When he did, it packed a punch. “It’s not mine, Charley.”
“What?” I had been expecting an apology, possibly some pleading. I had not been expecting a flat out denial.
“The baby isn’t mine.”
I swallowed hard. “You’re sure?”
“There isn’t a doubt in my mind.” Nick turned to me. “I haven’t been with Heidi in months, much more than three. It’s not biologically possible for the baby to be mine.”
“Why would she lie about that?”
“Heidi likes to be the victim. With the way our relationship ended, she became the villain instead and that pissed her off. She’s been searching for a way to throw the blame at me, and I guess she settled on this. Now I get to look like the deadbeat dad. The asshole that knocks up a woman and shirks all responsibility.”
“That could never be you, Nick.” I don’t know why I was so certain, but deep inside I knew that Nick was a good person, regardless of mistakes he might have made.
“I still screwed up, Charley. I should have said something as soon as I heard about the rumors. I was just hoping they would go away.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t believe you?” I knew that Nick was big on trust and it seemed like he didn’t trust me at all.
“I don’t know.” His head shook. “I think part of me just didn’t want to deal with it. Just when I thought the Heidi chapter in my life was done for good, she popped back up.”
“She’s part of your life whether you want to admit it or not, Nick. Of all people, I would know that you can’t run from your past.”
“I was happy,” he said abruptly. “With you, these past few days, I was happy. I haven’t been happy in so long that I’d almost forgot what it felt like.” Those tired eyes looked at me again. “It felt good, Charley. I didn’t want it to end.”
I looked away. “I really can’t do this right now. I need to get ready.”
Nick nodded and stood. “Sure. I’ll see you there?”
“You don’t have to go,” I said. “Wait for me and we can go together.”
It was a small condolence, but it was all I could offer right then. I needed to do some thinking about everything before I made up my mind about Nicholas Moore.
I took my dress into the bathroom and shimmied into it. It was red and tight– a formidable combination. A brush through my hair and a quick dusting of makeup had me ready to go in under ten minutes. The masochist in me had decided on heels to complete the ensemble and now I struggled into them, glad that most of my buzz had worn off.
“Beautiful,” Nick said softly when he saw me.
“You, too.”
He had smoothed down his hair and straightened his tie, but Nick would look beautiful under nearly any circumstance. The blue of his shirt was just the right shade and I couldn’t help but stare at him for a beat longer.
“We should go,” I said unconvincingly.
Nick had called ahead for a car, so we didn’t have to wait for a cab. Our journey would take about fifteen minutes usually, but the traffic was especially heavy tonight.
“Looks like we’re going to be fashionably late,” I said.
Nick glanced at me. “You’ll be the fashionable part.”
“Whatever, Armani,” I said, running a hand over his arm. The suit probably cost more than my monthly rent.
“Who was the guy?” Nick asked through a clenched jaw.
“Guy? What guy?”
Nick looked annoyed at my ignorance. “The guy you were with back at the hotel.”
“Brian?” I had completely forgotten that Nick had seen us together. “He’s just an old friend.”
“Friend?” Nick sounded doubtful. “Did you guys ever date?”
“Very, very briefly,” I admitted. A shadow passed over Nick’s face. “Don’t be jealous, Nick. Brian is gay.”
Nick’s face visibly relaxed. “But you dated him?”
“For about a month our freshman year of college. It was before Brian came out and before I honed my gaydar. We remained close friends once he came out.” Looking back, it seemed impossible that I hadn’t picked up on the signs from the very beginning.
Something else seemed to be bothering Nick, but he didn’t say anything until we had almost arrived at our location.
“Charley, you’re probably going to have to put up with a lot of crap tonight,” he said. “I suspect a lot of people will be trying to get a rise out of me and a reaction from you.”
“I can deal with it, Nick. I’ve been through worse.”
Nick helped me from the car and kept my hand gripped tightly in his. Several photographers snapped our picture as we entered the old church that had been turned into a reception hall. Some of them called out questions about Heidi and the baby, but we both ignored them.
We spent the next couple of hours doing a lot of smiling and hand shaking. Nick took care of most of the conversation which was more than fine with me. Asking after spouses and kids was not high on my list of fun activities, but Nick had plenty of practice with his political background. I almost expected him to start kissing babies.
“Nick! Charley!”
I smiled a real smile when I saw Nick’s friend Diana headed in our direction. She was holding two glasses of champagne, one of which she pressed into my hand. “So lovely to see you both.”
She turned to Nick and slapped his arm. “What the fuck, Nick?”
“I’m sorry?” Nick’s jaw dropped at her directness.
“Don’t play innocent with me, Nicholas.” Diana grabbed my arm. “I’m taking her.”
With that, she pulled me away, her heels snapping sharply as she led us to a nearly empty corner of the room.
“What’s going on, Diana?” I tried to sound annoyed, but I was secretly delighted to see her. She was someone I wouldn’t have to fake nice with.
“I need to talk to you about the baby drama.”
I held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t bother. Nick and I have already talked about it. I know he’s not the father.”
“No shit, he’s not the father.” Diana gulped down her champagne. “Heidi is a conniving bitch. She loves making Nick miserable. But that’s not why I pulled you away.”
“Then why?”
Diana tapped a long, red nail against her empty glass. “Everyone knows Heidi isn’t even pregnant. My girlfriend Sophie saw her out drinking martinis a week ago.”
“Okay, so that’s good, right?” I was thoroughly confused.
“Not good.” Diana leaned in close. “I’m still acquaintances with some of Heidi’s friends and she’s supposedly going public soon with more dirt. She’s going to claim that she’s no longer pregnant because Nick paid her to have an abortion.”
“What?” I nearly dropped my champagne. “That’s crazy.”
“Yeah, well, Heidi’s crazy. But she claims to have some proof. Not of the abortion, but checks that Nick wrote her.” Diana looked worried for the first time since our conversation began. “I know the story isn’t true, Charley. But Nick is a good guy and if Heidi had asked him for financial help, he would’ve done it, even after what she did to him. It kills me that some kind gesture by him could be used against him.”
“We have to warn him. He needs to know what’s about to happen.” I looked around the crowd to see if I could spot Nick.
“You need to tell him. It will be easier to hear coming from you.” Diana grabbed my arm and squeezed until it hurt. “Nick’s the best guy I’ve ever known, Charley. We can’t let this bitch bring him down.”
I fixed her with a determined stare. “Agreed.”
CHAPTER TEN
Nick
“I just can’t believe she would be so spiteful.” I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck as I absorbed Charley’s news.
When she had come back after speaking with Diana, I immediately noticed that something was wrong. We had found an empty room off the front of the church. I had always known that Heidi could be spiteful, but I was having trouble
believing that someone I had once thought I loved was now determined to ruin my life.
Charley was perched on a large slab of wood that was mysteriously plopped in the middle of the room while I stood in front of her, eyes wide with disbelief.
“Did you give her the money?” she asked, trying to sound nonjudgmental.
“Christ, no I didn’t give her money to get an abortion!” Just saying those words in an old church felt sacrilegious, even for me.
She said calmly, “I know that. That’s not what I asked.”
“I did give her money,” I confessed reluctantly. “After the breakup, she moved out of the condo. For a while she was staying with friends but then she need to get her own place and I agreed to help her out.”
Charley shook her head at me. “This is why I’m never nice to people.”
“You’re making jokes right now?”
“Well, it’s either that or join your pity party.” She grabbed my suit lapels and pulled me over to her. “We’ll work through this, Nick. It’s going to be fine.”
“You’re a liar, but I’m choosing to believe you.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “Thank you for believing in me.”
“Diana wasn’t going to let me go until I did.” She skimmed a hand over my jaw line, looking deep into my eyes. “You’re a good guy, Nick. There’s no denying that.”
“I thought girls were only attracted to the bad boys,” I said with a smirk.
“Even good guys have a bad side,” she replied.
I stepped between her legs and put my hand on her thigh, sliding over smooth skin until it was under the hem of her dress.
She sounded breathless when she said, “We can’t have sex in a church, Nick.” Adding with a smile, “That would be bad.”
I returned her teasing smile before pressed my lips over hers. Her hands pulled me even closer. It would probably have surprised Charley to know that I had never done anything like that in my life. Sex in public was a little too risky for politicians, but I couldn’t resist Charley even when I knew it was a bad idea.
When we were done, Charley gave the wooden slab she was sitting on a long look and said, “Wait a minute. Is this an altar?”
“Hm. I think so.” I laughed.
She gave a small giggle. “I guess you really are a bad boy after all.”
We headed back to the party and tried not to let it show that we’d just had amazing sex. The atmosphere in the room had changed while we were gone. People were talking excitedly and some were even crying.
“What’s going on, Nick?” Charley grabbed my arm.
“I have no idea.”
Diana spotted us across the room and came running over. “Nicholas!”
“What happened?” I said. Her face was twisted in raw emotion– shock, disbelief, and a million other feelings.
“It’s the vice President. He’s been killed!”
It was then that I noticed everyone at the party was staring at us, or more accurately, at me. Several large men in suits were rushing in our direction.
“Senator Moore.” The men closed around us. “Secret Service. We need you to come with us.”
“Not this again,” Charley muttered, sounding scared.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Is it true about the VP?”
“There’s no time for this, sir. Please come with us and we’ll explain once we are in route.”
Another man pointed at Charley. “Is she with you?”
“Yes.” My phone was ringing nonstop at this point.
“Is he a target?” Diana exclaimed in alarm. None of the men answered as they began ushering us away.
We were loaded into a heavily guarded black SUV with tinted windows. The men talked into unseen microphones and responded to unheard orders as we whipped through the streets of Manhattan.
“Where are we going?” Charley asked the man next to her.
“The White House,” he replied without further explanation.
It wasn’t quite as easy as the man made it sound. Getting to the White House was an exercise in patience. First, we were driven back to the hotel so Charley could grab her belongings. Then we drove to the nearest airport. There, we boarded a plane with our new escorts and flew to Virginia where we were loaded onto helicopters that eventually landed on the White House lawn.
We were escorted to the residential wing of the White House and Charley took a seat on one of the couches while I paced in front of her.
“Why don’t you sit down?” she suggested.
When I kept pacing, she turned on the television.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
I turned to the television and didn’t say anything for a long time. The press was loving the fact that they had something so salacious to cover. “At least they aren’t talking about me anymore.”
“Why are we here, Nick? I don’t understand.” Charley sounded worried.
“The President wants to speak with me.” I shrugged and took a seat next to her.
We sat in silence as we watched the drama playing out on television. Journalists speculated about the motive of the assassin and the failure of the Secret Service. Nearly an hour passed before someone entered the room. Even then it was just a pair of Secret Service agents coming to take me away.
“She can stay here,” one of them said, glaring at Charley. “We’ll bring you back to her after.”
“After what?” she said.
I followed the agents from the room, too worried about my current predicament to think about what Charley must be feeling at that moment. I had been to the White House a number of times, but never under circumstances like this.
We could barely walk down the hall because so many agents were surrounding the oval office. From the furtive glances they cast in my direction, my suspicions about my presence there were confirmed. We only had to wait a few seconds before the President’s aide led us into the Oval Office.
“Senator.” President Wilkins rose from behind the Resolute desk. “I’m sorry about the chaos tonight.”
“I’m sorry about Vice President Anderson,” I said as I shook his hand. “Truly a terrible loss for the country.”
“He was a good man.” Wilkins gestured to the couch. “Please, have a seat. There are some matters we need to discuss.”
I took a seat across from the President and fought hard not to become overwhelmed by the moment. “Have they identified the shooter?”
“Yes. He was connected to the man that attempted the shooting last week.” Wilkins shook his head. “I don’t understand how this happened. We’ve been on heightened security and Anderson had extra protection.”
“Is there still a threat?” I asked.
“We don’t believe so. It appears to be a conspiracy by the two men involved who both have a history of mental issues.” Wilkins took a deep breath and leaned forward. “This isn’t why I called you here, Senator.”
I nodded. “Go ahead, Mr. President.”
Wilkins looked me dead in the eye and said, “I’m offering you the Vice Presidency of the United States.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Charley
I was in shock as we were ushered into the White House and led down hallway after hallway. When they finally opened a door and told us to make ourselves comfortable, I half-expected the room to be oval in shape. But it turned out we were in the residential part of the White House, in one of the rooms designed to entertain guests.
I sat on one of the floral, stiff couches while Nick paced the room in front of me. I had never seen him this anxious and it was starting to make me feel panicky.
“Why don’t you sit down?” I suggested, but he didn’t seem to hear me.
I turned on the television to have some background noise to keep me from going insane and that was how I learned that the vice President really was dead. He had been shot by an assassin at an event in New York. It seemed categorically impossible that someone was able to shoot Vice President Anderson in such a heavily guarded a
rea, but somehow that was exactly what happened.
“Unbelievable,” I said as I watched the footage.
Nick stopped pacing and stared at the television. He didn’t say anything for a long time until finally a scowl turned down the corners of his lips. “At least they aren’t talking about me anymore.”
“Why are we here, Nick? I don’t understand.” What had happened to the vice President was tragic, but I failed to see how it required Nick to be rushed to the White House.
“The President wants to speak with me.” He shrugged and took a seat next to me.
We sat in silence as we watched the drama playing out on television. Journalists speculated about the motive of the assassin and the failure of the Secret Service. Some of them surmised that there might be a conspiracy within the agency. Others were convinced that it was part of a much larger plot to bring down all of the influential leaders in the government. One blamed North Korea while another blamed Iran. It was impossible to separate fact from fiction.
Nearly an hour passed before someone entered the room. Even then, it was just a pair of Secret Service agents coming to take Nick away.
“She can stay here,” one of them said, glaring at me. “We’ll bring you back to her after.”
“After what?” I said but they all ignored me.
As I watched Nick leave the room I got the feeling that the next time I saw him, everything would be different. I turned back to the television where the pundits were now discussing the vice Presidential vacancy. I read the text that flashed on the screen:
Section 2 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment:
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
That was the moment it clicked for me. Now I knew why the President of the United States had sent his agents to find Nick and escort him to the White House. Immediately after I had that thought, I pushed it away. It was too ridiculous to be true.
Nick returned twenty minutes later looking like he had seen a ghost. He was accompanied by the agents naturally.
“Well?” I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat.
Another Vice (Forever Moore Book 2) Page 8
