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Noelle struggled not to roll her eyes. Her sister-in-law was a diehard Democrat and she’d taken her party’s loss in the latest presidential election hard. “You know, Julia, you’re really going to have to let the election go. I’ve been reading some of the interviews Rhodes has done since winning and maybe he won’t be as bad as you think.”
“Yeah, well, that remains to be seen. So where are you going to meet Tom?”
“I don’t know yet. He said he’d plan the whole thing, find us a hotel and all I have to worry about is packing.”
“Hmmm, sounds romantic. You know, I’ve been thinking Ross and I should take a little trip over the holidays as well.
Noelle grinned. “Is that right?”
“Well, actually, you and I both know hell would freeze over before Ross would let you run off to meet this guy alone.”
“Yeah. Damn overprotective brother.” Noelle laughed as she spoke.
“You aren’t arguing,” Julia said. “I thought you’d argue.”
“Would there be a point? This is Ross we’re talking about.”
“You won’t even know we’re there,” Julia assured her. “We’ll just check into the same hotel and be close by if you need us. Even though I have no doubt Tom is a great guy, you can’t be completely sure.”
Admittedly, Noelle felt relieved by Julia’s suggestion. One of her biggest concerns about accepting Tom’s invitation had been the ingrained fear associated with meeting someone online. With her family nearby, that problem would be solved.
“This is a good idea,” Julia continued. “If he’s as great as he seems, you’ll have an amazing holiday. If things don’t work out, you’ll still have an amazing holiday—only difference is, you’ll be with us.”
“Okay. You’re right. This could be a lot of fun. God knows it would be better than the three of us hanging around that Charlie Brown Christmas tree Ross dragged over here for me.”
Julia laughed. “Is it still shedding?”
“I swear there are more pine needles on the floor than on the tree and it’s only the first week of December.” Chuckling, Noelle sat down on her bed and relaxed for the first time since Tom’s proposal. “I’ll let you know the details as soon as Tom contacts me. Julia, I don’t know how I can thank you for—”
“Hush,” Julia interrupted her again. “You’re my sister and I love you. You’d do the same for me. Can I go back to sleep now?”
“I knew you were asleep!”
Julia giggled. “Good night, Noelle.”
Chapter Two
The three weeks since Tom’s suggestion that they meet for the holidays seemed to alternate between flying by and crawling along at a snail’s pace. Every day lasted an eternity. However, now that the day they would meet had actually arrived, Noelle felt completely ill prepared.
She’d driven from New York to Washington D.C. with Ross and Julia and she had to admit having her family come with her had been a godsend. They’d had such a fun time, talking, laughing, and singing Christmas carols Noelle had forgotten her nervousness until this moment. They’d gone to check into their hotel room and she’d been left to her own devices in the swanky penthouse suite Tom had reserved for her.
Tom had called to say he had checked in and was on his way over. Apparently, he’d reserved the other penthouse suite on the floor. She couldn’t believe he’d basically booked the entire floor of a five star hotel.
She checked her face in the mirror once more when she heard a knock on the door. She took a deep breath and crossed the room. Flinging the door open with her heart racing, she watched Evan Thomas Rhodes, President-elect, enter her room.
“Noelle?” he asked, his voice betraying his discomfort. She could only imagine what emotions he saw flying across her face. Anger, excitement, disappointment, amazement, fear, relief, happiness.
“Shit,” she whispered when she finally found her voice. “You’re a Republican.”
He grinned and took a step toward her. Before she could retreat or consider what he was doing, he placed his hands gently on both sides of her face. “And you’re beautiful.”
She didn’t have time to utter a protest. Hell, she didn’t have time to open her mouth before his lips descended on hers. She returned the kiss without a moment’s hesitation. This is what she’d hoped for, prayed for, waited for. The fact he had just won the election and would be President of the United States in twenty-seven days ceased to matter the second his lips touched hers.
She reached up to run her fingers through his light brown hair, losing herself in the joy of finally meeting her best friend. For several moments, they remained connected, touching each other, sharing the same air until reality crashed in on her and she pulled away.
“What the hell is going on?”
He gave her a crooked grin, guilt suffusing his features. “I was afraid it wouldn’t be quite this easy. I don’t suppose we could just carry on with the kissing?”
