"Back to Washington?" Matt interrupted, frowning. "But we were married yesterday! Should I remind you that it's traditional for husbands and wives to live together?"
"Live where?" Kayla felt a quiver of anxiety leap and grow within her. "You commute back and forth between Harrisburg and Johnstown. My home and my office is in
Washington." She gulped. "This is something we should have discussed and settled long before we married."
'There wasn't time. Anyway, it's not a problem. You're my wife and you'll live with me, Kayla. You may as well give up your apartment. After the election we'll have to live in D.C., but we'll need a bigger place with the baby and all."
She gaped at him. *'Let me see if I get this straight. According to you, I should simply close my office, move out of my apartment and into this... this dump?"
"We'll find a bigger place, a nicer place, as soon as possible," he cut in quickly. "We'll start looking tomorrow if you want. And next weekend, we can rent a trailer and move your furniture up here. You have much better-looking stuff than I do," he conceded.
"That's the only point you've made that I agree with." She cast a disdainful look around the room. A green velour beanbag chair big enough to seat three? But even that visual assault paled when compared to the bombshell he'd just dropped. "Matt, I can't simply quit my business. I have clients who've hired me, I can't just drop them."
She braced herself for the explosion she was certain would follow. The prospect of quarreling with him again left her gloomy and dispirited. TTiey hadn't exchanged a cross word since their arrival at the Keystone Inn. On the contrary, they had been particularly close and compatible in every way, right up until they'd entered this hole-in-the-wall that served as his apartment.
She didn't want it to end, not the closeness, not the affection, not the sex. Tears stung her eyes.
Matt heaved a sigh. "You're right. You can't drop them cold."
Her head jerked up and she stared at him, almost giddy with relief that the dreaded argument wasn't going to occur after all. "Oh, Matt, I-"
"I know you have to give them some sort of notice." He caught her hand and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms
around her. *'But, dammit, Kayla, I hate the thought of being away from you. I want you with me. All the time," he added, his voice husky and impassioned.
According to Penny and a slew of philosophical tracts, wasn't this the time to launch into a lecture about her rights and responsibilities to her career? Kayla knew it was, but the words wouldn't come. She found his need for her enthralling, his desire to have her with him nearly irresistible.
Had there ever been a time in her life when she'd been wanted and needed by anyone except her twin? Maybe while her mother was still alive, but that was twenty-one long years ago. Their father had panicked at the thought of raising his daughters alone, had quickly remarried, then conveniently died to escape them all, and Penny had taken a turn at being stuck with them. Certainly, Scott Ceres, her first and only lover, hadn't found the idea of permanence with a McClure appealing; he'd opted for media wizard Dillon's daughter Victoria instead.
But Matt had married her and not, it seemed, in name only. He wanted a real marriage, a wife who shared his home and his life. He wanted her, Kayla McClure... Minteer.
*'I want to be with you, too. Matt," Kayla dared to admit. She drew back a little and gazed up at him with shining, serious eyes. ''I understand that if it's going to work between us, things will have to change."
Kayla was astonished at just how willing she was to make those changes. 'Til tell my clients that I'm married and expecting a baby and will be living away from Washington for a while. But if any of them choose to retain me, I'd like to continue acting as a consultant."
"I don't want you flying all over the place on behalf of your clients. I don't want you spending too much time on them or with them. I want your first priorities to be our marriage and our child."
"I just told you they are," she said impatiently. "Realistically speaking, do you think many poHticians are going to stick with a consultant who puts them last, after her husband and family and his career? You're a politician. You know anybody working for one had better be willing to put everything and everybody else well after their boss's political career."
Matt's blue eyes pierced her. "Would you do it? Put your husband and family and my career ahead of your clients?"
"One thing I won't do is to be the stereotypical politician's wife," she countered fiercely. "I've observed their position up close, you know. I've^een the politician's staff shunt the wife aside as an annoyance to them and a distraction to their boss. I've even done it myself, I'm sorry to admit."
"I wouldn't let that happen to you!" Matt protested.
"I won't let it happen to me, either," retorted Kay la. "I'm going to take your career as seriously as I've taken any I've been hired to help work on. I'm going to share your life as your full partner, not your dependent spouse. And if that means giving you advice or arguing with your staff, so be it. I know your brother Luke is your closest adviser, but he is not going to relegate me to the sidelines of your career and your life."
"I'd like to see him try," Matt said dryly. His eyes held hers as he reached out and caught hold of her wrist. "But let's get one thing straight, Kayla. You're my wife, not my pohtical handler."
His voice echoed his distaste for the very words. He pulled her toward him, his compelling dark blue eyes as forceful and binding as his hand that manacled her wrist.
"You'll take wifely advice but not professional advice, is that what you're saying?" She sensed the controlled desire in him and it drew her like a magnet. She wanted to unleash that desire, to make him lose that steely cool control. She was very good at that, she congratulated herself with warm
feminine satisfaction. Smiling seductively, she took a step closer to him, then another.
'Tm telling you that I—" Matt's voice faltered as she slipped her hands under his sweater.
'*Go on," she encouraged, leaning into him as her fingers stroked sensual patterns on the warm skin of his chest.
Matt spread his thighs and anchored her between them, his palms cupping the firm curves of her buttocks. He knew what she was wearing under her jeans—brief aqua bikini panties that matched her lacy bra. He'd watched her put them on this morning after he had dried her with the fluffy white towel provided by the inn.
Heat flashed through him at the very intimate memory. He pictured the two of them as they had been earlier that morning, in that ridiculously big bathtub where they had made some more sizzHngly erotic memories.
"You were saying," Kayla prompted, softly nuzzling his neck. She shivered as a tingling liquid warmth coiled inside her.
*'I don't remember," he mumbled. *'And I don't care." He caught her face between his hands and kissed her with a passion mixed with yearning need. '*Stay with me, Kayla. Don't leave me."
His consuming need for her was as enveloping and alluring as his pure masculine hunger. 'Tm not going anywhere," Kayla promised, hfting her lips for his kiss. She , knew at that moment that she loved him. Those four D's— ! the distrust, disbelief, disappointment and disillusionment—that Penny had instilled in her, the strictures which had governed her life, were submerged by a rush of emotions and one powerful insight.
That love was definitely a risk worth taking.
Eleven
^^ Kay la! This is a surprise!" Elena Teslovic greeted Kayla on Monday morning as she walked into the rented storefront room in downtown Harrisburg where Teslovic supporters gathered to work on their candidate's upcoming campaign. "I didn't know you were going to be in town today."
''As it turns out, I'll be spending most of my time in Harrisburg—at least until after the November election," Kayla said, smiUng softly. "You see, over the weekend
'Tm so glad you're here so I can tell you the news in
3rson," Elena interrupted excitedly. ''I got the strangest
phone call earlier today with the m
ost astonishing news. We
spent half the morning tracking sources, to see if it's true.
And it is!"
"What's that, Elena?" Kayla asked. She wasn't miffed that Elena wasn't interested in hearing about her weekend; she was well versed in the ways of candidates. Nothing cap-
tured and held their interest as much as their own unfolding campaigns.
*'Dave Wilson isn't going to run for reelection. He doesn't even want his name on the primary ballot. He's conceding the field to me!" Elena exclaimed. ''Now there is nobody planning to run against me."
Kayla's jaw dropped. ''What happened? I can't even hazard a guess. I never thought he would simply quit."
''You happened, Kayla!" Elena cried exuberantly. "I'm convinced you're the reason he's quitting. Rumors were flying that I'd hired a big-city consultant from D.C. and Wilson just panicked. He supposedly admitted that his reputation couldn't withstand the kind of mud-slinging media attack he knew Dillon and Ward was capable of designing. So he pulled out of the race!"
"But I'm not working for that agency anymore," Kayla protested.
"Of course, we know that, but you know how rumors are and how quickly they spread. Obviously, the fact that you used to work for Dillon and Ward was amended to your currently working there." Elena grinned gleefully. "No wonder Wilson quit. Dillon and Ward would've done a first-rate hatchet job on him. He had no way of knowing we were going to take a more honorable course, simply by letting his abysmal record speak for itself."
"We would've nailed him," an aide added loyally.
"So as of now, I guess I'm no longer a client, Kayla," Elena said ruefully. "I'd love to keep you on but you know how tight my campaign budget is."
"I know. And I wish you the best of luck with your campaign and your career, Elena," Kayla said warmly, offering her hand to shake. "Even if you're not my client, I hope you'll be my friend."
"You can count on that," Elena promised effusively. "Oh, and Kayla, you might as well take this." She handed
her a fat folder, crammed with sheaths of paper. ''Maybe you can use some of this material sometime/'
"Elena, you have three calls on hold," said a staffer, and Kayla knew it was time to leave. There was no place for a non-worker in a campaign headquarters and she was no longer involved in plotting the course of Elena's political destiny.
An hour later, as arranged earlier that morning, she met Kristina for lunch at Rillo's. Her sister was sitting at the table when Kayla arrived with her incredible news about Wilson's decision to drop out.
Kristina laughed at the idea of her twin as a specter of political doom, terrifying and powerful enough to overwhelm the opposition without even taking a poll.
And then: *'I submitted my resignation to PITA last week, Kayla." Kristina's hazel eyes were suddenly misty. "I'm working the rest of this week and then I'm packing up and moving to Atlanta. Boyd and I would like a traditional June wedding with all the trimmings—or at least most of them—so I'll have a few months to plan for it and look for anew job there."
"Atlanta," Kayla repeated slowly. "It's so far away."
"Hey, that's my line." Kristina grinned. "You're supposed to tell me how close we'll be by air and by phone. It's true too, Kayla. You know we'll talk and visit often."
"I know. But it seems ironic that FU be in Harrisburg, at least until Matt wins the election—if he wins—and takes office in D.C., and you won't be here."
"You're going to be living here with Matt? I was sure you would insist on staying by yourself at your place in D.C. and I was just as certain he wouldn't go for the idea."
"I called Jolene this morning and told her to reschedule any appointments to Thursday and Friday. Matt will be finished for the week and can come to Washington with me.
I'm not sure about the agency's future... I do know I'm
going to put my family first."
Kristina heaved a reUeved sigh. ''Now I guess I won't need to give you the speech I've been preparing. The one about compromise and sacrifice and pulling out all stops for love."
''I think I gave myself that same speech yesterday," Kayla said with a small, reminiscent smile. Her eyes widened, as an idea suddenly struck. "Kristina, if you're leaving town at the end of the week, would you sublet your place to Matt and me? One of our compromises is to find another apartment in Harrisburg for the time we'll be living here. If you saw Matt's current place, you'd understand why."
Kristina quickly agreed to the sublet, and the sisters were talking furnishings when a shadow fell over the table. They simultaneously looked up to see Luke Minteer standing above them.
"'Double, double, toil and trouble, fire bum, and cauldron bubble,'" he quoted flatly. "What are you witches plotting now?" Missing was the playful smile and teasing gleam in his eyes that would've couched his words in humor instead of insult.
Kayla grimaced. Luke had declared war on her on her wedding day, but she didn't expect continuing open hostility from him. She decided to try to tactfully deflect him. "If that's a joke, I don't appreciate it, Luke." But her flashing | eyes belied her light tone. !
"And I don't appreciate your wrecking my brother's career," Luke shot back.
"What are you talking about?" Kristina asked coldly. "She's done nothing of the sort."
Luke grabbed an unoccupied chair, pulled it over and sat down at their table. "Dave Wilson announced this morning that he isn't seeking reelection to his state seat. He was spooked by reports that his competitor had hired a cutthroat, down-and-dirty political consultant and so he de-
cided to throw in the towel and withdraw from the race. One guess who that pohtical consultant might be?"
''I know," said Kayla evenly. *'Me. And he credited me with a cut-throat, down-and-dirty reputation that I haven't earned." She eyed him curiously. "Are you upset because Wilson withdrew in favor of Elena? The man is sleazy and sneaky and thoroughly reprehensible, the sort that gives aU politicians a bad name. It's a blessing he's leaving office."
"He's leaving his state office," Luke corrected. "And it's no blessing, because he's decided to run for federal office. Wilson sent out a later announcement that he now intends to run for the same U.S. House seat that Matt is seeking."
"He can't do that!'' Kristina said indignantly.
"Unfortunately, he can," Luke snapped. "His district and Matt's comprise the same area for the congressional seat, so he's eligible. In a typical Wilson back-stabbing double-cross, he is taking back his support of Matt on the grounds that he himself is better equipped to 'handle the increased responsibilities of national office' was the way he phrased it."
"He's running against Matt?" Kayla repeated, floored by the news. "The man is daft as well as corrupt. He doesn't stand a chance."
"He most certainly does," Luke said coldly. "Wilson's staff is a highly effective propaganda machine. How do you think he's held his state office for so long? Everybody in government knows what a lying louse the man is, but he's managed to ingratiate himself with the voters. And then there's this!" He tossed a large manila envelope onto the table. "Take a look, Kayla. The remains of Matt's career are inside."
Silently, with trembling fingers, Kayla reached into the envelope and removed several photographs, 8x10 glossies of herself sitting on Matt's lap at the fund-raiser that fateful night they'd met. Both of them looked giddy and decidedly sexually hungry for each other. To a stranger viewing the
photos, Matt would appear to be a boozing womanizer, she, one of those ubiquitous party girls making her rounds.
It was not a portrait of a future US. congressman and his wife.
Kristina was looking over her shoulder. *'Oh, damn!" she breathed.
''My sentiments exactly," said Luke caustically. *'The little scheme you two dreamed up to land a husband has boomeranged, hasn't it? As Mrs. Minteer, Kayla, your future is bound up in Matt's success, which you've just sabotaged."
"That's a hateful thing to say!" Kristina exclaimed furiously. "Not to mention completely untrue
."
Luke ignored her. His attention was focused on Kayla, his blue eyes glittering. "I've learned from reliable sources that if Matt doesn't drop out of the race, Wilson is going public about the fund-raiser. He plans to release these pictures to his hometown newspaper, anonymously, of course. Except in his version of events, the waiters were instructed to spike the beverages and food to put the guests in a more, shall we say generous, frame of mind and beef up campaign contributions."
"But that's a bald-faced lie!" cried Kayla,
"There is no one around from WINDS left to repute it," Luke countered, not bothering to add that he had been instrumental in running them out of the state to parts unknown. "So what we have is Wilson's allegations of a drunken brawl, with the candidate cuddling a sexy little broad on his lap in full view of everyone, and pictures to support his claim. Believe me, knowledge of elected officials indulging in wild parties and cavorting with hot sexy babes might be acceptable to voters in certain other states but not here in western Pennsylvania."
"My sister is not a hot sexy babe," Kristina muttered, but most of the fire was gone from her voice. When faced with
it, she recognized a potential scandal and its probable outcome. *'Oh, Kayla, this is awful!"
Awful was too mild a word, Kayla thought grimly. **Does Matt know?" she asked Luke anxiously.
Luke scowled. "Of course he knows. I told him the moment I heard. He wasn't happy about it, I can tell you that."
Kayla quickly rose to her feet. ''Where is he? In his office? I want to sre him."
*'He has a luncheon meeting and then an afternoon session in the legislature," Luke told her. ''And I'd advise you to stay away from his office. You're unlikely to receive a warm welcome from anyone if you make the mistake of going there."
Kayla felt a sharp swift stab of pain, psychological in origin but almost physical in intensity. She was well aware of Matt's opinion of poUtical handlers, and now the presence of one—her!—had resulted in an inadvertent shake-up that was already causing reverberations in his own future.
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