“They’re good guys,” I say. “Nate and Max too.” I cock my head. “Huh. Maybe I should set you up with Max.”

She throws up her hands, palms out. “No way. The last thing I need to do is let myself fall for a guy who’s still hung up on Hanna.”

“Fair enough.” She’s right, but I still hate seeing Max alone. If I ever doubted Max was a stand-up guy, the last year has proven it. He deserves someone good.

Nix grabs her purse. “I’m going to go, but I’ll see you at the wedding tomorrow.”

I stand and give her a hug before she goes, then I grab my own purse and open the chat client to type a reply to my favorite stranger.

Tink24: I’ve been thinking about you, too. You do know how to put ideas into a girl’s head.

Understatement of the century, but it’ll do. I slide my phone into my purse, say my goodbyes, and head for my car. I’m unlocking my door when my phone buzzes again.

Riverrat69: Would you think I’d lost my mind if I told you I wanted to meet you?

Chapter Five

Sam

“Sam!” Dad calls when I walk in the door. He has his campaign face on. Hey, look at me! I have children and I’m so proud of them. To be fair, Dad is proud of us even when potential voters aren’t involved, but the effusive praise is saved for the masses. “Come in here,” he says, ushering me to the conference room. “I want you to see what Connor has mocked up for the next wave of social media images.”

I step into the room and freeze. Liz is working at a laptop on the big oval table that sits in the center of the room. Liz, with her sweet smile and big blue eyes. Liz, with her wet dream of a body and infectious laugh. And Connor is right behind her, his body too damn close to hers, his mouth by her ear as he points to the screen.

Jealousy shoots through my blood, and I have to remind myself to breathe. She’s not mine.

But she sure as fuck isn’t his, either.

“I don’t have to introduce you to the newest member of our team,” Dad says, gesturing to Liz. “I’m going to put Liz’s writing skills to work for a while, see if she’s a good fit for our campaign.”

Liz looks up, happiness all over her face, then she sees me and falters for just a moment, something like regret flashing in her eyes. Does she regret that night, or do I just wish she would? If we hadn’t slept together, this would be a hell of a lot less awkward. Then again, I’m not the only guy in this room she’s fucked.

“You didn’t tell me,” I say to Liz. “Congratulations.”

“I didn’t know until yesterday. And thank you. I’m thrilled that your father is giving me a chance.”

“You’ll do great.” I’m not just appeasing her. It’s true. She can write. I’ve seen the grants she’s written, and those skills will be an asset to my father’s campaign. I’m just not sure how I feel about her working so closely with my family. With Connor.

“She’s a good fit,” Connor says.

“Connor,” I say with a nod. I force a smile for the benefit of everyone in the room, but we’re all faking it here. The only one this isn’t awkward for is my father, and that’s because he’s clueless.

“Thanks for coming over to talk with us on your lunch break,” Dad says. “Connor, would you join Sam and me in my office?” He ushers us back and closes his office door behind us before taking his spot behind his desk.

Connor takes his spot in one of the leather-upholstered chairs opposite Dad, then motions to me. “Have a seat.”

My stomach cramps. I don’t know exactly why my father called me here today, but I have a pretty good guess. I resent that Connor is going to be part of this conversation. Plastering on my polite smile, I lower myself into the damn chair.

“We’ve come to an agreement with Asia,” Connor begins carefully. He avoids my eyes. Pussy. “We don’t anticipate she’ll be a problem.”

“Good,” I manage, dislodging the word from where it wanted to stick in my throat. Connor is my sister’s husband. He used to be my friend. No matter what I may think of him and his piss-poor choices, no matter how unworthy I think he is of Della, he’s not the enemy. “Thank you.”

My father gives Connor an approving nod, and Connor clears his throat before continuing. “On the off chance that she decides to come forward anyway, we’d like to take some proactive measures to protect you.”

“Protect me? I don’t need protecting from Asia. She’s a lying, manipulative—”

Dad holds up a hand to stop me. “Exactly. And the image you maintain will make her lies all the easier for the public to swallow.”

“What image do I maintain? I’m not the politician. I don’t have an image.”

“Everyone has an image,” Connor says. “And yours is that of the consummate playboy.”

Well, fuck. “My love life is irrelevant to my father’s campaign.”

“Should be, maybe,” Connor says. “But you know as well as I do that the press is going to be watching your every move, and with the primaries coming up in May, we can’t afford to have a wild card like Asia and whoever else you might have an unsavory history with. We can’t let her run loose without hedging our bets a little.”

I curl my fingers around the chair arms, since I can’t strangle the father of my unborn niece. “You think I have a long line of strippers who aborted my children against my wishes? Is that what you’re suggesting?”