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“Ror, he’s a former client. Apayingclient,” she stressed. “And he’s thelieutenant-fricking-governor!” The former should have made him off-limits, and the latter, kryptonite. Getting involved with a politician was like allowing yourself to be tied to a railroad track. It was just a matter of time until you got run over.

Adam Faulkner sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, which was thick, dark brown, and, surprisingly, without a hint of gray. He probably colored it, the vain bastard. “Believe me, I’m well aware of that,” he muttered.

And yet he still chose to sleep with her, selfish bastard.

Aurora swiftly closed the small distance between them and ran her hand up and down his arm. A gesture so familiar and lover-like, it caused Kennedy’s heart to ache, because she knew he was the train that was going to run her best friend over.

“You’re not a client now, and that’s what’s most important,” Aurora soothed, staring lovingly up into his eyes. Then she turned and addressed Kennedy. “I know what I’m doing.”

Kennedy got it. She did. She completely understood how her friend could fall for a man like him. He was very attractive, notthatold—she’d learned that forty-one became less old once you were on the precipice of thirty—and kept himself in shape enough to be featured on the cover ofMen’s Fitnesslast year. He was the whole political package, good looks, intelligence, pragmatism, empathy, and an abundance of charm, which was how he’d won his last election by over twenty points.

But he was a widower with a nineteen-year-old daughter. Andhe was a politician! That alone should have been enough to send Aurora running for the exits and then the hills...in Switzerland. How could she swear off celebrities and become involved with a man in politics, a necessary evil (although some would strenuously disagree on thenecessarypart) but as dirty and seedy a business as there ever was?

“I should get going,” he said, giving Aurora’s hand a squeeze.

“Come on. I’ll see you out,” her friend said softly, sending a pointedwe’ll discuss your unwanted interference into my love life when we’re alonelook at Kennedy.

Kennedy prepared herself for the coming confrontation. Although, after the day she was having, the last thing she wanted was to fight with her best friend, especially because of a man.

It didn’t take long for the lovers to say their goodbyes. Robe now tightly belted around her slender waist, Aurora crossed her arms over her chest as they stood facing each other. “I know what you’re going to say, but you’ll be wasting your breath. I’m in love with him. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did. And he’s not a client anymore. I wouldn’t have slept with him if he were.”

Kennedy let out a mirthless laugh. She hated playing the heavy, but someone had to. “Oh, come on, Ror. You’ve been falling for the man probably since you first met him. Isn’t that why you’re so chummy with his daughter? Just because you two only recently started having sex doesn’t mean a whole lot of emotional boundaries hadn’t already been crossed.” She should have suspected something was up when Aurora brought Brittany to the launch party. That should have been the tip-off.

Running her palm over her tangled hair, Aurora briefly averted her gaze. She knew. She knew becoming involved with Adam Faulkner was a disaster waiting to happen. “Ken, what am I supposed to do?” Her eyes implored. “I’m in love with him and that’s not something you can just turn off.”

With one step, Kennedy pulled her into her arms. “Oh, sweetie, I know. If only our hearts didn’t have minds of their own, our love lives would be ten times easier to manage, and relationships would be a walk in the park.”

Aurora returned her embrace. “Under different circumstances, I really think you’d like him. More than that, I think you two would really get along. He’s the kind of man you’ve always admired. He has all those qualities.”

Gripping Aurora by the shoulders, Kennedy gently set her back and looked her in the eye. “Ror, he’s inpolitics. You refuse to date anyone connected to anything celebrity related, yet here you are with the highest-profile politician in New York, who was cleared of bribery charges a year ago.”

“Exactly.” Aurora nodded fervently in agreement. “Which only goes to prove my point. Do you think that I would put myself in this situation on purpose? Don’t you think I tried my hardest to run from it? Ken, you know me. The last thing I wanted was to fall in love with Adam. You have no idea how hard I fought it.”

Taking in Aurora’s pained expression, Kennedy was overcome with compassion. Actually, she did have an idea. How many years had she fought her feelings for Nate? Too many. And where had it gotten her in the end? She was in deeper than she’d ever been.

“Does he love you?”

The vulnerability in Aurora’s big blue eyes as her shoulders rose and fell in a helpless shrug tore at Kennedy’s heart. “I don’t know. He hasn’t said the words, but I know he cares about me a lot.”

“Do you want a future with him?”Would you be happy being a politician’s wife?

Another shrug. “I don’t know. It’s too soon to tell, but I want to see where it goes.”

Kennedy wasn’t fooled by her friend’s sudden flash of sangfroid. They were the same age, on the cusp of three decades’ worth of living. Nowhere close to old but not twenty-one either. She couldn’t see Aurora taking a wait-and-see approach with a man she’d rearranged her professional ethics to be with. The man she now professed to love. Of course she wanted a future with him. That she wouldn’t come right out and admit it spoke volumes. Her friend was in over her head. Just how far was the question.

“What doeshewant?”

The question elicited a soft blush, and a starry-eyed smile stole over Aurora’s face. “Me. He wants me.”

Kennedy gave her another hug and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

22

Nate felt like a teenager with his first crush. The out-of-control feeling was humbling after so many years of having to control his emotions around Kennedy. Now he didn’t have to, but it wasn’t the freeing experience he’d thought it would be. It made him vulnerable. It had him doing things like showing up at her apartment at eleven o’clock at night because he couldn’t bear the thought of going home tonight without seeing her. He believed the technical term for it waspussy whipped.

She’d already buzzed him in and was therefore aware he was on his way up. At his light tap, the door swung open immediately. He must have caught her getting ready for bed, because she was rubbing something on her face.

“Now that you’ve caught me putting on my moisturizer, all the mystery is lost, so you may as well come in,” she said with an impish smile.

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