towing and auto repair business nearby. You’d be stunned at the number of travelers who show up in town with automotive issues.”
“Was your mother raised there, as well?
Claire shook her head. “She was born on a Navajo reservation near the Four Corners area.”
“Your mother is Native American?”
“Proudly so. Unfortunately, her parents were dirt poor and her father died of complications from alcoholism when my mother was a baby. If you want to know why I’m so invested in educational programs, it all comes from my mother. She was able to participate in Head Start, which is a program that ensures children from low income families begin school on equal footing with their peers. Her life would have been drastically different without it. She and her two older brothers worked hard and all three graduated high school with honors. That education—that opportunity—helped them rise out of poverty. My mother was awarded a scholarship that enabled her to attend a community college for two years, then she finished her economics degree at the University of New Mexico. One of my uncles still lives on the reservation and teaches third grade in a Navajo school in Shiprock. The other runs his own plumbing business.”
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected her to say but it wasn’t this. The sharp difference from his own background fascinated him. “You have a lot of respect for her.”
“For both of my parents. I try to channel their work ethic into everything I do. Anything I’ve accomplished is because of them.”
At the love in Claire’s voice, he fell a bit harder for her. “They must be proud of you, too.”
“They are. My mother even set up an alert so she knows when I’m mentioned in a news report online. She called when she saw an article about the credentials ceremony. She was very excited that her daughter met a king. Her first question was, ‘Is he as handsome in real life as on television?’”
“And you said?”
“I believe I laughed at the question.”
The flirtation in her voice made Eduardo’s insides clench with want, but rather than lean closer and kiss her, he smiled in return and said, “Next time, tell them I’m better in real life.”
“Maybe I will.”
As they finished dessert, the conversation turned to their upcoming work schedules. Then Claire noted that she’d had a productive talk with Franco Galli. “I think I have him convinced that the education program works, but he hasn’t fully committed to it. I have a meeting with Monica Barrata next week and Franco said he wanted an update on how that meeting goes. I think if I can convince one of them, I’ll convince the other. My staff says they have similar philosophies and that their votes rarely differ.”
“I hope you convince them both, then.”
She eyed him over the last bite of her tart. “Really? Even if it means you’ll have to spend some of your valuable political capital?”
He liked that she had the backbone to tease him. “You have to get all four. That was the deal.”
“Two is halfway.”
He didn’t point out that Franco Galli and Monica Barrata were the easiest votes of the four. As Claire set her fork across her plate, he winked and said, “Let me know when you convince all four.”
“I’ll do that.”
After notifying their drivers and paying the bill—over Gaia’s objection—they made their way to the front of the trattoria. It was closing time and the last of the customers had departed a few minutes earlier. To his relief, Gaia disappeared into the kitchen, giving them a few valuable moments alone.
He stopped Claire just short of the door, keeping them out of sight of the street. “I enjoyed this.”
“So did I.”
The sincerity in her voice made him as happy as he’d been in a long time. When he pulled her close and kissed her, her fingers curled around his elbow and an entirely different emotion swept through him. He held her as long as he dared.
Stolen moments were just that—moments—and perhaps that was part of their magic. He craved more.
“We’ll do this again soon?” he murmured near her ear.
“Maybe something that doesn’t involve high heels. Or two drivers and a staff to pull off.”
“Like a movie?” he asked. “I believe we had an agreement to see Out of Africa. I have an engagement on Friday night that Luisa can move if you’re free then.”
“It’s a date.”
“Come to my place,” he said, giving her a final, quick kiss. “It’s cleaner than most bachelor’s apartments, I promise.”
“I seem to