An Irresistible Bachelor(52)

"At least they gave us blankets."

Gray looked at his friend thoughtfully. "I've never seen anyone move as fast as you did."

"It was my brother in that river."

The two fell into silence.

"You were very lucky," Callie said, imagining what could have resulted from such a plunge into that kind of water. "But what happened to you, Gray?"

"Nothing." He grinned widely. "I'm no dummy. As soon as I could see Nate was fine, I hid under the bridge in my boat until the fervor died down. Snuck the shell back in the boathouse. Was never caught."

Jack smiled. "Isn't that just like a consultant."



"Hey, I posted your bail."

"Yeah, you did. My father had no interest in taking care of that. He told me later he would have preferred we'd spent the week in jail." Jack looked over at her. "Fortunately, the charges of public indecency and misuse of private property were later dropped, but only because one of my crewmate's fathers was the judge. Harvard put us both on probation."

"We were heroes that last semester in school," Gray said, with a chuckle.

When dinner was over and their plates were being cleared, Gray had started to talk about his vacation home in the Adirondacks.

"It's been in my family for generations. Jack's spent a lot of time there, although Blair hasn't been there yet, has she?" He leaned back while a cup of cappuccino was set in front of him. "We'll have to get the two of you up this summer for a proper vacation. Come for a week."

Callie looked away quickly as Jack made some noncommittal reply. Gray pressed on. "You know, I think she'd really like it up there. She strikes me as the kind who'd be just as comfortable in hiking boots as she is in a ball gown."

Jack's response was quiet, something along the lines of agreement.

"Callie, have you met his fiancée yet?" Gray asked.

Her heart stopped and she could feel Jack's eyes burning from across the table. She forced herself to look up and smile. "I haven't had the pleasure, no."

"You're going to love her. She's a remarkable woman. And a terrific match for Jack, considering what he's about to get himself into."

As Gray turned and cocked an eyebrow in inquiry, Jack cleared his throat. "I haven't mentioned anything, but we can talk about it in front of her."

What she would have preferred, Callie thought, was having no more talking at all.

"In all likelihood," Gray said, "our friend here is going to run for governor of this fine commonwealth next year."

Callie glanced across the table at Jack.

Political ambitions. How appropriate, given his family's history.

She tried to picture him leading the state and could see it clearly. He was charismatic, smart, compelling. And he probably wasn't going to stop there. Knowing him, he would shoot for the Oval Office.

Jack nodded at his friend. "I'm pulling together my team now. Gray's going to make himself indispensable, aren't you?"

"And you're going to need all the help you can get. This is going to be a nasty fight, considering who the incumbent is."


"Who will you be facing?" Callie asked.

"Bill Callahan. Better known as Butch Callahan," Jack answered. "He likes to play dirty and fortunately, I'm not put off by a good fight. I'm going to enjoy trying to beat him."

She thought back to him in his study, phone up to his ear, looking like he was about to reach through the wires and grab someone around the throat. And then she saw him crawling into the ceiling over the garage, determined to fix the stereo even if it took him all night. He was the kind of man who would stand up to anything and persevere until he had what he wanted. She figured whoever he was up against had better watch out.

Gray shook his head. "Like I said before, you're going to have to be prepared to have some serious mud thrown at you. Butch and his buddies are going to get into everything, especially your ah, past."

Jack frowned while his friend looked at Callie.

"But fortunately, his wild days are over. There's no more carousing with the ladies and Blair is a great asset. Photogenic as hell with a background that's clean as a whistle. She also happens to be a fine person, which is the most important part."

"How about dessert?" Jack asked.

How about getting the hell out of here, Callie thought.