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Taking a deep breath to control the nerves that always arose in me at times like this, I pushed the curtain aside and stepped out, plastering a smile onto my face.
The crowd erupted into even louder cheers at the sight of me, as they always did for some reason. My father had joked a time or two that I was popular enough to enter a career in politics myself. But I couldn’t imagine such a lifestyle; I much more preferred law.
Dad turned toward me, holding his hands out. I grabbed his hand and together, we took a bow toward the crowd. The music continued to blare and the crowd continued to cheer excitedly.
I was taken aback by the sheer volume of the crowd. It seemed that with each rally Dad gave, the turnout just kept growing bigger and bigger. This was certainly the biggest crowd he’d had to date. I glanced sideways at him, wondering if he found it as overwhelming as I did. But just as I should have expected, he was handling it all with expert poise. Still holding my hand, he headed toward the edge of the stage with me in tow, where he began leaning over to shake hands. Security guards followed behind us, and moved to the front of the crowd as well, making sure nothing got out of control.
As I shook hands, I glanced around the crowd, spotting Ms. Penson toward the front. She smiled warmly and waved at me, and I waved back at her.
I then began looking around at the various signs being held into the air. The signs were always my favorite part. Dad’s supporters were full of creativity and often came up with great slogans to show their support. I had mentioned to him before that if he secured the nomination, he should consider asking supporters to help come up with a campaign slogan.
My heart stopped at the sight of one sign though. I stared, wondering if I was seeing correctly. It wasn’t a sign for my father. Instead, it read: Natalie For My Heart.
I looked at the person holding the sign, and it was none other than Colt.
Tears welled in my eyes, and in that instant, I knew I had been stupid for all the wrong reasons.
I knew I shouldn’t have believed it when he claimed he wanted nothing but a professional relationship with me. We had made too strong of a connection for that.
Smiling and laughing through my tears, the instant I made it across the stage and close enough for him, I dove right into his arms.
Loud cheers erupted all around us as our lips met.
CHAPTER 18
Natalie
I couldn’t have planned it better, but the last few months had been pure bliss.
I had even passed the BAR exam. I couldn’t put into words how much of a weight off of my shoulder that was.
Needless to say, there was a lot to celebrate.
I turned my head sideways, smiling at Colt in the driver’s seat. Perhaps sensing my gaze, a slow smirk spread across his handsome face. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I’m just…happy. Everything worked out in the long-run.”
“As I told you it would,” he said.
“Even your cocky attitude has been restored.”
He laughed. “So, your dad is meeting us at the pub, right?”
“Yes,” I said. “He might even be there already.”
“Or he might stand us up in favor of celebrating a night in with Milly. Maybe you might not be an only child much longer.”
“Okay, stop it. That’s just gross,” I said.
Colt laughed, pulling into the parking lot of the pub. He gave a low whistle, glancing around at the numerous cars parked. “Looks like quite a crowd.”
“Yeah…” I said, growing slightly apprehensive.
“Well, it’s not like you’ve got much to worry about, right?” He glanced upward into the rearview mirror at the secret service agents in the car behind us.
“I guess you’ve got a point,” I said. “that’s certainly going to take some time getting used to.”
“You’ve had a lot of practice already. First with me trailing your every move, and then Jones.”
