Off the Record (Record #1)(50)

“Working on a portfolio for my journalism class and running a campaign column,” she told him. The thought of how much work she had got her all flustered.

“Busy.”

“Very. I don’t know how I’ll find time to keep seeing this guy,” she said flippantly.

“You’re seeing a guy?” he asked, turning to face her. She wasn’t sure whether he was serious or joking. She couldn’t read him as well as she thought.

“Well, I don’t know if you would call it that,” she said.

He narrowed his eyes. “If you’re talking about anyone other than me, I’m not going to be pleased,” he said, grasping her chin and pulling her in for a heated kiss.

Liz blinked a few times to try to regain composure when he released her. “How could there be anyone else but you?”

And in the summer-heated night, wrapped up in his arms, lost to his touch, she really believed that. Brady had taken over her world. He captured her thoughts, revealed her hidden desires, and made her feel as if she was actually living. In that moment, there was no one else other than Brady.

“I’m having a banquet near the end of the summer, right before the primary. It won’t be in any of the websites you’ve been scraping to track campaign schedules,” he said with a laugh. “I assume you’re doing that?”

Liz bit her lip.

“That’s what I thought,” he said with a chuckle. “I can give you a schedule if it makes it easier.”

“Then it feels like I’m not doing my job.”

“It feels a bit like you’re stalking me.”

“That is part of my job,” she said with a cheeky grin.

“Well, you won’t stalk me to this event without a ticket,” Brady told her. “I’d like you to be there.”

She wanted to ask whether she was going to be going with him, but she didn’t. She couldn’t ask that. If he said no, she wouldn’t be able to keep the hurt off of her face. They’d had such a nice day together that she wouldn’t want to ruin anything.

“All right. I’d like to go,” she told him.

“In the meantime, will you do me a favor?”

“Sure,” she said, offering him the world and more.

“Don’t get your picture in the paper.”

“What?” she asked, surprised. “Why would I get my picture in the paper?” Liz immediately started looking around the lakefront, as if she were expecting photographers to appear around every corner.

“In your paper. Don’t let anyone convince you that you need to have your pretty face next to your name,” he said, running his hand down her cheek.

“Why?” she asked suspiciously.

“You’re pretty anonymous, right?”

She definitely was. She had been saying not too long ago that everyone knew Calleigh when she was in her position, but no one knew who Liz was. It was probably her own doing. Calleigh liked to be in the spotlight, and Liz preferred the background. Slowly she nodded her affirmation.

“Stay that way.”

She didn’t understand what that had to do with anything, and it must have shown on her face.

“Right now, you’re Liz Dougherty on paper. You’ve written some articles that are unfavorable to me, but no one knows who you are. If you start showing up at all my events, and people already know your face, then your cover as Sandy is ruined…”

Liz started putting the pieces together. That made much more sense. He was protecting her identity and at the same time securing himself a little bit more. So, no pictures in the paper. That was fine by her. She would rather be anonymous than lose out on time with Brady.

“What about your press secretary? Doesn’t she know who I am?” she asked, wanting to cover all the bases.

“Heather? No, she knows you’re a reporter, but she doesn’t know you by face, just by name. And I’ll deal with Heather so she doesn’t put the pieces together,” he told Liz confidently.

“Well…I still don’t have an answer to my second question,” she said, nudging him with her elbow. “When do I get to see you again? I’m not going to have to wait another three weeks, am I?”

“Baby, I never want to make you wait again,” he said, picking her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and carrying her back up the stairs to the bedroom.

Chapter 15

LIKE A DREAM

Liz returned to her house the next morning bright and early. They had spent all night at the lake house and she hadn’t gotten much sleep, but it was worth it. She would do it all over again if she had the chance. It felt surreal to come back like this and have everything else be the same…when she felt so different.

She wanted to sleep, but life was still moving on all around her. Her world with Brady felt like something out of a dream, and then she woke up to reality.

The entire week felt like that. She turned in another assignment: The one she had been working on during the drive to the lake house. Today was the day she found out whether she had done any better. Overall, she had thought it was a better paper. Maybe Brady was rubbing off on her.

Well, in her opinion, he wasn’t rubbing off on her enough. She had managed to see him twice this week at various hotels—once for a pretty spectacular hour and once on Saturday morning before he had to go to work. They had started talking nearly every day, though. She wanted more, but she was already getting more from him than he had said when they had first agreed to do this.