Page 3 of Her Senator's Second Chance

Chapter 2

Natasha stood in front of the sink of the small powder room, dabbing at the water splotches on her shirt. That would have to be good enough. She didn’t have time to change. Her cheeks flushed as she recalled how embarrassing it had been to crash into Adam like that. Way to make an impression after all those years. He must have thought she was so unprofessional. It was a wonder he even had decided to book his campaign dinner at her venue. She would have thought he hated her for the way she treated him when she dumped him after prom.

She squinted at her reflection in the mirror and touched up her lipstick.

Who was she kidding? She was ridiculous to think he still cared about her enough to hate her. Adam was a senator now. And he was engaged. Yes. She knew everything about him. Whether she liked it or not, thanks to Mrs. Wheaton. No need to ever stalk Adam online with the steady stream of information provided for her. Every time she bumped into Mrs. Wheaton in town, whether it be in the park or the grocery store, the old busybody had an update about Adam’s life.

And a glamorous, successful life it had been. Graduated top of his class from Virginia Tech after receiving a full-ride scholarship their senior year. The list of achievements went on and on until he’d been elected senator. Clearly, this was a man who hardly gave her a second thought. His life was much too full. His eye was always on his next goal.

Aubrey stuck her head in the powder room and said, “Can I just say that Senator Larson is a lot better looking in person?“

Natasha turned to the younger girl, slipping back into her role as employer. “Did you get the hairdryer to him?”

“Yeah, I even stuck around and watched him use it for a while. You know, in case he needed anything else.”

“You were supposed to give it to him and come straight back.”

“He didn’t see me,” Aubrey assured her. “I watched through the crack in the door. I couldn’t help myself. When I saw him take that shirt off and how ripped was, what was I supposed to do? I wanted to help him, but I felt like that would be taking it too far.”

“Aubrey, he's a senator.”

“I left before he took his pants off. But that was mostly because I saw his assistant coming down the hall.”

“The future of this facility relies on our professionalism. And we need him to get re-elected because we desperately need the government funding. You know things aren’t looking great for us financially here.”

“So, a senator. That’s, like, government, right?”

“Yes,” Natasha said through gritted teeth. “It’s, ‘like, government’.”

“Oh, well, he can govern me any day.”

“Get back to work!”

“I like the government,” she said in a dreamy voice as she walked away.

Natasha wiped a sweaty strand of hair from her forehead and blew out a breath of frustration. Her nerves were about to crack from the stress of her financial situation. If she didn’t figure out how to get some money for her facility as soon as possible, she was going to lose everything.

Aubrey turned around, a new light in her eyes. “He’s about your age, isn’t he?”

“Yes, I dated him in high school.” Natasha immediately regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. Why was she admitting this to the daughter of the biggest gossip in town? Even if Aubrey repeated it to her mother, Mrs. Wheaton knew well enough of her history with Adam. But why let her know she was still dwelling on their history together? That would only add fuel to the fire she was sure Mrs. Wheaton was busy kindling this very moment. How could that old busybody resist with the senator walking the grounds of Natasha’s establishment?

In a burst of excitement, Aubrey said, “No way! Really? You’ve kissed him? I would give anything to taste those lips.”

Natasha‘s cheeks blazed as she turned away from Aubrey to hide the blush on her cheeks. The last thing she wanted to think about was how his lips tasted. Oh, she remembered all right. How could she ever forget?

* * *

Natasha surveyedthe garden area behind the mansion. The dinner was well under way. Adam had done a spectacular job with his speech and had just sat down to eat his dinner. She noticed that none of her employees had made sure his water was filled, so she hurried over with the water pitcher. This time she would be more careful with water and glass around Adam.

When she arrived at his table, she stretched across for his glass, and her forearm brushed against his shoulder. She couldn’t quite reach his glass.

“Excuse me, would you mind handing me your glass?”

Adam looked up at her, and only mere inches separated their faces. A thrill of electricity traveled down her spine as a rush of memories bombarded her at once. Memories she’d tried hard to forget.

“Of course,” he said, handing her the glass. As she took it from him, their fingers brushed, causing goosebumps to raise on her arms.

As she filled his glass with water, she made sure to turn away so no water would spill on him.

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