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“Fine, I’m fine. It could’ve been bad, but the senator took care of…things,” she finished lamely. That made it sound as though he’d made sure to lock up after work rather than disarming and disabling two armed robbers, while he himself was unarmed.
“Pumpkin, I’m so relieved. Though I wish you would’ve called me.” A hint of reproach in his voice.
“Everything was okay. The senator brought me home and I went to bed.”
There was silence for a moment. “So, are you and Senator Kirk…dating? Because I must say, Pumpkin, he’s not my favorite legislator.”
Anne was well aware of why Kirk wasn’t her father’s favorite legislator, and she shared his sentiments. But her father didn’t know that. Anne had done a lot of digging over the past few months and it was safe to say that at this point, she probably knew more about Blane Kirk than he did.
Yet she played off his concerns. “That sounds pretty ominous.”
“You know D.C. is full of sharks, Pumpkin. I should know. I have to swim with them on a daily basis. This one is deadlier than most. I don’t want you caught up in political machinations.”
“I doubt I’ll get caught up in anything, Dad. I deal with down-on-their-luck moms and dads every day, not D.C.’s political scene.”
“It’s just a reminder. Will I see you at your mother’s shindig tomorrow?”
Only her father could get away with calling Mom’s high tea a “shindig.”
“You say that as if I have a choice,” she teased.
He sighed. “Very true.”
“See you tomorrow, Dad.”
They hung up, leaving Anne staring at her cell, her brow furrowed. The most her dad knew about her career was to silently disapprove. After growing up dirt poor in the coal mining country of West Virginia, her father had clawed his way to the top. He didn’t think his only daughter—now an only child—should have to work for a living, much less in a low-paying government job.
The next phone call was Maria. Anne groaned before answering it.
“It’s beenagessince you’ve been on Page Six,” she enthused. “Darling, it’s lovely to see you back in the spotlight.”
“It wasn’t my intention to be in the papers,” Anne groused. “I’ve been enjoying my anonymity.”
“If you’re dating the famously bachelor senator, then your anonymity is gone for good.”
Anne let out another groan. “I’m not dating him. It was a bad coincidence. That’s all.”
“Did he go home with you?”
“That’s badly phrased. He did not ‘go home’ with me. Hetookme home. There’s a difference.”
“That’s what I thought.” Her voice oozed smugness.
“It’s not like that. We’re just friendly acquaintances.”
After another ten minutes of futile protests, Anne was finally able to get off the phone with Maria.
Dating a new man wasn’t unappealing. DatingBlane Kirkwas. But then again, this opportunity had dropped unexpectedly into her lap. She’d be a fool to not take advantage of it. Matt deserved that much from her.
Still, it was with a decided lack of enthusiasm that she answered the knock on her door at precisely two o’clock.
* * *
Blane had slung on a jacket to hide his holster, which happened to contain his Glock. Never leave home without it. He even carried it to his office at the Capitol. He’d also brought along a Sig Sauer P238, which was much smaller and had an easier slide to rack than the Glock. Women had weaker hands and it wouldn’t be much of a practice for Anne if she couldn’t rack the slide on the gun she was shooting.
He rang the doorbell outside Anne’s apartment. Anticipation was an unfamiliar emotion lately, but he felt it now. It had been a while since he’d avidly looked forward to seeing a woman. Anne had become a bit of an enigma. A mystery. And her lack of interest inspired him to the chase, as cliché as that was.
She opened the door, and he took a moment to appreciate what he saw.
