Then he fell forward, bracing himself with his hands on either side of my head—just like in my dream. His rhythm quickened, and his hips slapped against my skin. The sound echoed around us as I gasped and sighed and gave in to the pleasure.
I screamed his name as I came and buried my fingers in his hair, clutching him to me as he continued rolling his hips until he too came undone. He held himself deep inside me as we both caught our breaths, and he propped himself up on his elbows to kiss my nose and jaw and cheeks.
I smiled up at him. “For the record, I love you too.”
The grin that stretched his handsome face was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. It made me laugh so hard that it surprised me. My whole body was light with joy and euphoria as he rolled off me and got to his feet.
He went to the bathroom to clean up and left the door open. I scooted higher up on his bed to lean against his pillows.
When he came back, he laid down beside me, and I curled into his side, laying my cheek on his chest and hooking my left leg over his. “Now what are we going to do?” I asked.
He sighed and began stroking my hair. “I will do anything you want, as long as it’s with you.”
“Anything, huh?” I asked, looking deviously up at him.
“Anything,” he said again.
I giggled and rested my cheek back down. His heart beat steadily in his chest in a soothing rhythm. I closed my eyes. The beating of his heart mingled with the sound of our breathing and of my own heartbeat.
Tiredness crept in around me and wrapped its arms around us. I nuzzled in tighter to Cal’s side as he pulled the blankets over us.
“We’ll figure it all out as we go, Lina,” he said softly. “Together.”
I smiled. “Together.”
39
Callum
Lina leaned in and straightened my tie. Her lips were pressed firmly together in concentration and were a vibrant shade of red. When my tie was as perfect as it was going to get, she moved up to quickly tame some hairs that had blown out of place in the walk from the car to the back office we were in now, waiting before I was led out for my press conference for my campaign for mayor.
“I think it’s as good as it’s going to get,” I told her as she stood back with her hand on her hip, examining me.
“I think so too,” she said. “You look great. Do you want to run through your speech one more time?”
I shook my head. “No, babe. I’ve got this. Thank you.”
She gave me a cheery smile and kissed my cheek. She checked that she hadn’t left red imprints of her lips on my skin before nodding confidently. “You’ve got this, Cal. I believe in you. I’ll be standing right off stage with Asher.”
Ash was sitting at the office desk, swinging his legs and humming under his breath. At the sound of his name, he looked up and slid off the chair. “Good luck, Dad!”
“Thanks, kiddo,” I said, ruffling his hair.
Lina smoothed it all back into place and clicked her tongue at me. “They’re going to want photos afterward, Cal. It took all morning to get his hair just right.”
I waved my hand at her. “He’s a kid. It shouldn’t be just right. It should be messy.”
Lina sighed. “I can’t argue with that logic.”
The office door opened, and Kelli pushed her way in with her wheelchair. “They’re ready for you in two minutes, Cal. Time to go.”
I’d hired her as my assistant when I decided once and for all that I was going to run for mayor. She was having a hard time getting work with her new condition, and it was creating a lot of resentment inside her. I owed her for how she had helped Lina and how she had put Lina’s needs ahead of her own—unlike me—when times got tough. So, I offered her a job.
I’d warned her that it wouldn’t be easy. Kelli wasn’t the sort of woman to back down from a challenge. I made it crystal clear that there would be high expectations and that shit would really hit the fan if I got into office. She went at it full speed and started running my campaign with more energy and productivity than I ever could have imagined. Without her, I never would have made it this far. Hiring her was the best career decision I could have possibly made.
In all of our pre-election surveys, my name was coming out on top with the voters. I had a good shot at winning this thing. At making a difference.
And that was all I wanted.
I straightened my suit jacket. “All right. I’ll see you two on the other side.”
Asher hugged me tightly around the legs, and Lina hugged me after. She patted my cheek. “Knock ‘em dead. When you’re done, we’ll slip out of here. Maybe go home and order in?”
I smirked. “I have plans for later that don’t involve going home.”
“Oh?” she asked. “You have me curious. You know how much I like surprises.”
I grinned. “That I do.”
“Well,” she said, tugging on my tie one last time. “I have a surprise for you, too.”
“I can’t wait,” I said, giving her one last kiss for good luck.
“Cal, will you hurry up? We don’t have all day here. You can kiss your sweetheart later. Chop chop!”
I followed her out of the office and down the hall to the press room. As soon as I walked through the doors, all the gathered reporters got to their feet. Cameras flashed, and people asked questions in rapid succession.
Kelli held up her hands, and the room fell silent. She had a presence, that was for sure, and nobody seemed willing to disobey her. “Questions will be saved for the end. Callum has made his speech short and sweet so he can address your concerns. Now, I’d like to introduce your soon-to-be mayor of Pittsburgh, Callum Gabriel.”
The room shook with applause. I tugged at my collar as Lina came out of the side door with Asher. She smiled confidently at me, and Asher gave me an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Crowds had never been my thing, but there I was, standing in front of a room full of people, doing it anyway.
“Good afternoon,” I said.
A few people said “good afternoon” back, and I grinned.
A camera flashed.
“Thank you all for taking the time to come out today and give me this opportunity to address you all. I know this campaign has had some trials. There are many worthy candidates, and to be honest, I think the city has a hard decision to make. We all offer our own unique values on our platforms. We all want to make a positive change. That has been refreshing. I want to take this moment to say that no matter what, Pittsburgh will be in good hands. But with that said…” I smiled mischievously. The room chuckled. I had them. I’d had them from the get go. “You should vote for me.”
The chuckles turned into genuine laughter. I shot a glance at Lina, who was standing behind Asher. She had her hands on his shoulders. He was grinning from ear to ear.
“If your vision of Pittsburgh is to make it more family oriented, then I’m the right choice. If you want a city that is rich and thriving with new families and vibrant communities, I’m the right choice. If you want a family man making the important decisions and having the tough conversations, I’m the right choice. However,” I paused for dramatic effect, “if you’re looking for a businessman, a politician, a guy who knows the right things to say versus the wrong things to say, a suave guy, a guy who knows how to work a crowd, well, that’s not me. I’m bound to say something stupid up here. Just ask my partner Lina over there or my son Asher. They know I can be a fool sometimes.”
The crowd chuckled as Lina nodded earnestly.
I laughed too. “But they keep me grounded. And when things get tough, those two will be the ones I will turn to. And I can make you this promise, Pittsburgh. If I don’t know what to do, I will go to them, and I assure you, they will not lead me astray.”
I nodded at the room, and everyone stood up again to applaud. I stepped away from the podium, gave an awkward bow—and then made fun of myself for bowing—and waved at the room.
Asher bolted out of Lina’s arms
and leapt into mine. I scooped him up. People lifted their cameras and phones and shot more pictures.
Then Lina came over, and I wrapped an arm around her. “Smile big,” I said.
And we all smiled.
I knew without a shadow of a doubt that our photo would be on the front page.
Lina rested her hand on my chest and stood on her tiptoes to press her lips close to my ear. “You’re going to win this, Cal. I can feel it in my bones. That was brilliant.”
I hugged her tighter. “We’re going to win this,” I amended.
She smiled, kissed my cheek, and turned to the crowd.
After the press conference, the three of us snuck out the back entrance to avoid more reporters, and I drove us to the other side of the city to an Italian restaurant. We went inside, where the hostess told us our other guest had already arrived and was waiting for us.
We followed her through the aisle of tables, which were lit with single burning tealights in their middle. A single, long-stemmed red rose also sat on every table. The petals were illuminated by the warm amber glow of the flickering candle flames.
The ambiance was pleasant and cozy. The tables and furniture were all dark, so Lina didn’t even see my father sitting at our table until we were nearly upon him.
She smiled. “Nick.”
My father stood up, and she wrapped her arms around him. He patted her back. “How are you, dear?”
“I’m good,” she said as she took her seat and draped her napkin over her lap. “Did you catch the press conference on TV this afternoon?”
“Of course, I did,” my father said, turning to me. “It was great, Cal. Truly.”
“Thanks, Dad.
My father smiled at Asher. “And how are you, kiddo?”
“Good!” Asher said as I tucked his chair in for him before taking my own seat.
“Are you still coming over for dinner tomorrow night?” Lina asked as she sipped her glass of ice water that had been sitting, waiting for her.
“Most definitely,” my father said. “In no universe would I ever be invited over for curry chicken and not show up.”
Lina grinned. “Excellent. I picked up all the spices this afternoon. This is actually perfect that you’re here tonight, Nick. I have some news I’d like to share.”
We all turned and looked at her. Lina swallowed. She was about to speak when the waiter arrived and asked if we’d like to order drinks.
Lina smiled at me and sat patiently as I ordered a bottle of red wine for the table. Asher, naturally, asked for chocolate milk. Once the waiter had collected our orders and slipped away again, Lina had the floor once more.
“Go ahead,” I encouraged her.
She took a deep breath and straightened her napkin out on her lap. I could tell she was nervous. She was working her way up to it.
She met my eye. “I’ve been starting to remember things. And people. And events. And my parents.”
I blinked. “Really? When did this start?”
“It hasn’t been long,” she admitted. “Only a couple of weeks. And at first, I wasn’t sure if it was real. But I called Kelli and started asking her things that I remembered from growing up in Judy’s house, and she confirmed they were all accurate. So, I went to see the doctor.”
“And?” I asked eagerly. I realized I was leaning forward and gripping the edge of the table.
“He thinks I’ll have regained all of my memories back within the next couple months.”
I clapped my hands together and cried out with happiness. The people sitting around us glanced over at me with judgemental eyes, but I didn’t give a damn. My father reached over and took Lina’s hand. “I’m so happy for you, Lina. This is wonderful news.”
“Yay!” Asher exclaimed, bouncing up and down in his chair. “You remember! You remember!”
Lina smiled at me. “I remember,” she whispered.
Epilogue
Lina
4 Months Later
I hurried up the stairs to the rented loft Cal was using as his campaign office. I was out of breath by the time I reached the top, and when I burst through the doors, everyone was facing the wall of TVs. I squeezed through the bodies and worked my way to the front of the crowd, where I found Cal standing in front of one of the desks.
I stopped and watched him for a moment.
He was wearing black dress pants and shiny black shoes. His shirt was a crisp white button-up that I’d ironed the night before. With the stress of the day, it already had wrinkles in it. He had the sleeves pushed up his arms and the buttons undone at the elbows. He had one hand on his hip and the other pressed flat to the top of the desk in front of him.
His head was lifted with his gaze fixed on the TV in front of him.
I moved around him and ran my hand along his shoulders. “Hey,” I said softly.
He looked over at me. His stern, serious expression evaporated and softened. He smiled. “Hey.”
“How are you?”
He shrugged one shoulder and let out a nervous chuckle. “Stressed.”
“Any minute now,” I whispered, rubbing his back.
We both turned our attention back to the TV. The advertisements ended. The news anchor appeared.
The votes of the election were in.
Cal straightened up and tugged anxiously at his collar. Sweat beaded on his upper lip and forehead. The room strained, and everyone grew even more silent than they were as the anchor prepared to reveal the results. They’d be posted on the screen any second.
Cal raised his voice for everyone to hear. “However this goes, people, we all did good work. I’m proud of that.”
“Hear, hear,” one of the men behind us said.
The silence thickened, and then the results were plastered on the screen.
My heart leapt into my throat. Cal’s hands went up in the air. The room exploded with shouts of joy and success as Callum Gabriel was named the new mayor of Pittsburgh.
I leapt into his arms, and he caught me before spinning me around in a circle. My yellow floral-patterned dress fanned out around us before he set me back down. I ran my fingers through my hair and pressed my hands to my very warm cheeks.
Cal was swarmed by his team, who congratulated him with hugs and pats on the back. He was swallowed up by them, and I stood back. Then I climbed up on a chair to snap a couple of pictures. I knew he would want to have them. The campaign had been a lot of work, but he’d pulled it all off.
There hadn’t been a second where I didn’t think he would. He was the right choice for the city. Everyone with half a brain knew that.
Just like I knew he was the right choice for me.
After some serious celebrating, and a bit of champagne, Cal snuck out and took my hand. He pulled me away from the crowd and out into the stairwell. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” he said.
I followed him down the stairs and out onto the street. The warm summer air wasn’t as refreshing as I’d hoped it would be. He pulled me down the street to a black sedan parked at the curb, and we both piled into the back. He told the driver to take us to the place he’d picked out for dinner.
I glanced at him. “You made dinner plans?”
He nodded. “To celebrate.”
I chuckled. “But you didn’t know if you’d win.”
“I had a hunch. Besides, why can’t a guy take his girl for a nice dinner just because?”
I leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. “Not just a guy. The mayor of Pittsburgh.”
Cal threw his head back. “I like how that sounds coming out of your mouth.”
I rested my hand on his knee and squeezed. “I’ll have to use it again later tonight.”
He pressed his lips to the side of my neck and then nipped at my ear. “You most certainly will.”
I giggled, and we spent the rest of the drive flirting like teenagers—the teenagers I remembered us being. My memory had come back completely over the last few months, and Dr. Brennan had given me a clean b
ill of health. My memories were mine again.
And the new ones I’d made were just icing on the cake.
The car pulled over at a swanky downtown restaurant that was located on the top floor of a high-rise luxury apartment. Cal got out first and held out his hand for me. He guided me out onto the sidewalk, and we walked into the lobby and got on the elevator. He didn’t push the button for the restaurant. He pushed the button for the roof.
I frowned. “What’s on the roof?”
He smiled devilishly. “You’ll see.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re up to something, Mr. Mayor.”
He chuckled and rolled his shoulders. “Stop that. You’re turning me on.”
“Good,” I purred, stepping out in front of him and running my index finger down his chest to his navel. I tugged at his belt. “I’ve been thinking about you all damn day.”
“You’ll have to wait a little longer,” he said before giving me a sweet kiss.
I whimpered and pouted. “But I don’t want to wait.”
“Trust me,” he said. “It will be worth it.”
“Fine,” I said, falling back beside him as the elevator doors slid open.
We stepped out into a small solarium with another door that led out onto the open roof. We walked out, and I drew to a stop when I saw the elegantly set single table right in the middle of the roof. All around it, poles were draped with twinkle lights.
“Cal,” I breathed. “This is spectacular.”
“It’s to thank you for all your help with the election,” he said, putting his hand in the small of my back and guiding me toward the table. “And to celebrate our win.”
“You didn’t need to go all out like this.”
“Perks of being a mayor,” he said.
I giggled. “So cheeky.”
As we approached, I realized the table had four place settings. Each spot had a silver tray with a gourmet lid placed over it. A bottle of wine sat on the edge of the table, and there was also a small jug of chocolate milk resting in a champagne bucket of ice.
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