“On the contrary,” Noah said. “It’s thrilling.”
“Winning an election is thrilling, you mean?”
He nodded and grinned. “I do love to win, yes.”
She sipped her coffee again then set it back on the saucer. “I suppose you’d have to be very career-minded to snag a senator spot.”
“The two go very much hand in hand.” He smiled at an elderly woman across the restaurant who was waving at him before turning his attention back to Olivia. “Truthfully, politics is all I knew growing up. In our house, we lived and breathed the political game. Parties, events, it was all to further my father’s career. And it was all I knew.”
“The parties must have been amazing. The biggest parties I went to as a kid were my birthday parties.”
He gave her a smile, thinking she had probably been a cute kid. “We had those too, only on a larger scale, I suspect. It was a good way for my father to schmooze with the people he needed to get on his side.”
She hesitated and cocked her head. “So the kids there weren’t your friends?”
He paused, considering how to phrase his life compared to hers. “I would imagine my friends are different than what you have with Paige. Friendship is there, yes, but it’s there because of who I am, and who they are to me. They are relationships that exist because we need each other.”
At that, she frowned. “You don’t have any childhood friends?”
“My childhood friends, high school friends, college friends, they are all people who intertwine with politics in some way.” He hesitated to gauge her reaction then chuckled softly. “You look like you’ve eaten a lemon. It’s not nearly as bad as you think. I’m surrounded by good people. Yes, not all, but most are kind-hearted people. I guess the only way to explain it is that business is very much intertwined in my personal life.”
She paused, sudden awareness filling her eyes like she finally realized something. “Which I guess makes sense for why you signed up for the app. I couldn’t figure that one out, because you’re”—she gave him a good once-over—“you. But I guess now I understand why your interests would be difficult in your life.”
“Precisely,” he agreed with a nod. “I like rules. I need privacy.” He leaned forward, brushing his fingers across her arm. She shivered, and his cock twitched. “I like meeting women who need me in the way I need them.”
She gave him a knowing smile. “In a manner that you control, you mean.”
He dipped his chin. “Not an unusual trait for a dominant.”
>
“I suppose not.”
She took the final sip of her coffee and he wiped his mouth with his napkin, then left it on the table in front of him. He didn’t have a plan for what to do next, but he suspected she’d want to go home and gather her things before they did anything more. He’d rushed to see her this morning without thinking everything through. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
As she rose, a masculine voice called her name.
Noah glanced up just in time to see Olivia go unnaturally still. “Cameron. Hi.”
“Hey,” the man said.
It didn’t take much to realize who Cameron was. The ex-fiancé.
Olivia still had yet to move, barely even breathing, it seemed. Noah studied the man who’d broken Olivia’s heart. He saw the appeal that Cameron would have to a woman. Without a doubt, he’d been the good-looking jock in high school that every girl wanted.
Noah knew he should stay back and let them talk. Regardless of what his mind screamed at him, he found himself moving in next to her, sliding his hand possessively over her back.
Olivia jumped at Noah’s movement, glancing at him with wide eyes. All of which he totally understood. But once, Cameron had made her feel alone. Noah felt drawn to ensure she didn’t feel that way now.
He offered his free hand to Cameron. “Noah Grant.”
“Ah, ya, I know who you are.” He returned the handshake, harder than necessary. “Cameron Kline.”
Noah grinned at the challenge and held on to Cameron’s hand until he let go. Yeah, they were basically taking out their dicks and measuring. All of which was fine by Noah. He was confident he’d win that too. To make a point, he put his back to Cameron, being as dismissive as Cameron had been to her. “Shall we go enjoy our day?”
Olivia nodded and smiled, albeit tightly.
Turning to Cameron again, he took Olivia’s hand and said, “Cameron,” with a condescending tone he hoped got under the bastard’s skin.