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“Hello, Tag,” Kendall said.
Beside her, Jack said, “Kendall was telling me you two are friends. I didn’t realize.”
“We are. Hello, Kendall. How are you?”
“And you have mutual acquaintances in Rankins?”
Before Tag could answer, Kendall said, “We do, sir. I know Tag’s brother-in-law, Jonah Cedar. We serve on the Coalition of Alaska Attorneys together. We’re going to join forces and work on securing some endorsements and contributions for Tag.”
Tag groaned inwardly. He was not aware of this connection. Jonah had mentioned that he planned to approach the powerful legal lobby, but he’d skipped over Kendall’s involvement.
A photographer had been wandering around snapping photos, and now he appeared before them. “May I?” he asked, gesturing in their direction.
“Of course,” Kendall said. She took a step closer to Tag and curled her arm through his, pressing her soft curves familiarly against his side and twisting so she was standing way too close. It caught Tag off guard, and he looked at her only to find her face mere inches from his. One of those slow-motion moments unfolded, the kind where the edges of reality blur and time stretches out uncomfortably. Kendall’s blue eyes were wide and earnest, her lips curved up like they used to back when she’d always seemed pleased with him. Before she’d cheated and their already fractured relationship had collapsed.
Tag turned toward the photographer and smiled as prompted even as a sinking feeling spread through him, much the way a burn did after you’d already scorched your skin. The damage done, all you could do was wait for the pain that you knew would soon follow.
Jack waved to someone and excused himself. “I’m going to let you two catch up.” Tag took a step backward.
Kendall asked, “How’ve you been, Tag?”
“Fine. Good. How’s, uh…Pete?”
“Pete and I broke up.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Kendall.” And he was. He wanted Kendall to be happy.
“I’m not.” Clutching his elbow with an urgency that felt off, she said, “Tag, I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been thinking about you, wanting to call. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve picked up the phone. But this feels like, I don’t know, fate?”
“Fate?”
“Yes. When Jack contacted me about consulting for your campaign, I knew it was meant to be for our paths to cross again.”
* * *
MADDENING WAS THE word that came to mind for this tight schedule. Tag was no stranger to working hard, but it felt completely different when his time was his own. They hadn’t gotten back to Senator Marsh’s house until after midnight Friday night. Too late to borrow a phone to call Ally, Tag had decided, but now that he was up and around he’d find a way. They were going on a fishing trip with a small group of potential campaign donors, and Tag knew they’d likely be out of cell phone range most of the day.
According to the schedule, they’d have just enough time to return to the house to shower and change before another dinner party tonight. He hoped Kendall wasn’t invited. He needed to figure out exactly how he was going to handle her zealous greeting and confession. He’d tried to put her off gently, explained that he was seeing someone, but the news hadn’t seemed to faze her.
Especially when she’d asked if it was serious and he’d had to say, “No.”
She frowned as if she was puzzling over a difficult concept. “So, you can’t have been seeing her for long, right?”
“No, not long,” he’d answered simply, evasively, because how could he tell the woman he’d dated for a year that the feelings he had for Ally surpassed those he’d ever had for Kendall, and in a fraction of the time, and yet they weren’t serious?
“Good, then we don’t have to worry.”
“About what?”
“About me working with your campaign and…stuff.” She’d added a wink and a meaningful look.
Before he could ask for clarification of “stuff” they’d been swept up by the crowd.
Kendall working on his campaign? He didn’t know what to think about that. He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to think about any of it. He just wanted to call Ally.
