Omens (Cainsville 1)

He smiled. "Yes, I know. This is a proposal of another sort. Equally terrifying in its own way. Neil Leacock came to see me today. My dad's former campaign manager. He--they--the team and its supporters--would like me to consider running."

A moment passed before I could find my voice. "For junior senator?"

"Yes, but not right away. They want to wait until I'm thirty-five. For now, they'd just like me to start heading in that direction. Grooming me." He took my face in his hands. "I don't want to hit you with this after the wedding, Liv. I know you might not want a life of endless speeches and endless dinners."

A senator's wife? I swore I could hear the trap snap shut on my leg. I leaned against James, hiding my reaction.

Just relax. Don't say anything. You need time to think this through. Play along for now.

It took a moment, but I found a smile that would fool James. I'd minored in drama in my undergrad years. My instructors always said I was a natural. No big surprise there. Sometimes I felt as if I'd spent my life faking it.

I smiled up at him. "In other words, no more sex in the back hall?"

"Er, no ... Actually, I was hoping that if I promised more sex in the back halls it might make the rest more tolerable."

I put my arms around his neck. "If you're willing to make such difficult concessions, then I can probably make some, too."

"Because it is difficult."

"I know, and I appreciate it."

He laughed and kissed me.

Chapter Three

We'd just made it back to the party when my cell phone beeped. My mother hates to text, but if the alternative is having me do something as crass as talk on my phone at a charity event, she'll make an exception.

I need to speak to you, Olivia. Will you be coming home after the dinner? Mum never lowers herself to text speak.

"What's up?" James asked.

"Mum needs to talk to me about something."

"Meaning you're not staying at my place."

"Sorry. You know how she gets."

When my dad died, I'd been home from college and planning to move into my own apartment. But then my mother needed me at home. I'd expected that. I hadn't expected the nonstop frantic calls to resolve every curve ball life threw at her. Last week, she'd called me home from James's place at 2 a.m. because she'd "heard something." It turned out to be a raccoon on the back deck. I would have been a lot more sympathetic if the housekeeper hadn't been right downstairs, as she was every night I stayed with James.

We'd already arranged for the housekeeper to move in permanently after I got married. We'd also decided to hire a full-time chauffeur to double as a security guard. I still wasn't sure it would be enough.

"Go on," James said. "I'll call a car to the back. I hear something's going on around front."

"A protest?"

He shook his head. "Just a couple of paparazzi. There must be a media personality here."

He lifted his cell phone then stopped. "Are you okay with going out the back? It's not the door you came in."

I shot him a glare.

He grinned. "Sorry. I'm just checking, because I know it's bad luck--"

"Once," I said, lifting my finger. "It was one time, and you're never going to let me forget it, despite the fact we just celebrated our engagement with a bottle of Cristal, and I could barely find the door."

"And the time in Cozumel, when you insisted on turning our pillows around so we wouldn't have nightmares?"

"Tequila."