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“Because why are you allowed to but others are not?”
“My job makes it complicated,” I explained, all of a sudden feeling like I needed to defend myself.
She let out a hum.
“So it’s the job that’s the hypocrite?” she asked. When I opened my mouth to spill everything, she raised her hand. “I’m not trying to give you a hard time, sorry. I was just curious.”
“Hypothetically…” I trailed. “I believe some of those acts can be… forgiven depending on the who. Though my job might say otherwise.”
Quinn’s eyes lingered on me for another moment longer.Was that too much? Does she think I’m some sort of monster now?
But her eyes gave no indication of it. Instead, there was a sort of… intrigue in her face that caused my chest to swell.
“Good to know,” she said, then rose from her seat. She handed me the discarded napkin she left on the table. I hadn’t noticed when she wrote her number on it. “Text me sometime. If the background check comes back clean, that is.”
My face heated, and I took the napkin from her, careful not to crumple it up.
“If you don’t hear from me, it didn’t,” I said and sent her a smile. “Though I really hope it comes back clean. I want to see you again.”
The smile that spread across her face caused my heart to stop. She swooped down, not just to brush her lips against mine but to give me a deep, knee-quivering kiss.
I couldn’t help but return it.
When she pulled away, we were both breathless, and her lips shone in the light.
“I want to see you again too,” she said in a low voice. “But in all honesty, the background check won’t stop me from finding you again.”
Before I could respond, she stood and left the café.
* * *
“Hey if anyone asks, the senator never got arrested, okay?”
I paused, unpacking the light lunch I had brought myself and looked up at Ryan with a bewildered expression.
The room was quiet, the light sounds of the children playing outside muffled by the windows. I looked over my shoulder out into the backyard.
Mrs. Bennett and her kids were out with two other secret service agents. The children had decided to play with bubble wands. One of the agents scowled when the bubbles popped on his suit, the other afforded the children a genuine smile and said something to them I couldn’t make out.
“I don’t talk about my work outside if that is what you’re worried about,” I said, turning back to him with a strained smile. “Besides my contractual obligations, it’s not like I have friends.”
“But you do have a partner,” he said, his eyes flitting back to the windows. “In all the time you’ve been here, you’ve never reported one.”
“It’s new.”Less than twenty-four hours since I put in the paperwork.“I didn’t know you were so interested in my personal life.”
“Well, it’s not just the senator that we need to keep safe, right?” he asked. “Ross told me about yoursituation.”
Why would he do that?All the hair raised on the back of my neck, and my mouth went dry.What the actual fuck? Did no one know what confidential meant?
I tried not to panic, but it was hard when we both knew what mysituationmeant.
“We’re not supposed to talk about it,” I said, looking down at my sandwich. I wasn’t all that hungry anymore.
“Not supposed to talk about what?”
We both jumped, our heads snapping over to the entrance where the senator leaned against the doorframe, seemingly unbothered.
Ryan let out a sigh and relaxed against the counter.
