The Billionaire's Temporary Bride (Scandal, Inc #3)(69)

They had made a deal, and Jack had almost immediately changed the terms. He had asked Charlotte for more than she signed up for, even after insisting to her that he wanted the exact opposite of a connection. He had asked her to let him into her heart, and she had accepted. She had gone against her better judgment and allowed herself to love him, and now he was too afraid to tell her how he felt.

He just didn't know how to explain his situation to her. He didn't know how to tell her why he had to run off late at night to make mysterious phone calls, why he fought with his family, and why he hadn't allowed himself to have a serious girlfriend in years. She didn't seem to understand his insistence at why he could never be the man she wanted, a good father and a family man. How could he explain now about Maria and little Jack? He couldn't reveal the love child he'd been hiding from her for months, his biggest secret in the world, now that he had been dumb enough to let this perfect woman love him.

There didn't seem to be any good solution. Jack just knew that he couldn't go on much longer having Charlotte so close and yet so far away. On the island, he had felt a taste of what it would be like if they could live simply and for each other. It had been wonderful, a dream. The whole time, he had known he'd have to wake up and come back to reality at some point.

Well, here he was, wide awake and standing backstage in an empty gymnasium. He needed to get out. He needed to take a walk. He headed for the door, pushing his way out into the parking lot. The first cars were starting to arrive for the debate, and Jack did his best to avoid them. It must have been fifteen degrees or so, and the cold air stung his face and his lungs as he walked. It had been snowing on and off for days, and a thick layer of salt-and-sand-streaked crud clung to every surface of the parking lot.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw someone head out of the gymnasium after him. He knew it was Charlotte, following him with a jacket. It was pointless to try to get away from her. She'd just keep after him until she caught up. He stopped and stared off into the distance, listening to the salt crunch underfoot as she approached.

"I'm just getting some air," he said. He didn't want to look at her. She was going to try and cheer him up or apologize again or—

"You're acting like an ass," she said.

Ok, didn't expect that, he thought.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jack asked. He turned around.

Charlotte marched up to him and tossed the jacket at him. Her eyes were full of fire.

"I get it," she said, "I crossed the line, but you have an entire team of people working for you who are counting on you. You have donors and volunteers and supporters who all believe in you, and, ok, you know what, being a little selfish, you have me, and I dropped everything in my life to help you chase this goal, so stop pouting. You're moping around like a sullen teenager. Stop acting like a spoiled brat and do your job. Go back inside and tell everyone how much you appreciate their work instead of wandering around like you wish you were on a beach somewhere."

Charlotte spun around and marched back inside, leaving Jack alone. He had seen her stand up for herself. He had seen her stand up for him, but never had she called him out like that.

She was right, of course. She was always right. He was being selfish and moody, and he needed to snap out of it. The world was bigger than him and the fact that he might be falling in love with his own wife. It was bigger than his own pig-headed worry that somehow he'd drive her away. And besides, after the event was over, he had all the time in the world to keep wondering how to further mess up what should have been a great thing.

Jack tossed the coat over his shoulder and headed inside after Charlotte. Maybe he hadn't given her enough credit. Soon, he would find some way of explaining how he felt, of telling her how much she had changed his life, but first, he had to take the infinitely easier step of winning a televised primary debate.





***

Charlotte nervously tapped her foot as she watched the start of the debate from the side of the stage. She was too nervous to stay still.

"Stop fidgeting," Lauren whispered. She seemed just as antsy as Charlotte felt, but there was nothing a campaign manager could do while her candidate debated. "We're both on the sidelines for now."

Charlotte tried to calm herself. She needed a distraction.

"God, you're going to think this is so dumb," Charlotte whispered, "but I know almost nothing about the other two candidates in this debate."

"That puts you on the same page as most of the people in the audience," Lauren said. "Beyond his congressional district, people only know Jack because of his family name, but that was enough to scare a few of the big names away from the race. The two he'll be debating tonight are basically exact opposites of each other. Jack's in the middle. To his right, there's Big Greg Lapierre. He's an 'aw shucks' populist. He doesn't believe a word of it, but he's a big, amiable guy who drives a pickup truck and wears jeans. People love him for it."

"We had the misfortune of crossing paths already," Charlotte said.

Lauren laughed. "Then I'll spare you the talk about his negative campaign and how much every member of our team hates him. Honestly, if you weren't in the picture, his attempt to paint Jack as more interested in parties and women probably would have worked a lot better. Of course, your engagement flipped that whole thing on its head. Instead of Jack's personal life being a weakness, you've made it a strength. People can't get enough of the two of you, and Greg's been scrambling for weeks trying to figure out how to go on the attack again."