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“Watch for yourself, Delphi honey. This New Year is going to be our year. The Adams’ will leave more of a lasting mark on this city than we ever dreamed.”
With that, he hangs up, the dial tone droning in my ears. I watch wide-eyed and open-mouthed as the field reporter from Chanel Nine News welcomes viewers to a special campaign event on Christmas Day.
“As you can see, it’s a full house! Hundreds of Northam citizens have turned up even on Christmas morning to celebrate the joyous occasion,” she speaks into the camera. The wind whips a few strands of blonde hair in her face, but she shakes it away. “Ernest Adams is expected to take the stage to make his official announcement. Needless to say, it should be an interesting election season.”
My heart almost stops beating in my chest as the words scrawl across the screen:
Retired District Attorney Ernest Adams Announces his Campaign for City Mayor
I’m so shocked, I barely register the pad of footsteps behind me. Salvatore’s put on some sweats and left the bedroom. He stops at my side, sliding fingers through his messy, normally slicked hair.
“Did you start on the coffee? What’s that look for?”
I blink out of my daze. “My father... he’s running for mayor.”
28. delphine
Salvatore is considerably lesssurprised than I am by Dad’s announcement. We brew some coffee and settle on the sofa as the news coverage plays the highlights from the holiday campaign event.
“Out of retirement to run for mayor. Unsurprising,” he says. “This gives him even more authority than when he was DA.”
“But why now? He’s been spending the last few yearsgolfing. How do you go from that to running for mayor?” I distract myself with a gulp of coffee. The heat from the cup curls up at me in comforting tendrils. I need all the comfort I can get. “It just doesn’t make sense. By the end of his DA career, he was so burned out. And when my mom passed away...”
Salvatore shrugs and preoccupies himself with dangling a mouse trinket in front of Salt. “Maybe he got bored of golfing. He needed the time to recoup and now that he has, he’s decided he wants to be in the spotlight again.”
Suspicion draws one of my brows higher than the other. “You’re awfully calm about this.”
“Your father doesn’t faze me, Phi. Not like he thinks he does.”
Salvatore’s words feel so cryptic, I almost ask him what he’s talking about. As far as I know, they’ve stayed far away from each other. The last time they were in the same room was twelve years ago when Salvatore and I dated my freshman year at Dupoint.
Since I’ve started staying in Salvatore’s loft, we’ve hardly discussed Dad. The topic is typically a sore one for us. We get along better when we ignore it entirely. Still, none of what’s happening makes sense.
When we recently had lunch at Garden House, he’d told me he had a newpassion. He’s never once expressed an interest in politics beyond his district attorney campaigns. What would change that now after so many years?
Mom’s death... maybe I’m not the only one who feels powerless?
“No more talk about campaigns,” Salvatore says suddenly. He tells his SmartTV to turn on a Christmas movie. The cool female voice asks him which one would he like to watch. “Surprise me.”
My busy thoughts fade away as I smirk and tease him about secretly being a fan. He denies it, claiming he only does these things when around me. I’m not so convinced.
We spend the rest of the morning watching Christmas movies. I succeed in convincing Salvatore to watch the charming chick flickThe Holidaywith Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. In revenge, he forces me to sit through the firstDie Hard.
We exchange gifts. I can barely contain the excitement bubbling out of me as I hand him a gift bag and wait for him to open his present. His favorite leather motorcycle jacket has been looking extra worn as of late. I snuck a peak at his measurements and had one custom made for him.
His gaze flicks up from the tailored motorcycle jacket in his hands to my face. Many would still consider his expression a controlled one, but I know Salvatore too well to think so—his brows rise and lips twitch in gratitude. Helikesit!
He pulls me into him and kisses me. “I’ll get a lot of wear out of this. Thanks.”
I’m up next. Salvatore makes me close my eyes. I sit still on the sofa and do as he says. He shifts behind me and I hold my breath. His fingertips whisper across my skin, brushing my neck and shoulders. The touch is so soft and intimate, completely heightened by my lack of sight, I shudder.
He presses his lips to the side of my neck and says, “Open your eyes.”
He’s holding out a hand mirror in front of us, showing me my reflection. I gasp, my hands flying up to my mouth.
“Salvatore—my rose pendant! How?!”
He eases my head to the side so he can plant a full kiss on my lips. “I told you I’d get it back. Searched high and low. Everywhere in the city. Azeria pawned it. It was broken, but I had a jeweler associate of mine who does good work take a look at it.”
