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“Have you seen this morning’s newspaper?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
TAG STUDIED THE PHOTO, remembering the unsettled feeling that had swept through him in that exact moment and willing his brain to compute how the photographer had managed to capture something that had never existed. Kendall had snaked her arms around him so quickly he hadn’t registered what was happening until it was too late. He’d been confused by her actions, but that didn’t show in the photo. No, it depicted a different scene entirely: warmth, intimacy, romance, a couple totally into each other.
Nausea churned his stomach, and his head felt like it was filled with cold helium. He looked at Ally, watching for a clue as to how she might feel about this. He knew how he’d feel. And it wasn’t good.
“I need to ask you something, Tag. Are you seeing other people? I know you told me I could, but I’m not, and I don’t plan to, but if you are, then it will change this conversation.”
Regret pierced his insides even as a bubble of joy welled up to soothe the pain. He liked that she didn’t want to see anyone else.
“No, I’m not. And this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Okay… Then, what should it look like?”
Opening his mouth to the rush of words already gathering, he closed it as the cleverness of the question caught up with him. He needed to get this right.
“It should look like two old friends meeting after a long time. I mean, factually, she is an ex-girlfriend, but I wish it didn’t look like that.”
The slightest lift of her brows was enough to tell him he was already veering off course.
“Wait.” Tamping down his panic and desperate to make her understand, he inhaled a breath. “Starting over now… It should look like two old friends, exes, meeting after not seeing each other for a while. One—the woman—is greeting the other—me—way too enthusiastically. In my surprise, I glanced at her to see what the heck she was doing wrapping herself around me like an octopus. When I did, I discovered her face was much too close to mine, also catching me off guard. A little shock and dismay mixed with a bit of fear are what the shot should show. I realize that it doesn’t, and I regret that more than I can ever express.”
Tag realized he was getting better at this, at reading her. The left side of her mouth twitched like it did when she thought he was funny but didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know.
“That’s not bad.”
He felt like it was enough encouragement to continue. “Immediately after the unfortunate nanosecond that this quick-drawing freak of a photographer captured, I stepped to one side and several more photos were taken. Normal ones.” He flicked his gaze back down to the picture and shook his head. “How he managed this…completely inaccurate representation I will forever wonder about. And why he used it, I don’t…? Anyway, her name is Kendall Meade, and we dated for about a year. It was mostly long-distance and, after she cheated on me, we broke up.”
He searched her beautiful, curious, wary brown gaze, hoping his conveyed the truth of the situation. He didn’t care if it hinted at the depth of his feelings for her if it meant they could get past this.
“Ally, I know that last part could imply that I was heartbroken but I promise I was not. The relationship was already headed for the end. Kendall just pushed it over the cliff faster. Sure, maybe my pride was bruised, but mostly, I was relieved.
“This morning, before we left, Bering and I had breakfast with her and her parents, Sally and Tom Meade, because they are interested in making a major contribution to my campaign. I had—have—an excellent relationship with them.” He didn’t see the point in mentioning that Kendall might be consulting on his campaign. It wasn’t as if she’d be working with him directly.
Her composure was unnerving. “Ally, please, say something.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say what you’re thinking.”
She blinked and then nodded once. “Okay.”
When she didn’t elaborate, he asked, “Okay? That’s it? In that brilliant and incredible brain of yours, that’s the only word forming?”
