Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
DK
Idon’t look right away. Instead, I follow Ash’s gaze with a deliberate turn of my head, adjusting my mental armor before my eyes land on her.
Luna is walking with her field director, a tablet tucked under one arm, her curls bouncing with every step toward her campaign headquarters.
This is our first chance encounter since that afternoon at the café on Fifteenth.
Seeing her unexpectedly like this is a physical shock to my system.
My lungs forget how to work. She’s wearing linen pants with a matching fitted vest, but all I can see is the woman I woke up beside last Monday morning, spooned softly against my back.
Ash shifts his weight and nudges my shoulder, giving me that same look he wore when he joked, your secret’s safe with me. Back then, there wasn’t a secret to keep. Now—
“Rayne Webber!” His voice carries across the boardwalk.
Luna stops and turns. The second her eyes find us, a startled look flashes across her face. It smooths out as she walks over.
“Ash,” she says, greeting him with a bright smile, but the one she gives me is carefully dialed down. “Dakarai. Taking a break from strategizing against me?”
“I need fuel if I’m going to keep up.”
She laughs.
I shove my hands into the pockets of my suit pants before instincts take over and I reach for her.
“Do you have time to join us?” Ash asks.
What the fuck?
Luna hesitates, too. Just as surprised by the invitation as I am. But then she looks over at me with a spark of challenge in her eyes. “Dakarai, are you up for a twenty-minute ceasefire?”
The strategist in me says, hell no. Too risky. Too many opportunities to say the wrong thing, look just a second too long, give something away.
But the man who misses her like crazy answers first. “Absolutely.”
Her look of pleasure is subtle. I notice it anyway.
“Brielle, you’re welcome to join us,” she says to her staffer.
“I’m good, thanks. I’ll get this paperwork back to the office. Unless you think you need backup?”
“I’m sure I can handle these boys.”
I smile to myself. Luna has confidence to spare. In spite of Hollis trying to shrink her to fit his pathetic insecurities, she bloomed after leaving him. Therapy didn’t create this version of her. It just helped uncover and nurture what was always living there.
When Brielle heads off, Luna steps fully into line beside us. With the ease of two people who grew up in the same town and know half the same stories, she and Ash fall naturally into conversation.
I should be listening. Instead, I find myself watching her. The way she talks with her hands when she’s excited or passionate about a point. The smile that comes readily to her face, the laugh that rings out, authentic and unabandoned.
Ash catches me staring and raises an eyebrow.
I immediately pretend to study the menu board.
We finally reach the front of the line. “What can I get you, Rayne?” I ask.
“The South West salad, please.”
I repeat her order to the cashier and automatically add, “Extra avocado.”
Ash’s eyebrows climb even higher.
Shit. “Sorry. I shouldn’t assume just because I’m a fan.”
Luna’s mouth twitches. “That’s fine.”
Not for a second do I think Ash buys the explanation.
When it comes time to pay, I wave them both off. Ash and I usually take care of our own meals, but there’s no way in hell I’m splitting the cost with Luna. It seems less obvious to just cover the whole tab. Ash is definitely keeping score now.
“Thank you,” Luna says as I tuck my money clip back into my pocket.
“Yeah, thanks.” Ash grins, a knowing glint in his eye. “A free lunch. You’ll have to join us more often, Rayne.”
She smiles innocently.
We settle on a nearby park bench beneath a tree with sprawling branches providing shade from the sun.
Luna sits between us. Her floral scent carries in the warm breeze, her thigh brushing mine through the fabric of our pants.
Neither of us shifts away, greedily taking whatever little physical contact we can get.
For twenty minutes, we exist together outside our bubble.
Ash inadvertently gives us the perfect cover.
It’s not suspicious this way, just a casual lunch between two opposing camps.
Easy to spin if it hits the rumor mill or social media.
We don’t discuss the election. Ash leads most of the conversation while Luna and I absorb the closeness.
When my phone rings, I’m tempted to ignore it. I don’t want to move. Don’t want to give up these stolen minutes. But the ringtone belongs to Diablo.
“Excuse me,” I say, standing up. The loss of her warmth against my side is immediate. I step away from the bench and answer. “Hey, Gabriel. What’s up?”
“We need to meet. Now.”
I’m used to panicked candidates. A tracking poll drops two points and the world is on fire. “Sure. Want to give me some prep before I head over?”
“I just got an anonymous email.”
My stomach sinks to the ground.
“It’s big, Dakarai. Huge.”
Every muscle in my body locks up tight.
“It’s about Rayne.”