“Sorry.” She laughed, glancing at my father. “We won’t jinx you. We’re just very excited for the next year. I love campaigns.”

“We’re all excited,” Jay jumped in. “I’ve stocked up on PowerBars and Wheaties.”

And I was still trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.

How the hell could my desires change so quickly? I’d planned for this. Dreamed of this.

And now everything in my life except Christian felt fucking worthless. Worthless and pointless.

“Give us a minute,” my father said, and I looked up to see him hand off his wife to my brother.

They headed back inside, and my father tilted his head, gesturing for me to walk with him.

“Senators, in a way,” he started, leading me back inside the dim, candlelit ballroom, “have more power than a president,” he told me. “While presidents come and go, with term limits, a senator can be a senator for life.”

I already knew that, and my father, having a doctorate in political science was also well aware.

“I’ve known Senator Baynor for more than thirty years,” he explained. “He tried to hire me to work on his staff, but I turned him down.”

“Why?”

We circled the perimeter of the ball, the other guests congregating around tables and on the dance floor.

“I wouldn’t have found it rewarding,” he admitted. “It’s too glamorous a life for me.”

I laughed under my breath, liking how candid he could often be. Most people didn’t associate politics with glamour, but it most certainly was glamorous. Power, wealth, and connections with people who could make or break you.

Senator Baynor was from Texas, and while he and my father were good friends, I was glad he hadn’t uprooted Jay’s and my life here in New Orleans to pursue a political career.

My father didn’t climb mountains for the sake of climbing mountains. His goals were clear and his reasons made sense. He’d made a good choice.

He stopped and turned to face me, pinning me with a hard stare. “Mason Blackwell has a lot of support, Tyler. He’s very popular,” he pointed out. “However, he doesn’t have the endorsement of a senior senator like Baynor.”

I nodded, but then my eyes flashed to the right, and I stopped listening.

I narrowed my eyes.

Easton.

She stood alone across the room, wearing a beautiful, fitted black gown with gold trim that showed off her arms and back. She was staring at a painting and looking so much like she had the night we’d first met.

My entire body warmed, and I felt her pulling at me like she had a rope tied around my heart.

“Is that what you’d like?” My father spoke up. “An endorsement?”

What?

I blinked, coming back to the conversation and looking over at him.

“You know better,” I retorted.

I hadn’t asked my father for anything, and I wouldn’t.

He hooded his eyes, looking weary. “I thought so.” He sighed. “You don’t take anything you don’t feel you’ve earned.”

I pinned him with a stare. “You taught me that.”

Taking a sip of my drink, I glanced over at Easton, noting that she was slowly making her way down the wall, taking in the paintings.

“I’m not your teacher anymore.” My father spoke in a low voice. “I’m your father. A father who happens to believe you’re one of the good ones.”

At that I shot my eyes back to him.

He’d always been hard on me, which gave his rare compliments more of an impact.

“I’m proud of you,” he told me, “and I would be proud to see you win this. I can get his endorsement if you want.”

I inhaled a deep breath and shook my head gently. “You’ve never made anything easy on me. Don’t start now.”

And I set down my glass and walked away, leaving him to get back to his wife.

I didn’t know what I was doing – as usual lately – and I didn’t have a plan, but I knew where I wanted to be. And if I knew one goddamn thing about myself, it was that I wanted what I wanted, and right now I wanted to see her look at me.

Coming up behind her, I saw her holding a glass of champagne with her other arm folded over her chest.

I couldn’t resist teasing her as I came to stand next to her. “Thinking of starting a fire?”

She twisted her head and met my eyes. Dark makeup accentuated her eyes, and I could see her shocked look through her gold metal mask before she regained her composure.

Letting her lips curl, she rolled her eyes. “I’m trying not to be so naughty these days.”

Hallelujah. The idea of her getting naughty with anyone but me didn’t sit well.

“Good.” I nodded once. “I thought you said you weren’t coming.”

She shrugged, turning back to the abstract painting. “I didn’t think I was. I knew I would see you, after all.”

So she’d considered avoiding the ball because of me.

“So what changed your mind?” I pressed.

A stern expression crossed her face as she spoke in a low voice. “I decided I was tired of reining in my life because of men.”

And then a little smile peeked out as she took a sip of her champagne.

I let my eyes fall down her body, where the straps of the long dress across her back only made her skin looked even more supple and glowing.

Her hair was in loose curls with half of it pulled up into pins and the rest hanging down, framing her face.