“Is this because of your father’s affair?”
“Is it true you have two siblings you never knew about?”
“Are your parents divorcing?”
I ignore them and step away from the lectern. Lexi leads me toward a small room with an exit she’s planning to use to sneak me out of here.
The reporters are only doing their jobs, but they have no idea how deeply this scandal has cut into my family. I spent the past two days with my mom, who is devastated. Beyond devastated. Yes, she is filing for divorce, but the whole thing is gut-wrenching for her. She feels like a fool for thinking my father was working all those times he obviously wasn’t. She never thought she’d be starting over this way at age fifty-two, with no work experience.
“Almost there,” Lexi murmurs as we approach the door to the room. The cameras are flashing, and I’m keeping my expression stony.
We’re in a conference room of the ornately beautiful Palmer House, which holds memories of Jude and me. I didn’t want to tell Lexi to schedule it somewhere else after she set it up.
When we make it into the room and she closes the door, I sigh deeply and open the bottle of water she passes me.
“Thanks,” I say softly. “For everything, Lex.”
“Anytime.”
I laugh a single note. “Yeah, let’s never do this again.”
“You ended it on your terms, Reagan. You could have issued a press release, but you got up there and said the words. That takes guts. I’m proud of you.”
She hugs me and I close my eyes, feeling about a thousand pounds lighter now. It’s over. Not just the announcement, but all of it. No more living to meet my father’s goals and expectations. I’ll be doing what I want from now on, and it feels amazing.
“How do we get out of here?” I ask Lexi, pulling away.
“I think we should lay low in here for a few minutes. That door—” she points to a door on the other side of the room than the one we entered through “—goes to a hallway that leads to the kitchen.”
We’re both looking at the door in question when it opens. Jude walks into the room, wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and a black White Sox cap.
I’m too stunned to speak for a couple seconds, but when I recover, I cross the room, my eyes narrowed.
“What the hell are you doing? Are you here to gloat? Kick me while I’m down?”
His steely gaze is locked on me. “You know me better than that, Reagan. We need to talk.”
“Not now. It’s over, Jude. You’ve got a clear road to the Senate. There’s nothing more you can get from me.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” he says in a low, angry tone.
Lexi slips from the room, and Jude and I are left staring each other down.
“We’re going upstairs to talk,” he says firmly.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it right here.”
“We can’t stay in here. I risked a hell of a lot coming in here, Reagan. This place is crawling with reporters. We need to lay low upstairs.”
“Lay low, huh? Why fuck me now, Jude? You’ve got everything you wanted from me.”
He leans closer, his dark eyes so intense I almost have to look away. “Push all you want. I’m not leaving until we talk. You can walk, or I can throw you over my shoulder.”
“You’d lose everything if you got caught carrying me up to a room against my will.”
“I’ll do it,” he says in a level tone. “You’ve been blowing me off for three goddamn days, Reagan. I’m going out of my mind.”
I shake my head in disgust. “You’vebeen going out ofyourmind? How do you thinkIfeel? How do you think my mother feels?”
