“Max Powell, as I live and breathe.” A woman with a very large hairdo and a lot of makeup pulled him into a hug, and he laughed and hugged her back.

“Congresswoman Strong! I didn’t know you were going to be here!” This was a benefit of events like this; he got to see some friends he didn’t get to see much of anymore.

“Well, you know, I’m retired now, so I get to pick and choose which of these things I go to, but I couldn’t miss tonight.”

Twenty minutes later, as Max chatted with the mayor of San Francisco, an older white man and a cheerful-looking Black woman joined their group.

“Senator, have you met the mayor of Berkeley?” The mayor of San Francisco gestured toward the older white man. “Mayor Emmitt, Senator Powell.”

He and the mayor shook hands, and then the Black woman behind the mayor held out her hand to him.

“Senator, a pleasure to meet you. I’m Alexa Monroe, the mayor’s chief of staff.”

“Nice to meet you, Alexa,” he said automatically. He turned back to the mayor, and then his head snapped back to Alexa.

Alexa . . . Monroe?

If he had any doubts, the knowing smile in her eyes removed them. He’d been so focused over the last hour, he’d completely forgotten Olivia’s sister would be here.

“Great speech tonight,” she said.

He grinned at her.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” They smiled at each other for a second, though she had a slight measuring-him-up look on her face. He suddenly felt nervous. Did he pass muster?

He made himself turn back to her boss.

“I’ve heard you’re doing excellent things in the Berkeley school system with restorative justice,” he said. “It’s a good example for others who think it may not work.”

The mayor smiled as Zachary snapped a picture of the four of them.

“I hope that’s the case,” the mayor said. “Though there’s often such a bias against programs like that. I have high hopes for your criminal justice reform bill, you know.”

Olivia’s sister smiled and nodded behind him. Why did he feel so much pressure on how he answered her boss?

“I have high hopes for it, too,” he said. “I’m not sure if the rest of Congress is where we are yet, but it’s our job to convince them, isn’t it? But I’m not sure if anyone in my office has talked to you about my town hall plan for the summer—I want to hear from youths themselves about what they need to recover and thrive. I want this to be about them, not the politicians, but I’ll make sure we consult you about plans.” He glanced at Alexa. “My office will be in touch soon.”

She handed him her card.

“Just in case you don’t know how to find me,” she said to Max with a straight face.

Georgia tapped him on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I have to pull the senator away for a moment; he’s needed in the photo line.”

There was another round of handshakes as he said good-bye.

“I hope I get to talk to all of you again, and soon.” He let his eyes twinkle at Alexa as they shook hands, and her smile widened.

He walked away with Georgia toward the photo area.

Had Alexa liked him? He hoped she liked him. He knew Olivia and her sister were close, and it would matter to Olivia if Alexa thought he was some pompous douchebag.

He walked by Wes on the way to the photos, but Wes was in the middle of a conversation, so all they had time for in passing was a quick fist bump. Even that, though, felt like a respite. To see someone who actually knew him, whom he could be real with, in the midst of this need to constantly be on, was like for one brief second someone had opened a window in a hot, stuffy room. The relief he felt even walking by Wes made him realize how great it would be to have Olivia here with him tonight. If she were here by his side, he could nudge her when he wanted to—but couldn’t—roll his eyes, he could exchange “we’ll talk about this later” looks with her when someone said something wild, or he could laugh with her when something ridiculous happened. It was incredible to even think about that.

He didn’t see Alexa again for the rest of the night, until he ran into her and the mayor just as he was leaving.

“Mayor Emmitt, and . . . Alexa, right? I hope you had a good night.”

They all shook hands again.

“It was a great night,” Alexa said. “The speeches weren’t too long, some of them gave me a lot of hope for the future, and I got to meet some really interesting people, so I’d call that a winner.”

He smiled at her as he turned to walk out the door.

“I got to meet some people I’ve wanted to meet for a while, so it was a great night for me, too. Have a safe drive back to Berkeley.”

Max walked back into the hotel room twenty minutes later to find Olivia sitting on the bed, fully dressed, with her laptop on her lap.

“So.” He kicked off his shoes and flopped down onto the bed next to her. “What did your sister think of me?”

Olivia’s eyes widened. They widened just a little too much, as a matter of fact.

“Oh, you got to meet her? I wasn’t sure if that would happen, I thought the fundraiser might be too big for . . .”

He waved his finger at her.

“I’m not buying a single second of this, you know. I am one hundred percent certain your sister texted you before she even left the ballroom. I had to meet a member of your family, and I had to do it without you by my side, so I deserve to know what she said.” He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “Come on, I’m dying here.”

She shook her head and laughed.

“Damn it, you’re giving me those puppy dog eyes again. Fine, she liked you.”

He waited, but she didn’t say anything else.

“ ‘She liked you’? That’s all I get? No, absolutely not, I know there was more to it.” Olivia glanced toward her phone, and he reached for it.

“Come on, there was a lot more. Just for that ‘she liked you,’ you have to show me the texts!”

Olivia laughed and unlocked her phone.

“There was just one text, right after she met you, and fine, you can see it.”

Just met you know who! You probably figured out that I was a little skeptical of him, but I was impressed; good speech, not an asshole behind the scenes like most people like him would be, was polite to me even before he realized I was your sister (and then gave me a big smile once he did realize). As hot as he is on TV, too.

Oh, but I know what you meant about his shoes.

Saw him again on the way out! Can’t wait to meet him again, this time with you there too!

“What about my shoes?”

Olivia snatched the phone back from him.

“Shit, there was only one text the last time I looked! I was working and I didn’t see the other two come in!”

He frowned at her.

“I believe you, but what does she mean, she knows what you meant about my shoes? What’s wrong with my shoes?”

Olivia sighed and pointed at his shoes.

“Those brown suede shoes of yours. They’re terrible, Max. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but I keep wanting to sneak into your closet and throw them away. How is it that you have such great suits and such terrible shoes?”