Perfectly Inappropriate

“Endure?” Audra retorted with a frown. “You make it sound like your life would be something hellish for her. A political life is the one I’ve had with your father and I have no regrets.”

His mother did not know that was the very reason Noah had refused to have a steady girlfriend since Colette. He’d seen how lonely his mother looked sometimes. He remembered how she always had to put on a front of happiness when he knew she was not happy. He recalled how drained she looked after events, always having to be on. And he could never forget the moment Colette had given him the ultimatum. What he’d realized in the quiet moments before he went to sleep last night—and that had stayed on his mind all day today—was that he would be setting Olivia up for that exact same life. “You’ve faced the dirtiness of politics,” he told his mother. “You know the game. Olivia doesn’t.”

“Yes,” Audra retorted, “but it’s a game she’ll choose if she loves you.”

Noah bowed his head and ran his hands across his tired eyes. Of course he was growing fond of having Olivia in his life. She was sunshine in a dark sky. But the same thought came back to him over and over again: Could he make her happy? Or was he wanting her all for his selfish needs because she was making him happy? “If I decide to run in the next election, my competition will rip her apart.” That was unavoidable and part of the game.

“Does she have anything to hide?” Audra asked gently.

Noah dropped his hands and glanced into his mother’s tender eyes. “Normal things that any woman has to hide. A life of growing up, making mistakes, and living through heartbreak.”

Audra hesitated then said softly, “This life is not an easy one. Campaigning is exhausting. She will always be in your shadow. She will have her personal life shared, and sometimes exposed, all to make you look bad.” Audra placed a comforting hand on his arm, extending him her warmth. “But you are missing something very important.”

“What’s that?” Noah asked.

“The choice is hers to make, not yours. So, my darling, all you need to do is ask her if she wants to come to the party. Tell her your parents will be there. If she has a problem with it all, she’ll say no and then you’ll know she won’t fit into your life.” She cupped his cheek and gave him her motherly smile. “That smile I saw on your face, Noah…that’s the good stuff.” She rose and squeezed his hand before letting him go. “Life isn’t always perfect, and you can’t make it perfect, but Noah, no matter what, the good times always outweigh the bad.”

With that said, she walked away, leaving Noah alone with his thoughts. The park was busy as usual, but the trees were the perfect escape from the busy city. He had known from day one that Olivia was uniquely special. She drew him in and he had broken every rule he had since then all because he craved to stay with her.

He leaned back against the bench and inhaled the summer air and watched the city he loved. Most things he knew or could anticipate how they would turn out. This, with Olivia, he had no idea. She was light and warmth and his world was often dark and cutthroat.

No matter what, he kept coming back to the same thoughts. He was not ready to say goodbye to her. What he had with her was different than what he’d had with Colette because he refused to walk away. Maybe the timing was better now, and this would turn out different.

A hundred questions flickered through his mind. But only one stood out as most important: Could a woman not born into politics fit into his world?

There was only one way to find out.

Chapter 12

“Up for a party tonight?” Noah asked the moment Olivia answered her cellphone during his walk home from work. “Fair warning, my parents will also be there.”

That telephone call was the reason Olivia now felt like she had walked into another world while wearing a long black open-back dress she wore to last year’s New Year’s Eve party. Sure, she had been to parties before but none like this. The garden behind the gray brick Tudor-style mansion left her breathless as Noah took her hand and led her into the backyard along the cobblestone pathway. Lights were strung up around the impeccably tailored gardens. Waiters carried trays full of champagne and wine, along with fancy hors d’oeuvres. Beneath the larger canopy of lights was a five-man band playing a Frank Sinatra song. But the biggest difference between this party and every other party she had previously been to were the people in attendance. Obviously wealthy, highly educated, and well-connected, they were so out of her league.

Noah’s low chuckle brought her attention to him, and his eyes were laughing at her. “You look ready to jump out of your skin.” They joined the others on the dance floor, then he pulled her in close. “What’s wrong?”

“I do not fit in here,” she said, not ashamed to admit that.

“Of course you don’t.” Awareness flickered in his eyes as if suddenly something made total sense to him. “And that, Olivia, is precisely what makes you stand out.”

She stared into the strength of his eyes and laughed softly at the sweetness in his expression. “I swear you could charm the pants off anyone.”

He effortlessly glided her along the dance floor. “Do you like that?”

“Of course I do,” she admitted. “Especially when they are my pants.”

“Then I’m glad.” He smiled.

While he guided her along, she felt the eyes watching them like fingers prickling against her skin. “You’re aware that everyone is watching us?”

He grinned and nodded. “I did say that you stand out.”

She glanced at a couple of those sets of eyes watching her before returning her attention back to his amused eyes. “Are you not worried this is making a certain kind of statement?”

“Not at all.”

He spun her then brought her back into his arms. “You were so private before, so I don’t really get that.”

“I don’t want to be private now.”