The Kingmaker (All the King's Men Duet #1) - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,94
figure out since you eat breakfast here every day.”
“It’s creepy that you know that.”
“One man’s creepy is another man’s determination.”
“A new business venture for you. Inspirational quotes for stalkers.” She pushes away the untouched croissant in front of her. “Print that over an ocean scene. It’ll be gorgeous on the wall of some peeping tom.”
“Nice one.” I chuckle and sink lower into the seat. “This could have been avoided if you’d just talked to me last night.”
She glances up from under a sweep of midnight lashes, but slides her gaze away, out the window to the people passing by. There was a time when this woman’s body begged for mine, and now she’ll barely look at me.
“I didn’t think we had anything to discuss,” she says, eyes still trained outside, voice pitched to a level of indifference. “I’m assuming Owen told you my conditions for accepting the job.”
“You mean that Kimba is my handler?” I infuse some amusement into the words, but I didn’t find it funny when Owen told me. I still don’t.
“Your contact.” She looks at me directly. “It’s not unusual for us to divide responsibilities.”
“Is it unusual to have slept with your clients?”
Her eyes and mouth pinch at the corners. That’s what I wanted—the fire I know is there, not these cold ashes she’s giving me.
“This is exactly why I didn’t think we should work together,” she says.
“Because you’re scared? Or would Wally not like it?”
“I’m not scared, and it’s Wallace. Please stay out of my relationship.”
“Your relationship.” I stretch the word out as if examining it syllable by syllable. “So when did you and Wallace start seeing each other?”
Back then, Grim reported that they were dating, but it wasn’t clear when they started.
“The first time it was not too long after college graduation,” she answers.
I tense at her words. “Were you seeing him when I came to the campaign office in Oklahoma?”
“No.” She clears her throat. “What happened that day was a mistake, but it never would have happened if I’d been in a committed relationship.”
“So you like to think.”
“I know so. I would never cheat on Wallace.” Truth rings in her voice, and I’m even less sure of what’s going on between them.
“If there’s a point, could you make it?” She asks, glancing at the slim watch on her wrist. “I need to get to the office.”
“You obviously believe my brother can win,” I say, lowering my voice and glancing around. Owen hasn’t announced yet, and this city is crawling with eyes and ears.
“I believe he will win. I wouldn’t have taken him on if I didn’t believe that.”
“But he’s a Cade. Same blood. Same last name. Same father as mine.”
“You still don’t get it?” She leans forward, holding my eyes in a steely stare. “Who knows if I would have gotten over who your father was? You didn’t give me the chance to decide. You did to me what they always do.”
She tilts her chin up to a proud angle. “You thought you knew best and decided for me. You took away my choices, let me get involved that deeply with you knowing how I felt about your father and Cade Energy. You deliberately withheld the truth to get what you wanted.”
“I should have handled it differently,” I admit through tight lips. “You have no idea how many times I wish I had told you from the start, but I didn’t.”
“You lied.”
“Yes, I think that’s been well established over the ten years you’ve held it against me.”
“You think I’ve been pining for you? I haven’t.”
That grates because I can’t count how many times I’ve rolled over in some bed in some city and remembered her hair spilled on my pillow. Imagined I could smell the sheets again after the first time we made love, a heady blend of our bodies together and the subtle perfume that kissed her neck. Every time I see a windmill I remember her low, sweet laughing voice calling me Doc Quixote as she rode a bicycle ahead of me.
“If you want to tell yourself what we had was nothing special,” I say, “then lies must not bother you as much as you say they do. I can’t lie to you, but it’s okay for you to lie to yourself?”
“It’s not like that.”
“We both had our own agendas, dreams and goals. It’s good we took time apart to pursue everything we wanted.” I reach for her hand resting near her tea, lacing our fingers together. “But I told you I