Brenner’s eyes grew soft. “Yeah. That kind I don’t mind.”
I hated that he’d had a life filled with so much turmoil. “I don’t ever want to hurt you. I hope you know that.”
Brenner’s brows drew together. “Why do you think you would?”
“I’m just not sure how to do this.” I lowered my voice. “I’ve never been in a relationship. You mean too much to me to fuck up what we have.”
“It’s not going to happen.”
I wished I could be as sure as Brenner. “My father might say some things.…I’m not sure what, but I wouldn’t put it past him to have been in strategy sessions figuring out how to handle the situation.” Brenner’s blue eyes flicked to mine. “Yeah. You and me.”
“I don’t want—”
“If you’re going to say you don’t want our relationship to prevent me from getting closer to my sister, I’m hoping that won’t happen. But don’t for a second think about stepping aside for ‘the greater good.’” I took his hand again. “Because I’m no good without you anymore.”
A camera was thrust in our faces, and before either of us could react, the shutter reeled off snaps. A smarmy face peered over the lens.
“Thanks, guys! You just got me an exclusive and made the front page of theNew York Express.” With a wink, he scurried away.
“Fucker,” Brenner spat out and half rose, but I tugged his hand, and he sat.
“Don’t.”
“Why’d you stop me? He shouldn’t be spying on us.”
“No, he shouldn’t.” I clasped my hands. “But this is how it’s going to be until the primaries are finished, and if my father is the nominee, it will only get more intense. Worse.” I hated to say the words, but as much as I didn’t give a flying fuck whatthe press or anyone else had to say about Brenner and myself, it wasn’t only up to me. The one thing I’d learned being in a relationship was that I didn’t come first. Being a couple meant making decisions together. “I don’t care what people say about me, but I need to know how you feel. You’re a private person. How do you feel about our relationship being splashed in the news media and gossip columns?”
Brenner shook his head and gazed at the sticky Formica table. My heart in my throat, I waited for him to respond.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Brenner
“I’m not going anywhere,” I stated firmly, and the relief in Weston’s face broke my heart. He’d lost the person who’d loved him without question, and the other person who should’ve been there for him had failed him. “If you think I care about the opinions of people I’ve never met, you’re wrong.”
The bill was slapped down on the table, and Weston grabbed it. “I’d better get back to the office. Do you want your coffee to go?”
Now it was my turn to play with his fingers. “I didn’t come for the coffee.”
Sparks fired the gold in his green eyes until they blazed. “You are so gonna get lucky tonight.”
I squeezed his fingers before letting him go. “I already am.”
At the office we separated, and I spent the next hour at my computer, filling out my case notes. It had been a rough deposition for the client, and I could only hope that the children wouldn’t suffer. My cell phone rang, and seeing it was Bill, I gladly took the break.
“Hey, how’re you doing?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Bill said, unusually subdued, which startled me.
“What’re you talking about?”
“I been thinkin’ about your boyfriend. He’s the son of the potential president. Are you sure you’re ready for your life to be exposed in the newspaper and television?”
Thinking of the scene in the coffee shop, I gripped my phone tighter. “I don’t pay attention to gossip. And neither should you.”
“It’s got nothin’ to do with gossip. It’s a lot to handle for someone you don’t know.”
“What makes you think I don’t know him? We went to school together, and we’ve reconnected.”
