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“I kind of don’t have a choice. My grandpa agreed, and she already went to Saltdove to interview him.” Laurel had presented the article as a human-interest piece outlining her grandfather’s career and Ally’s decision to follow in his footsteps.
“That sounds like our Laurel.”
“I don’t trust newspapers.” She glanced at him, and Tag knew she was thinking about the photo of him and Kendall.
In the days after its publication, Tag had faced a fair amount of speculation about the resurrection of his relationship with Kendall. A few people had asked him about it outright, twice in front of Ally. She’d braved it like she did everything, with composure, grace and a quiet humor that she mostly reserved for him and, to a steadily growing degree, his family. Hannah and Iris adored her. Ally and Iris had already cemented a friendship. Relations between Ally and Shay seemed to be improving, as well.
Kendall had called him and emailed him several times since that weekend. Her communication always started out campaign related, asking him about attending one event or another or informing him that she’d met with some important person in her ongoing effort to secure contributions and endorsements. Tag appreciated it, but inevitably, talk turned personal, often in the form of an invitation for them to spend time together. That’s when he would find a reason to end the call.
“You’ll like Laurel,” he assured her.
“I hope so,” she said.
They stopped in front of the Rankins Press office. Laurel lived in an apartment above the newspaper’s office, and Ally had agreed to meet her there before they joined the crowd at the Caribou.
“Wish me luck. I’m nervous.”
“Good luck. Just be yourself, and Laurel will fall in love with you…” He froze, because he’d almost added the word too to the end of that sentence.
And, just that fast, he could no longer ignore what his heart had been telling him; he was in love with Ally. He loved her, and the realization left him equal parts stunned and terrified. And disappointed in himself because, despite the logic he’d employed and all the safeguards he’d constructed around his heart, it was too late to stop it now. It would be like trying to turn off the northern lights or halt a storm. It would be funny if it didn’t hurt so much; he’d finally fallen in love, and everything about it was wrong.
Instead, he kissed her. Because if he couldn’t say how he felt, he was going to show her. A long, sweet moment passed before he pulled away to watch her face. He loved doing that because it was one of the few times her expression was unguarded.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and when she smiled up at him, his heart swelled. The sensation felt different now, even stronger, and sweeter because he’d acknowledged what it was. Almost immediately that annoying, persistent ache clawed its way back in, scratching at the sweetness. He loved her, and he found that he desperately wanted to say it and he wanted…he wanted more. But he couldn’t have more, and he couldn’t tell her how he felt. It wouldn’t be fair to lay his feelings on her when they’d agreed on the parameters from the beginning.
She squeezed his hand and said, “I’ll meet you at the Caribou.” He watched her walk inside the building and across the floor until she disappeared up the stairs.
* * *
AT THE CARIBOU, Mack had the big screen fired up and the first pitch of the game was about to be thrown and viewed in all its high-definition glory. Emily had reserved two tables up close and personal to the action. Family and friends were filing in and filling chairs. Appetizers had been ordered, and the fragrant scents of garlic and cheese had his mouth watering.
Tag settled in with a cold frosty beer, Jonah on one side of him and Iris, who was saving the seat between them for Ally, on the other. RJ Filson threw the first pitch for the Mariners. Strike. A fastball and a slider came in quick succession, and the Mariners had their first out. The waitress delivered a plate of nachos to the table. Tag relaxed, determined to enjoy a no-stress, campaign-free evening with his family and the woman he loved. Even the thought of his eventual, inevitable heartbreak wasn’t going to ruin it for him.
Shay leaned around Jonah and said, “Um, Tag?”
