“Thank you,” he said quickly, then twisted his watch into place, cupped my face, and kissed me. His warm lips pressed to mine for the briefest moment, then he spun for the door.
And froze.
I stood shell-shocked against the high table.
Slowly, Logan turned, face as white as a ghost’s, eyes wide as saucers. “Fuck. I’m so sorry. It was a reflex.”
We stared at each other for a long moment. My heart pounded. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“Logan, get out here!” Nora’s head popped in.“Now!”
“Right,” he said dazedly, and walked out the door, eyes still unblinking. Immediately, his staffers caught him by the shoulders and marched him toward the stage.
I watched the back of his head until he disappeared, my fingers tracing my lips. Mistake or not, I needed a minute to remember how to breathe.
The entire row of Logan’s staffers winced as Governor Mane cut in yet again, interrupting Logan’s carefully worded point about immigration. We were seated close to the stage in the large, moodily lit auditorium, but it was still easier to look up at the giant TV monitors hanging on either side of the curtains, which showed Logan’s face closeup. In high-definition, he frowned and gripped the sides of his podium until his knuckles went white. The governor droned on, but he didn’t jump in. Didn’t berate him, call Mane a phony or indulge in a single one of what I knew were his natural instincts. Mane finished making his point and the crowd burst into applause, loudest from the RNC camp in the corner.
Thirty minutes in, and the debate was not going well.
“Why is he being soweak?” Cary hissed. I’d ended up sandwiched between him and Nora, which at least meant that every time I recoiled or cringed watching the governor trample Logan, they’d been right there with me. Shared suffering.
“I don’t know.” Nora shook her head, eyes searching Logan’s image on the screen. “He knows this stuff cold, and Mane isn’t saying anything unexpected. But Logan’s pulling all his punches.”
“I think he’s overcorrecting,” I said quietly, and both Cary and Nora turned.
“What do you mean?” Nora asked.
“I think he’s so worried about coming across as combative that he’s checking himself too much.”
“Maybe,” she murmured, and we all looked back at the stage. One of the moderators was asking Logan the next question.
“Mr. Arthur, rising health care costs are one of Texans’ greatest sources of anxiety, according to a newTexas Tribunepoll. What would you say to those worried about the costs of their prescription drugs?”
“Heknowsthis one,” I whispered excitedly. “We practiced.”
Nora shot me a hopeful look—and, to my surprise, grabbed my hand. We gripped each other while we waited for Logan to answer.
“I would say, first and foremost, that I hear them.” Logan’s voice was strong and sure. “It’s unacceptable for medicine to be priced so astronomically that the very people it’s meant to help can’t afford it. No one should have to choose between their rent and their cancer treatment.”
Nora squeezed my hand.
“That’s why one of the first things I’ll do if elected...” Logan’s gaze cast out into the audience. A strange look came over his face, as if he’d just gone somewhere else. He looked down at his podium. A collective pall fell over our row. In front of us, the DNC guys started whispering furiously.
“What ishappeningright now?” Cary’s face was horrified.
“Where are you, Logan?” Nora whispered. “Get your head back in the game.”
“Is...” Logan’s attention returned to the moderator. “Enact my ten-point health care reform plan, which will expand Medicaid...” Logan wrapped up his answer succinctly and the question was tossed over to Mane, who leaped in immediately and started hammering out his plans. It was hard not to compare their energy.
“He’sdistracted,” Nora said. She had anahalight in her eyes. “Something’s throwing him.”
I felt the ghostly pressure of his lips on mine. Then the look of horror on his face that followed. Guilt stabbed through me.
“Logan isneverdistracted,” Cary whispered. “Not when he’s arguing, not when he’s talking to voters, hell, not even playing soccer. Whatever this is, it has to be big.”
I remembered what Logan told me about his breakup with Tinsley, how it had been so bad he’d all but checked out the last week. Relationships got in his head, which is why he’d stopped dating in the first place. Somehow, our fake relationship was having the same effect.
“Did he tell you anything in the dressing room?” Nora asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Do you have any clue what’s distracting him?”
