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“She could never hate you,” he said. “I promise.”
She could if she knew the whole story, Rose thought, but she kept this to herself and took another drink. Naturally I’m pregnant at the most ridiculously stressful time of my life. What I wouldn’t give for a big glass of wine right about now.
“Wyatt was glad to see me,” she said instead.
Luke smiled. “I’m sure. He hasn’t made a secret of wishing things had gone differently.” As soon as he’d spoken, he seemed to regret the words. He looked down at the glass in his hand and sighed. “But we have another chance,” he continued with renewed conviction, returning his focus to her face.
A beat of silence passed between them.
“Is that what you want?” Rose asked.
“It is. If it’s what you want, too, I mean. You being there at the house… it’s like I got a do-over. Like these last few years never happened. I’ve wanted for all this time to just get a chance to talk to you again, and the last few days have been way more than I could’ve dreamed of asking for.”
Tears stung Rose’s eyes, and she blinked them back. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, careful not to jostle either of their drinks.
“Yes, I want us to have another chance,” she breathed. “You’re all I want, Luke.”
“Ah, there they are!” called Wyatt.
Rose’s stomach lurched. She pulled back to see that Wyatt had returned with not only Luke’s mother but his sister, as well. Lenore smiled brightly as her eyes met Rose’s, and Wyatt was still beaming. The senator, on the other hand, stared at them, her mouth hanging open just slightly.
“I don’t understand,” she said. Her voice was soft and polite, as though she were asking someone to repeat a simple statement instead of trying to figure out what her son’s ex-fiancée was doing at her fundraiser. Her eyes swept over Rose’s gown and drifted to Luke’s matching tie, and Rose knew Senator LeBlanc had to have put it together.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” said Lenore, leaning close to hug her brother. “Both of you.” She hugged Rose next, and she held on tightly, clearly trying to be reassuring. She wore a gold dress with a long, flowing skirt, and her matching mask covered her eyes and most of her left cheek.
“Thank you,” Rose mumbled.
“Luke! I told you he’d make it, Kennedy.”
Rose followed the smooth, low voice to find that Luke’s father had arrived. He gave his son a one-armed hug and moved to stand beside his wife, taking her hand. He was grinning, and when his eyes touched on Rose’s, he tipped his head the slightest bit to the side.
“I feel like I’ve missed something,” he said, “but it’s good to see you again, Rosie. We’ve asked Luke how you’ve been, but the last we heard, the two of you hadn’t talked in a while.”
Rosie. Rose had always hated that nickname—Luke’s father was the only one who’d used it for her apart from her own parents, and the reminder of them wasn’t exactly one she welcomed. She nodded slowly, certain her cheeks had to be as red as her dress by now. Luke and his father resembled one another strongly, and though the elder LeBlanc’s face was more lined, he was still handsome. He’d always been kind to her, as had his wife, who still looked like she’d seen a ghost. They had been more like parents to her than her own had, while she and Luke had been together.
“We’ve reconnected,” said Luke, saving her from having to explain. “I was going to tell all of you, but it’s incredibly recent. Mom insisted I come to the party and bring the woman I’m seeing, so… here we are.”
“Here you are,” Senator LeBlanc repeated. She reached out and squeezed Rose’s hand. “It’s wonderful to see you. I’m glad you could make it.”
***
As she followed Luke out of the hotel, his arm around her waist and her head against his shoulder, Rose felt like she was walking on air. She’d gone into the party expecting to be rejected by his family, and while things had still felt awkward, she’d had conversations with each of his parents as the evening had progressed, and she felt like the entire experience had been a huge step toward moving past everything she and Luke had been through. It’s too good to be true, she thought.
“Thanks for bringing me,” she said as she leaned up to kiss his cheek.
He smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, a series of camera flashes blinded Rose. She threw up her hand to shield her eyes and squinted through the sudden brightness, struggling to see what was happening.
A group of men and women wearing black had converged on them, cameras in their hands. Before Rose could pull together a coherent thought, the photographers began shouting questions at the two of them.
“Mr. LeBlanc, is this your ex-fiancée?”
“Is this the same woman who left you after your assault charges?”
“Does the senator approve?”
“Rose, what really happened that night at the bar?”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Luke growled. He glared straight ahead and walked faster, and his grip on Rose tightened. His car was just across the street—his mother had managed to get a spot reserved for him—but between the late-night traffic and the paparazzi, who refused to move from their path, Rose knew it was going to be a challenge to reach the parking space.
