Chapter Three

Christopher recognized the ringtone coming from his cell phone. Everyone in his contact list from his mother to his housekeeper had their own distinct ring.

For half a heartbeat, he considered answering, but then he hit ignore and let the call from Jake go straight to voice mail. They hadn’t spoken in almost three weeks. Not because Jake hadn’t called, but rather because Christopher had been avoiding all communication with him.

Dropping the cell phone onto his desk, he turned his attention back to his computer screen. Despite his efforts to concentrate, he couldn’t shake the guilt and shame eating away at his conscience in a way he’d never experienced before.

He considered Jake Sherbrooke one of his closest friends. In all the time they’d known each other, Jake had never treated him as anything other than an equal, even early in their friendship when he’d been nothing but a Cal Tech freshman from a small town in Wisconsin on a full academic scholarship. How had he repaid him? By breaking the one unspoken rule between men—sleeping with your best friend’s little sister. Admiring Sara from afar was one thing, but he’d gone way beyond that. While she brushed the whole incident off as no big deal, it was a huge deal to him. Now that it had happened, he didn’t know how he’d ever face Jake again. Until he was confident he could talk to Jake without blurting out the truth, he figured it best to avoid him all together.

Christopher reread the line on the computer screen and prepared to finish the document, only to be interrupted by a knock on his office door.

“Yes,” he said, annoyance at the interruption slipping into his voice.

“I’m working on your calendar for next week before I leave,” Caroline—his sister and executive assistant—said, walking into the room. “Do you plan to attend the literacy fundraiser Senator Healy’s wife is co-sponsoring next week?”

With everything else, he’d forgotten all about the invitation he’d received from David Healy. While he received similar invites all the time, this one had been made in person when he’d run into David weeks earlier. During a round of golf, they’d started discussing Christopher’s company and how he might be able to assist with a new education initiative David had helped prepare, which was to be voted on soon. When the game ended, he’d invited Christopher to the fundraiser being held in Rhode Island. At the time, he’d said maybe, but hadn’t thought about it since that afternoon.

Sara worked as David’s chief of staff, which meant she might be in attendance. His pulse raced at the thought of seeing her again. Since she’d walked out of his bedroom, he’d thought about her frequently. That morning he’d forced himself to leave Hawaii before either she or Jake got up. While part of him had wanted to stay as far away from her as possible, another part couldn’t help but want to see her again.

Several times since their night together he’d picked up his phone, intent on calling her. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with a good reason to do so. The fundraiser was both a blessing and a curse. It gave him the perfect excuse to see her. At the same time though, he hated not knowing what would happen when he did. For all he knew, she was involved with someone back in D.C.

Only one way to find out. “Thanks for reminding me. Yeah, I plan on going.”

Caroline’s fingers moved over the tablet in her hand. “Do you want to leave that morning or the day before? Right now you have nothing scheduled for the day before.”

“Tell Jim to be ready to fly the day before.” A full day to adjust to the time difference between the West Coast and the East Coast would be useful.

***

Sara accepted the glass of Pinot Noir from the waiter and took a sip while Mia Troy spoke. Although the actress spent her days in Hollywood now, she had strong ties to New England. Like Sara, she’d been born there and had attended Harvard University for a short time before moving back to California and her already successful acting career. Over the past few years though, she’d become a vocal political advocate supporting many politicians, including President Sherbrooke.

“If I was going to be here longer, I’d say we should have a girls’ night out,” Mia said, sounding as if the idea had just come to her. “It’s been a long time since we went out and had fun together.”

Although she didn’t intend to stay in Providence long, the idea of a girls’ night out sounded nice. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone out with some friends. Part of the reason was her job. During the senator’s campaign, she’d kept her mind focused on getting him elected. Now that he was in office, it was her responsibility to make sure everything ran smoothly and that he eventually got re-elected. With all that, there wasn’t a lot of time for socializing.

Sara couldn’t place all the blame for her nonexistent social life on her job though. She had free time, but chose to avoid society. Even before Phillip Young entered her life, she’d known people sometimes associated with her only because of her last name. Thanks to her relationship with Phillip though, that fact was branded on her mind and, as a result, she now distanced herself from people, both men and women.

“I’m leaving in the morning, though,” Mia said. “I’m expected in Rome on Saturday for the start of a new movie.”

“Some other time,” Sara said, her voice the right combination of disappointment and understanding.

“Definitely, we need to catch up.”

Not long after, Mia excused herself, leaving Sara alone for the first time all evening. Since she had entered the ballroom hours earlier, people had surrounded her. Some she’d known for years, while others she’d only met after she started working with the senator. And while she shouldn’t feel alone in such a crowded room, she did. Put in the same situation a month earlier and she would’ve felt at ease, ready to mix and socialize with everyone there. Politics was in her blood. However, since Jake’s wedding, she kept thinking about the one thing both her brothers had and she didn’t. Someone to love and who loved her in return regardless of anything else.

Tonight’s all about politics and money. Don’t forget that. Since a big part of politics was socializing, she needed to do some of that right now.

“I hoped to see you here tonight.”

Sara froze. She hadn’t heard his voice in more than two years, but she recognized it immediately. Phillip. Before turning around, she slowly counted to ten. “I’m Senator Healy’s chief of staff, so it’s expected.” She forced herself to use a courteous tone, even though more than anything she wanted to toss her drink in his smug face.

“Whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re here. Why don’t we find a table and sit down? Catch up.”

Phillip took a step closer, and she could smell his aftershave. Her stomach rolled at the scent, and memories of their relationship sprang from their hiding places. She’d rather sit and visit with a rattlesnake than her ex. “I don’t think so. We don’t need to catch up.” When she ended their relationship, she thought she’d made her feelings crystal clear.

Phillip ignored her words and reached for her hand. Ice-cold fear shot through her, and she glanced around for the Secret Service agents assigned to her. She’d asked them to hold back tonight. After all, everyone in the room had gone through security on their way in and the event was by invitation only.

Ignoring her response, he pulled her toward him. “Let’s put the past behind us, Sara. We’re both adults and here alone tonight.”

It’s a room full of people, I’m safe. Sara tried to pull her arm away without making a scene. If she made a lot of commotion, other people would notice. If possible, she wanted to keep her run-in with Phillip under the radar.

“She’s not alone.”

Sara whipped her head around fast enough to give herself whiplash at the sound of Christopher’s voice.

“Sorry I was gone so long. Congressman Roberts stopped me. You know how he can go on.” Christopher took her free hand and pulled her possessively against his side. With no other choice, Phillip released her hand.

Christopher draped his arm around her shoulders. The feel of his hand on her bare skin sent shivers of excitement down her arm, extinguishing the fear she’d felt moments earlier.

“Is there a problem here, Sara?” Although Christopher asked her the question, he never looked away from Phillip.

“Phillip Young,” Phillip said, extending his hand. “No problem. We were just catching up. Sara and I are old friends.”

Sara counted the seconds that passed as Phillip stood with his hand extended and Christopher made no move to accept it. She wanted to smile at the cut by Christopher. Phillip wasn’t used to being ignored. He thought highly of himself and figured everyone else should too.

“It didn’t look that way to me,” Christopher said coldly.

When he looked over at her, Sara shook her head, hoping he’d get the hint she wanted to drop the issue.

“Everything is fine. I was wondering where you were, but if Roberts got a hold of you, that explains it.” On impulse, Sara dropped a brief kiss on Christopher’s cheek, hoping the tiny display of affection would add to the charade.

The second her lips left his cheek, Christopher turned his head toward her, his warm brown eyes taking everything in.

“Sara, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Phillip asked, letting his hand fall back to his side.

Phillip’s voice pulled her attention away from Christopher. Before she answered, she snaked her arm around his waist, comforted by the feel of his body next to hers.

“Phillip, I’m sure you’ve heard of Christopher Hall of Hall Technology.”

Sara forced herself to contain her smirk as the demeanor of the man before her changed. His eyes became the size of saucers, and he pulled his attention off her and turned it toward Christopher.

“Yes, I have. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard great things about your company.”

Sara half expected Phillip to fall to his knees and worship Christopher. It was all about money and power to him. All Phillip cared about was who could help him get the most of both.

“Senator Healy wanted to see you before we leave, and I’m ready to go now.” Christopher infused just the right amount of seduction in his tone.

“I better find him then. Goodnight, Phillip. Enjoy the rest of the evening.”

She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she allowed Christopher to lead her toward the other end of the grand ballroom where tables had been set for dinner.

“Thank you.” Sara stopped at an empty table in a far corner. “You arrived at just the right time.”

Without saying a word, he pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit. “Who was that anyway?”

“My ex. I don’t know what he’s doing here. I don’t remember seeing him on the guest list.” Sara heard the contempt in her voice but couldn’t do anything about it. “Speaking of which, what are you doing here?” Now that she’d avoided a scene with Phillip, she realized Christopher shouldn’t be here either.

Seated across the table, Christopher leaned back in his chair. He appeared to be a man without a care in the world and completely comfortable in her presence, despite the night they’d shared weeks ago.

The memory of waking up with his arm draped across her naked stomach filled her head. Over the past few weeks, her memories of that night popped up time and time again, but only when she was alone—a fact she was grateful for. No such luck tonight. Warmth spread across her face, and she hoped the lighting in the ballroom kept Christopher from seeing her blush.

“I’ve known David Healy for a few years. We belong to the same country club. We played golf right before Jake’s wedding, and he invited me tonight.”

During their next meeting, she’d remind David to keep her apprised of who he issued invites to. As his chief of staff, she needed to be in the loop on all things. Not to mention, it would’ve been helpful to know Christopher was coming tonight.

“You did make it,” Senator Healy said, approaching their table.

A man in his mid-forties, Senator Healy was the type of person most would overlook in a crowd. A graduate of Columbia University, he’d built his entire life around one goal, making it to the United States Senate despite the fact he didn’t have any family connections. She admired him for obtaining his goal. Accomplishing exactly what he’d achieved was her ultimate goal for the future.

The Senator pulled a chair out from the table and joined them. “And I see you’ve met my talented chief of staff. She came to work for me instead of the President himself,” he said, chuckling at his usual joke. A joke she hoped he ditched soon.

“We’ve known each other a long time. Christopher and my brother were roommates in college,” Sara said.

“I didn’t realize there was a connection between you two,” the Senator said, pointing a finger back and forth between them. “So, have you thought anymore about what we discussed?” Senator Healy asked before turning his attention to Sara. “I told Christopher about the education initiative we want to get through.”

Christopher nodded. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here tonight.”

One of the reasons? What were his other reasons? She wanted to ask but knew it wasn’t any of her business. Besides, asking might give him the wrong impression.

“Excellent. That’s what I wanted to hear,” the senator said. “Sara, set up a meeting for us with Christopher.” Pushing his chair back, he came to his feet. “I look forward to our meeting.” Senator Healy shook hands with Christopher before rejoining the other guests in the ballroom.

Sara gripped her hands together, her nails digging into her skin. A meeting with her boss and her brother’s best friend, with whom she’d had a one-night stand—could anything be more awkward? Doubtful, but stranger things happened.

“I’m staying in Providence for the weekend, so I’ll call your assistant on Monday to arrange a meeting.” If she avoided talking about anything personal tonight, perhaps he would too.

“Call me directly. There’s no need for you to go through Caroline.” Christopher rested both elbows on the table and leaned closer.

Before she could stop herself, her eyes dropped to his large hands sprawled on the table, and her skin tingled at the memory of them on her body. Immediately, her pulse quickened. “Okay,” she said, sounding a little breathless.

“I thought I would spend a few days here myself. I haven’t been on the East Coast in a while. What are your plans for tomorrow?”

She could lie. If she told him she had a previous engagement, he’d never know the difference. Sara opened her mouth, an excuse on the tip of her tongue, but the words wouldn’t come. Although people in Washington were rumored to lie left and right to suit their own needs and agendas, she wasn’t able to. Never had been in fact. For as long as she could remember, Mom drilled into her that a true lady never lied. Omitting details was one thing, like not telling Jake about her one-night stand, but out and out lying just felt wrong.

A true lady doesn’t have one-night stands either.

“Nothing specific.” The words slid from Sara’s mouth. She hadn’t lied.

“How about dinner then? You can tell me more about this initiative David wants me to support.”

Sara nodded in agreement. Perhaps working with Christopher would be the best way to get over her awkward feelings and past their night together in Hawaii.

***

On the other side of the glass elevator, the city lights twinkled in the evening sky. Rolling her neck, she tried to work out the tension that had settled there hours earlier. Normally these events gave her an adrenaline boost, but not tonight. While the evening had started out like any other, it had gone downhill fast, picking up speed along the way.

“What a night,” she said to herself as the elevator reached her floor. The doors opened to a deserted hallway. She had the entire floor to herself, Secret Service made sure of that. Not that it would’ve been a problem, anyway considering the hotel belonged to Sherbrooke Enterprises.

Slipping her keycard into the lock, she pushed open the door, kicked off her Christian Louboutin heels, and headed straight for the bathroom with its oversized tub. She needed a long soak in the tub to wash away her stress. Ever since she’d heard first Phillip’s and then Christopher’s voice, her entire body felt tight, as if it would snap if she turned the wrong way. Not that she wasn’t grateful for Christopher’s interference. When he’d wrapped his arm around her waist, anchoring her to his side, her fear disappeared.

Yet she’d hoped not to see Christopher for a very long time. Mortification, along with several other emotions, set in every time she thought of her behavior in Hawaii. If David had told her about his invitation to Christopher, maybe she could have prepared herself for seeing him again.

To top off the weekend, now she was going to have dinner with him. Sit across from him and act like nothing ever happened all the while knowing exactly what it felt like to have his hands and mouth on her body.

Sara slid into the water, the heat immediately easing the tension in her body. Too bad it couldn’t do the same for her warring emotions. Inhaling and exhaling slow, measured breaths, Sara pushed Christopher from her mind. Tomorrow there would be enough time to deal with all the feelings he evoked. Tonight she needed to relax then get a good night’s sleep.

***

With a hand towel, Christopher cleared the steam from the bathroom mirror. Then he reached for his contact lenses. Without those, he ran the risk of slitting his own throat when he shaved the stubble that had grown since he shaved this morning. Two shaves in the same day wasn’t his norm. When he could get away with it, he didn’t even shave every day, but tonight there was no way around it.

Using his shaving brush, he covered his cheeks with a layer of shaving soap and reached for the straight edge razor he favored. While an electric razor would be quicker, he preferred the extra close shave the old-fashioned tool gave him. His sister, Caroline, loved to give him a hard time about the fact that his life revolved around the state-of-the-art in technology, yet he shaved with an instrument some men wouldn’t even recognize.

Slowly, he scraped away the five o’clock shadow, his mind wandering to the evening ahead, and a sharp pang of uneasiness pierced his gut. On so many levels, taking Sara out tonight was wrong. Yeah, sure he’d asked her out, under the ruse they could discuss the senator’s new education plan while they ate, something that could wait until he met with them in Washington. The real reason he’d asked her was to spend time with her and get a sense of her feelings toward him. If the night in Hawaii hadn’t happened, he’d never even entertain the idea there might be something between them. Hawaii had happened, though, and he couldn’t get it out of his mind. And he’d tried. Man, how he’d tried. He’d been out on dates with three different women since Jake’s wedding, but none had even remotely turned him on the way Sara had. On all three occasions, he’d dropped his date off at her place and gone home alone.

After wiping any remaining shaving soap from his face, Christopher ran a hand through his damp hair, satisfied with the image looking back at him. It was an image that had taken years to develop. The self-assured man gazing back at him now hadn’t always existed. In fact, until college, he’d been the exact opposite, and he had his friendship with Jake to thank for much of that.

And how do I repay the guy? By sleeping with his baby sister. Even worse, if the opportunity arose again, he didn’t know if he’d be able to pass it up. Sara had intrigued him since the minute she walked into their dorm room freshman year. Back then, she hadn’t given the geeky nerd with the coke-bottle glasses a second look. Yet after her brother’s wedding, she’d done so much more than that. Afterward she brushed it off as no big deal, yet he didn’t completely believe her. Sure, she showed up in magazine headlines from time to time with her name attached to a man, but nothing like her brother had before meeting Charlie.

Regardless of what type of life she led, she was supposed to be off-limits to him. You just didn’t get involved with your buddy’s sister… period. Despite knowing this, he still planned to have dinner with her tonight. He just couldn’t pass up the opportunity, and if Jake found out, he’d be able to say it’d been a business meeting.

“As long as I keep it out of the bedroom, it’ll be okay,” Christopher said to the image in the mirror as he buttoned his shirt. “How hard can that be?” Switching off the light, he left, eager for the night ahead.

***

The candle in the center of the table flickered, casting Sara’s face in a warm glow. What the hell had he been thinking when he made these reservations? A private candle-lit room at Lucerne was not the place to bring a beautiful woman you had no business getting involved with. A better choice would’ve been a family friendly restaurant with bright lights and lots of loud music. Too late now.

They both remained silent while a waiter presented them with their drinks and promised to return when they had made their dinner choices. So far, neither had spoken much beyond the general pleasantries.

“You said you wanted to know more about David’s education plan,” Sara said, kicking off a real conversation.

He tried to maintain eye contact—no easy task tonight. A stray piece of her golden blonde hair had escaped her elegant updo, and it kept brushing against her collarbone. His fingers itched to brush the hair away and tuck it back behind her ear.

At the sound of her voice, Christopher’s eyes flew away from the teasing strand and back to her face. “Yes. When we played golf, David mentioned he’d helped put together a new initiative merging technology and education and that it would soon come before the Senate for a vote.”

“It’s a multifaceted plan for improving public education by promoting science, engineering, and technology in our public schools in a variety of ways. First he wants to get the latest technology into schools at all grade levels, whether it’s a small school in Greenwich, Connecticut or a large inner city school in Detroit. At the same time, raise the current standards used in schools.”

The minute she’d mentioned the words education, science, and engineering his interest had been piqued. Yet the way her eyes literally came alive as she spoke and the excitement coming through her voice only pulled him in further. If it hadn’t been for his love of science and computers, he’d be just another guy from Wisconsin.

Sara leaned forward in her excitement as she continued to tell him about the plan, giving him an excellent view of her cleavage—a fact she probably didn’t realize and one he had no business noticing. Still he did. Any man in his position would.

Look away. Reaching for the menu he hadn’t looked at, he opened it. He already knew what he wanted. The restaurant was one of his favorites in the city, but the inside of the menu gave him something other than Sara and her cleavage to study.

“Have you decided on what you’re having?” Christopher asked when Sara paused in her explanation.

He almost sighed with relief when she leaned back in her chair and reached for her own untouched menu.

“No, not yet. Is there anything you recommend?”

“Everything is great, but they outdo themselves when it comes to seafood.”

“Then I’ll have to go with the shrimp scampi,” she said, just before the waiter returned.

Throughout dinner they discussed the new education plan. The more she told him about it, the more he knew it was something he could get behind and support. “When you get back to Washington, let David know he has me on board.” Christopher rested an elbow on the edge of the table.

A full, true smile, not one of her society smiles, spread across Sara’s face, revealing a tiny dimple in her cheek. “Excellent. I think you’ll be the perfect spokesperson for it.”

He didn’t know how much Sara knew about him, but nearly everyone in the world knew he’d come from an average upper-middle-class background and turned himself into a technology billionaire.

“I’m surprised he didn’t tag you for the role.” With her excitement for the plan and her recognizable name, she’d make an excellent spokesperson.

Sara’s smile disappeared. “He did, but I refused. It would feel like I’m using the Sherbrooke name to get it passed. I plan to make my own way in D.C. without relying on my family name.”

He understood her reasons, and admired Sara for her determination.

With the topic of the new bill exhausted for the time being, he turned his thoughts to other possible topics for conversation while they waited for dessert.

“How did your mom handle the news when she learned about Jake’s wedding?”

Sara’s delicate shoulders rose and fell, causing the stray piece of hair to sway back and forth, taunting him again. “I haven’t talked to Jake. But I don’t think he’s told her yet. If he has, she hasn’t called me. He really should tell her soon before the media gets wind of it.” Sara paused as the waiter appeared with their desserts. “I don’t envy him. I wouldn’t want to tell her either,” Sara said, with no hint of humor in her voice.

He smiled despite the seriousness in her voice. “You and me both. I have to confess though, I’d love to be a fly on the wall when Jake does tell her.”

A sweet laugh escaped from Sara. “That would be entertaining,” she said, before turning her attention to the New York style cheesecake before her.

Christopher focused on his own dessert. So she hadn’t spoken to Jake either. Was she avoiding her brother as well or did they just not talk much? He remembered Jake telling him once that he and Sara were close.

“Jake hasn’t said anything to you?” Sara asked, her face clouded with uneasiness.

“The last time he called, I was in a meeting.” Although not a lie, it wasn’t the complete truth either. Jake had called him twice since the wedding. The first time he’d texted Jake back saying he was on his way to a meeting. He hadn’t responded at all to the second call.

Sara nodded, and he got the impression she knew he was avoiding her brother. Probably because she was too.