.

“Drinks, yes, absolutely. We’ll go to Union Pub, get you all anointed into the Senate staffer culture. I’ll go get your paperwork together so you can take that home too.” With that, Laurel flounced back to her desk.

“Are you sure you’re okay waiting for the couch delivery?” Preston asked once Laurel was out of earshot. “I know you were questioning the... color we went with.” His eyes searched mine.

“I think you were right about the color,” I said firmly, but gently. “It’ll go really well in the space.”

Preston nodded, his face suddenly unreadable. “I paid extra to have them take the old couch out too, so it should be pretty simple, but call me if you need anything. I’ll email you all the documents you’ll need for your afternoon reading assignment.”

“That’ll be great. I’ll see you tonight.” I turned to walk to Laurel’s desk, pausing at the doorway. “Maybe we can go groceryshopping tonight? Or at least do a grocery delivery order?” Even though I knew we needed the space the couch would provide, I still wanted to know things about this man. What type of yogurt did he eat? Did he have a preferred type of bread or a favorite pasta shape? Did he even ever eat at home?

“That sounds great, Jax. I’ll see you at home.”

Chapter

Ten

Preston

Given we lived in a shared space with very few walls, I found myself bumping into Jax’s boundaries the rest of the week. I felt forgiven for whatever slight she interpreted from my couch buying, but a distance existed that hadn’t been there before. Which was ridiculous when I thought about it, because of course there would be distance. We were two people who barely knew each other.

We went to work, where I got to see Jacqueline. She had sharp instincts, her voice for press releases and other materials was perfect, and she seemed to have no fear when chasing down an opportunity or appearance. At home, that facade faded, and I could never be sure I saw the true Jax. I set up camp on the couch and she did the same on my bed, and we stayed in our respective zones when we were in the apartment. I found myself spending more time at the gym in the evenings than before, just to have something to do.

While we each stayed in our lanes, there was something comforting about having another person around. Someone to say “bless you” when you sneezed or to mix up a post-workoutdrink to be waiting when you returned from your self-exile exercise. These gestures made me want to reach out in return, but every time I thought of something, Jax had already taken care of it. My anticipation-of-needs game needed some work.

The comfort of having Jax around extended to night time, even though we now slept in two different places. She always agreed to me turning the lights out, but the glow from her computer and clicking of keys filtered over my brown noise, typically lulling me right to sleep. But not tonight.

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