“Are you ready?” I ask as she finishes zipping her overfull suitcase. I tried to tell her that I would have everything she needed shipped home, but she insisted all she needed could fit in a suitcase, and damn if she didn’t get it all in one, barely closed suitcase.
“I am,” she says, giving me a quick kiss. She looks ridiculously sexy in the tiny shorts and too big sweatshirt she has on. At the last second, she takes the shorts off and pulls on a pair of jeans. Thank God, I wouldn’t want my pilot to see her dressed like that.
“Allow me,” I say, picking up the hard case off of her tiny bed, carrying it out of the room.
At the front door, her mom is waiting for her.
“Bye, baby,” Roxie says, pulling her daughter into a hug.
“I’ll come back,” Lauren says.
“Just to visit. It won’t be the same. You won’t live here anymore.” They are both crying now. For the first time I wonder if this is the wrong thing. Should I be taking her from her with me?
“Well, no, Mama, I won’t but this is what I am meant to do.” Good girl. She wants to be with me, and that’s all I need to hear.
“I know. All kids grow up and leave their mama’s.”
“You didn’t.”
“Well, I just live in the same town I grew up in.”
“Gran would probably feel differently about that.”
“Well. Keep in touch.”
“I will,” she says, leaving her mother’s arms.
“And you… Senator, you better take care of my daughter or you’ll answer to me.”
“I promise,” I tell her before she pulls me into a quick hug.
“Get out of here. You’ll miss your flight.”
“Private plane,” I remind her, chuckling.
“Even so.” Roxie smiles and sends us on our way.
We leave in one of the few taxi’s Buck’s Creek has to the municipal airport. There we board the plane and take off. I sent all of the staff except for the pilot home long ago. There was no need for them to stick around. So, it’s just us in the cabin.
“I’ve never been on a plane so small before,” she says, holding my hand.
“I’ve got you, Lauren. You are perfectly safe with me.”
“I know.”
The trip to Las Vegas is uneventful, but instead of checking into a hotel, we head to a wedding chapel first. I can’t wait a second longer to make her mine.
Less than thirty minutes later, we are married and in a motel room outside the strip. My new bride didn’t want anything fancy. She just wanted it to be us, so a roadside motel it is.
“Are you happy, Mrs. Santos?” I ask once we are locked in the room.
“Very much so,” she replies, jumping into my arms.
The rest of the night is spent in bed; tomorrow, the real fun begins.
Four Weeks Later
The press has circled us for weeks now, we haven’t given any interviews yet, but still, they circle us. Every day I am amazed at how Lauren handles the pressure. You’d think she was born into this. My public relations manager, Brent, has booked us an interview with Nichelle Michaels, an evening news top reporter. You know the type, the one who makes you cry with one word about your mom or your childhood dog. The move is a calculated one, but one that’ll pay off in the long run. This reporter will also be the one I casually toss my hat into the presidential candidate ring with.
“Good evening, I’m Nichelle Michaels reporting for MBC. I am here with Senator Alejandro Santos and his brand-new wife, Lauren. So, guys, why the secrecy?”
“Well, you just get right down to business, don’t cha?” Lauren asks, smiling.
“Why waste time?” Nichelle responds.
“Exactly. Why waste time. Alejandro and I felt the same way. And just to be clear, there was no secrecy per se, we are still in the honeymoon phase, but Alejandro was needed at work,” Lauren replies. Nichelle nods and smiles in approval.
“I’ve heard rumors that you met on New Year’s Eve. Is that true?”
“It’s very true, Nichelle,” I answer, squeezing Lauren’s hand.
“So whirlwind romance, to say the least.”
“Very much so. It was love at first sight, at least for me,” Lauren answers.
“How adorable. You’re just eighteen to the senator’s thirty-two.”
“I am, but that doesn’t matter all that much, does it?”
“Not to me, but maybe some of your husband’s constituents.”
“Maybe, but not sixty or so years ago, girls much younger than me were getting married to men much older than Alejandro and not by choice for the most part. At least we are in love.”
“Many would say that you can’t be in love after so short about of time. What do you say to that?”
“That’s just crazy talk. Love doesn’t bow down to time. It does what it wants when it wants.”
“Well said. So, what now, Senator? Running for the senate again?”