Page 48 of Extra Witchy

“You came,” she whispered.

Gentle hands smoothed down her back, stroking her until she closed her eyes at the pleasure of his touch. “Of course I did. I’ll be rooting for you.”

She’d never been the cuddly sort, preferring the quick satisfaction of sex to anything more intimate. But if she wasn’t careful, she could get used to this. “But I didn’t ask you to. I never told you I wanted you to be here.”

“Yeah, you might want to work on that. I’m not a mind reader. But Iwantto be here, so our interests coincide.” With his usual serene smile, he pretended to scoff. “Some First Gentleman I’d make if I didn’t attend my wife’s events.”

“What?”

“Ask Hazel Jeffords. Let’s get you inside.”

Everything melded into a congenial montage of her shaking hands and presumably saying the right things, then suddenly, she was at the podium, trying to remember her speech. Leanne took a breath, focused on Trev, and smiled. “For years, I’ve helped public figures put their best foot forward. Written their speeches and moderated social media accounts. But it occurred to me that I don’t want to do that anymore.

“I don’t want to help others polish their images. Rather, I want to make a difference. Other candidates will allege that I don’t have the political experience necessary to help the city of St. Claire, but after observing from behind the scenes, I’m certain I can address problems that have been swept under the rug for far too long.”

She went on to outline her ideas, trying to be precise and succinct. And, when she finished, Trev beamed at her and gave two thumbs-ups. Judging by the applause from those gathered, she must have come across well. Some of the tension left her shoulders.Damn. Her hands even hurt from gripping the sides of the podium. Public speaking was alotdifferent than simply typing out the words.

With as much dignity as she could muster, she added, “I hope I can count on your support. I’m Leanne Vanderpol-Montgomery, and I want to work foryou.”

***

If Trev hadn’t already been on his feet since he didn’t want to take up valuable chair space, he still would’ve given Leanne a standing ovation.

He clapped enthusiastically, stirring the rest of her listeners to greater fervor. After the speech, interested parties became enthusiastic supporters, and they spent a good half an hour bending his wife’s ear with helpful suggestions—both about her campaign and changes she should propose if she got elected to the city council. The proposal about improving the recycling program was a good one, and it would even create some jobs, but he understood such innovations had to pass through a daunting number of approvals to become reality.

Twenty more minutes passed, and Trev settled in a back row seat with his phone, now that the crowd was thinning out. Indefatigable, Leanne kept chatting and shaking hands until the last two guests excused themselves. Only then did she make her way to the back of the room, balancing graceful as a swan in heels so high, they could stake a vampire dead.

“How was I?” she asked.

“Perfection. You slayed the hell out of that speech, and you were so charming that I feel like marrying you all over again, just because.”

She smiled, her lipstick perfect, teeth bright and white, but it was the faint crinkles at the corners of her eyes that he noticed today, along with the deeper blue specks in her smoky eyes. Odd, he’d never realized she had a dark limbal ring before, contrasting beautifully to the brighter hue. The longer he knew her, the more he observed the small details. Not that these observations detracted from her beauty—quite the contrary. He found everything about her beautiful, even the tiny mole behind her left ear.

“My cheering section is open for business, I see.” She reached for his hand, her expression different than he’d seen before.

Trev curled his fingers around hers, finding her hand chilled to the point that it probably hurt.Was she that nervous?Gently, he rubbed her hand between both of his to warm her up. Leanne didn’t ever show weakness, so this felt…significant, somehow. That she was reaching for him when she needed someone.

“Always. Are you hungry?” he asked.

Now that her hand was warmer, she produced a smile, but he still detected shadows in her gaze. “If I say yes, what will you do about it?”

“I’ll take you to Titus’s house. He’s cooking for us, apparently.” Later, he would ask if something had happened. Right now, she seemed to want to lose herself in prosaic conversation. Maybe it grounded her after public speaking? That didn’t seem to come naturally to her, even if she’d nailed it.

“Just us?” Leanne asked.

Trev shook his head. “Danica will be there too. Maya is spending a lot of time at her girlfriend’s place, and he wants to hang out. Suspect he also wants to talk to me about our quickie wedding. But itisshort notice. If you’re not up for it—”

“No, sounds fun. I’m always happy to see Danica. She’s a good friend, and I want to get to know Titus as well. He’s your bestie, right?”

Laughing, he said, “I’ve never used that word, but yeah. We’re BFFs. In fact, he chewed me out for keeping quiet about our Vegas plans.”

“You could have told him,” Leanne said.

When she upgraded their connection by looping her arm through his, it seemed like a proud declaration of their relationship. She tugged him toward the front doors, and a little thrill went through him. He tried not to look at her as a status symbol, but the woman was incredible. Beautiful, fun, smart, successful, and ambitious—the total package. Sometimes it was difficult not to wonder what she saw in him.

“Who did you tell?” he wondered aloud.

And how much do they know?

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