“Allow me a redo, then,” he said, bending his head to hers, his lips pressed against her ear, his pronouncement for her only. “I love you.”
“Robert.” Her chest tightened in bittersweet happiness. “I don’t want you to give anything up for me.”
“I’m not giving up anything. I’m gaining everything. Assuming, of course, there’s any chance you could love me back? Someday?”
She looked into his eyes and saw the raw emotion and honesty of a man who did everything wholeheartedly. Including, apparently, loving her.
The tightness in her chest loosened, a warm feeling wrapping around her as she realized how much she’d longed for this ever since her mother died.
Someone to love her.
“Addie?” He touched her cheek. “Do you think . . .” He cleared his throat. “Is there any chance . . .”
“That I could love you?” She pretended to check her fingernails nonchalantly, and he narrowed his eyes. “Maybe someday . . .”
“It better be someday soon. Otherwise I’ll have to marry you so I have every single day to try to convince you to love me back.”
“You convinced me,” she whispered. “You convinced me a long time ago.”
His eyes shone down into hers. “Yeah?”
“I really do love you,” she whispered, just before he lowered his mouth to hers.
It was the sort of kiss for which there were no words, no way to describe the perfection of that moment when you realized you’d found someone to spend your life with.
“We’ve gone and done it now,” she said with a laugh, when they finally pulled back for air, flashbulbs going off all around them. “They’ll be talking about us forever.”
“Good,” he said, pulling her in once more. “Because that’s exactly how long I’ll love you.”
Epilogue
One year later
A New Era in New York Politics
Yesterday marked a change in the guard in New York politics. In a startling upset, Alicia Rivera, a relative newcomer who quickly became a household name after being backed by last year’s Man of the Year Robert Davenport, defeated incumbent Governor Brennan in a landslide victory.
As for the former mayor himself, who shook up the political scene earlier this year by announcing a bid for a Senate seat instead of heading for the governor’s mansion as long predicted, Davenport celebrated his victory in New York City last night alongside his new campaign manager and longtime chief of staff, and with his new wife, Mrs. Addie Blake Davenport, by his side.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thanks so much for reading Yours in Scandal!
This story is one that’s been a long time coming, and one that’s actually a culmination of ideas. I’ve known for years that I wanted to write a story about a politician who falls for his opponent’s daughter. I’ve also loved the idea of exploring what it would be like for someone to be unexpectedly thrust into the national spotlight by being named a magazine’s Man of the Year, in the same vein as People’s Sexiest Man Alive.
Let’s just say it was a pretty great moment when the muse nudged me in the direction of combining those concepts. The second that inspiration struck, Addie and Robert’s book became clear in my mind: a man who everyone sees as “perfect,” and a woman who’s been labeled with all the nonsense that our society sometimes can put upon women.
I always enjoy writing love stories, but I will say that Addie and Robert’s romance was extra rewarding. I may be biased, but I’m not sure two characters have ever deserved happily-ever-after as much as these two, and I hope you feel the same!
Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to stay up-to-date on the next Man of the Year story about a hotshot baseball player who heads home for his high school reunion, only to find the high school sweetheart he left behind isn’t quite so easy to leave a second time . . .
PS: Looking for something to read in the meantime? Check out my website for my entire backlist! If you loved this one, I think you may also enjoy Runaway Groom and my 21 Wall Street series.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Excuse me for a moment while I roll out the red carpet for . . . *drumroll, please*
My amazing editor, Kristi Yanta.
We’ve worked together on more than twenty books now (I can’t even believe that as I’m typing it!), and while I’m always so grateful to have her in my camp, I think with this book, perhaps more than any other, she deserves the biggest medal / trophy / glass of wine in the world.
Kristi, thank you for not flinching even a little bit when I handed you my tattered first draft and a plea to help fix it up into the love story I knew it could be. Your patience with the process, as well as your uncanny sense of knowing exactly where the plot and characters needed to go, helped turn this one from a pile of words into a book I’m supremely proud of. No pressure, but you must never, ever leave me.
To the fabulous team at Amazon Publishing, I’m so delighted to have a place on your roster. Thank you for all you’ve done to make the Man of the Year series a reality, especially my editor, Maria Gomez, for always giving me creative freedom and championing my writing, and the fabulous marketing and author relations team for helping spread the word about my books. Shout-out to the behind-the-scenes team, the production coordinators, the copyeditor, the proofreader, and the fabulous cover designer—you guys are amazing!
To my “squad”: I’d be nowhere without you. To my agent, Nicole Resciniti: thanks for never rolling your eyes (right?!) when I text you at five a.m. with yet another idea. To my assistant, Lisa Filipe, for taking on all of the stuff so that I can spend as much time as possible in my writing cave. And speaking of my writing cave, there are very few people allowed in, but Jessica Lemmon, Rachel Van Dyken, and Jennifer Probst, there will always be a chair and a cup of tea with your name on it. Not. There will always be a chair and a glass of wine with your name on it.
To my husband, Anth, who just handed me a plate of scrambled eggs as I was writing this. Thanks for never complaining about just how many meals I eat hunched over the laptop, and for always being the best thing about my life when I close that laptop.
To all of my readers: I’m so grateful for you. Thank you for your kindness and your love of romance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2019 Anthony LeDonne
Lauren Layne is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, including Hot Asset, Hard Sell, and Huge Deal in her 21 Wall Street series, as well as her Central Park Pact series. Her books have sold more than a million copies in nine languages. Lauren’s work has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Glamour, the Wall Street Journal, and Inside Edition. She is based in New York City. For the latest updates, be sure to check out her website at www.laurenlayne.com.
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