AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Maybe he thought I would try to make a run for it. Maybe it was all an act, a show for the cameras. He might be trying to comfort me. Considering he had rejected my kiss, I doubted he held my hand just because he wanted to, but I couldn’t completely rule it out, either.
The guy gave off more mixed signals than a faulty traffic light.
For the time being, I decided not to worry about his motivations and just enjoy it. Besides, if I had to face the senator, I could use all the support I could get. Real or fake.
Julianna guided us past the Christmas tree and down the esplanade filled with vendors and craft stalls to the performance pavilion. Backstage of the amphitheater, children ranging in ages from preschoolers to preteens congregated in groups of three or more. Dressed in leotards and tutus, the older kids practiced leaps and turns, while the little ones chased each other with fairy wands.
A tiny girl no older than four with golden hair pulled back in a tight bun hiked her tutu up and tried to cover her face with it. A woman—mother, teacher, I didn’t know—rushed over to stop her, to which the child reacted by immediately bursting into tears.
Which set off a chain reaction, and three other kids also started crying for no clear reason.
One little girl cried so hard she blew a snot bubble from her left nostril. This deteriorated into a full-blown meltdown when a boy about the same age used his finger to pop it. Then, he started to cry and when asked why, he informed his teacher through hiccupping sobs that he just had a lot of feelings.
Same, little dude. Same.
I pressed my face against Gage’s back to muffle my laughter. Kids were the best.
As we neared the back corner where the senator waited with her assistant and security team, my amusement quickly faded. I could tell from the tension in her jaw and the crease between her brows that she wanted to yell at me. I also knew she wouldn’t. Not in front of outsiders.
“Nathan.” She said my name as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. “I thought we agreed it would be best for you to stay at home tonight.”
“No,” I corrected, doing my best to match her dispassion. “You decided. I never agreed to that.”
Her nostrils flared, but when she looked at Gage, that patented, camera-ready smile stretched her lips. “Mr. Ramsey, I’m so sorry for the trouble my son has caused you this evening.”
“No trouble,” Gage assured her. “I enjoyed the tree lighting.”
“That’s wonderful, but someone should have informed you that we wouldn’t require your services tonight.”
“I agree.” Gage squeezed my hand and mirrored her phony smile. “Someone should have notified me. However, I wouldn’t say that my services weren’t required.” Their gazes met and held for an uncomfortably long time. “Nathan is here after all.”
Well, that was fucking hot, and my traitorous body responded in a wholly inappropriate manner. I thanked whatever deity was listening that I still wore Gage’s long coat. Otherwise, things were about to get awkward for everyone.
“That, he is,” the senator agreed, returning her attention to me. “And we’re so glad he could make it.” Her words might have been more believable if she didn’t sound like she was choking on them. “Mr. Ramsey, I wonder if you could give me a moment alone with my son?”
Mr. Gage Ramsey leveled up big time when he looked to me for confirmation instead of blindly accepting her dismissal. This wasn’t his fight, though, and the last thing I wanted was to drag him into it.
I nodded.
Gage smiled and briefly pressed his hand to the side of my neck. “I’ll be outside. Come find me when you’re ready, and I’ll take you home.”
“Thanks.”
When I turned to face the senator, I had genuine concern for the state of her well-being. Even from the distance, I could hear her teeth grind together, and a vein in her forehead bulged until I feared it might rupture.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” she demanded once Gage had cleared the room. Still, she didn’t yell. That Texas twang she worked so hard to rid herself of crept in, though. “Drunk. Belligerent. Dressed like a deviant.” She turned her nose up and sniffed. “Your lewd behavior, right out in the open where everyone could see.”
I assumed she meant the kiss. Although, a chaste peck—which had been rebuffed, I might add—hardly constituted “lewd behavior.” I didn’t bother to refute her, nor did I ask how she knew. She could feign shock and indignation all she wanted, but I wasn’t stupid.
Whether her staff, my sisters, the media, or random citizens on the street, someone was always watching. Hell, she had probably been informed the moment I had left my apartment.
“Is it really so hard to do what you’re told?” she continued. “Do you have to constantly embarrass me?”
This time had been bad judgment on my part, and I could admit that. Any other embarrassment, however, had been entirely her doing. The partying, fighting, drugs, and even rehab had all been fabrications to garner sympathy and make her appear relatable to voters.
The single mom who loved her degenerate son and would go to any lengths to help him. Who couldn’t get behind that?
Well, I couldn’t, but no one really cared what I wanted.
