going anywhere.”
“I’m coming to that conclusion. I may have to become a hockey fan.”
“You might.”
“It’s hard to dislike a man who’s as dedicated to my daughter as you appear to be. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?” Suspicion crept into my tone. He was definitely up to something. I took a smaller sip this time, grateful for the boost of courage.
“This is Lanie’s legacy. I groomed her to be in politics. Her degree is in politics. Look at her. She’s enjoying every minute of being back here among like people.”
His dig regarding like people wasn’t lost on me. “What are you trying to say?”
“She belongs here, not in Seattle, far away from the movers and shakers who make this country what it is today.”
“She belongs with me.” I bristled, ready for a fight, but tamped down my anger. Guys like him fought with their wits, not their fists, and I knew a thing or two about using my wits in a fight. Hockey wasn’t just brute strength. It was strategy, getting in your opponent’s head, matching them mentally and physically.
“Here, I can protect her. I have the connections and the means. If she’d approached me to begin with, I’d have moved heaven and earth to keep her safe. Can you do that? Do you have those connections?”
“Would you have? She told me you sided with Darrin.”
“I did, but she’s blood, and I will always pick my daughter over anyone else.”
“You drove her away by asking her to lie for your protégé.”
“The biggest mistake I’ve made in my lifetime, and trust me when I tell you I’ve made plenty.”
“I can keep her safe. I have financial means.”
“I know what rookies make, and while it’s impressive, it’s not the kind of security I have access to. And what about when you’re on road trips?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“But you haven’t done it yet. You don’t have a plan.”
“Well, no, not yet.” I resisted the urge to squirm under his accusatory gaze. He had the upper hand, and we both knew it.
“Her going back to Seattle endangers her life. Besides, she wants to stay, but she’ll go with you if you insist,” he said.
“She doesn’t want to stay.”
“Of course she’s not telling you that, but I know her. I’ve caught her longingly listening to a lively political discussion, heard her start to make plans with her friends and then realize she can’t. I’ve seen it in her eyes. She’ll go back to Seattle with you because my daughter honors her commitments, and when she loves someone, she loves them with all her heart.”
I opened my mouth, but no words came to mind. I was in a state of shock. I wouldn’t have been more caught off guard if a fan had snuck out of the stands and broken a hockey stick across the back of my head.
“I know you two love each other. Sometimes when you love someone, you have to do the right thing even if it’s the wrong thing for you. If she stays here, she stays safe and happy. That doesn’t mean you can’t see each other when it’s convenient.”
Convenient?
I didn’t want to be her convenient boyfriend, I wanted to be her priority. At least one of them.
“We both want what’s best for Lanie.” Her father patted me on the shoulder in what was a calculated fatherly gesture on the surface but more controlling underneath. The man was good, and I was out of my league assuming I’d be able to match wits with him. “Think about what I’ve said. If you love her as you claim, I think you do, too.”
What was the right thing? I wanted to do what was best for Lanie. What if being with me wasn’t what was best for her?
Lanie’s joyous laughter caught my attention. I searched the groups of guests for her and saw her in the middle of a crowd of peers her age. I’d met some of them. They had ties to DC politics, and some attended the same college she had. She caught my eye and did a double take when she noticed her father sitting next to me. She spoke to a few people near her and disengaged from the group, heading straight for us.
The senator sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, not in any hurry to go, waiting for his daughter to wind her way through the crowd to us.
“Have a seat, my dear,” he said with the fake jolliness of a department-store