Читать книгу Heir to Scandal - Andrea Laurence - Страница 7

One

Strawberries. The leading story on the news was about strawberries. No murders, no robberies, no political scandals. “Xander,” he said to himself with a wry chuckle, “you’re not in D.C. anymore.”

Xander Langston had been glued to the local news tonight, as he had been for the past two nights, waiting for things to hit the fan. He’d come home to Cornwall to handle the fallout, but so far the local broadcasts had focused on the unseasonably mild weather, the local youth baseball team’s successes and the upcoming strawberry festival. He flipped off the old fuzzy television in the living room and tossed the remote onto the coffee table. He was ordering a flat-screen television for the bunkhouse and the main house the next time he got on his laptop. He wouldn’t have time to drive into Canton and buy them in person.

If the biggest buzz around town was the Strawberry Days Festival, life was good. No news was good news—especially with his first book hitting shelves next week and an election year coming up. His critics liked to point out that he’d been elected the first time only because his predecessor and mentor, beloved longtime congressman Walt Kimball, had hand-selected him to follow in his footsteps. Whatever the reason, Xander had succeeded in a landslide victory over his opponent. At the time, he was one of the youngest congressmen ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, just making the age requirement of twenty-five.

This fall he would be kicking off yet another reelection campaign and Xander would prefer to remain gainfully employed. That meant a solid voting record, no sound bites that could be taken out of context and absolutely no scandals of any kind. Typically, it was easy for Xander to avoid scandals. He wasn’t married, so he couldn’t have affairs. He didn’t have an interest in prostitutes. He’d never been offered any bribes, and even if he had, he would have turned them down.

But everyone had a skeleton in their closet, so to speak. And that was why he was back in Connecticut at the Garden of Eden Christmas Tree Farm watching this crappy television instead of burning the midnight oil in his Capitol Hill office.

With a sigh, Xander got up from the couch and walked over to the window. The sun had already disappeared behind the rolling green hills, but it was still light enough to illuminate the farm. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but balsam and Fraser fir trees.

It was a startling view after being away for so long. Looking out the window of his office in the Longworth House Building earned him an excellent view of the Capitol Building and the sea of tourists and buses traveling up and down Independence Avenue. Those people traveled thousands of miles for the sights he ignored on a daily basis. He was too busy to appreciate the classic architecture and historic significance surrounding him. Most of the time, he took the underground tunnels to the Capitol Building and missed it entirely.

He might have a plush, professionally decorated town house a few blocks from the office in the Capitol Hill district, but this place—with its old, worn furniture and acres of trees—was home. This was where he’d grown up. Being back here, surrounded by the calming influences of nature and fresh air, Xander felt more at ease than he had since he left home for Georgetown and a fast-track career in politics. There was no traffic gridlock here, no honking cabs, no frantic running through the metro stations. He could finally breathe.

Things wouldn’t stay peaceful here for long, though. The literal skeleton in Xander’s closet belonged to Tommy Wilder and last Christmas it had been unearthed by a construction crew on land that used to be part of the farm. So far there had been no luck in identifying the body, but that would soon change. Brody, his computer-genius foster brother and one of the four “Eden boys,” had emailed them all about a week ago with news that the police had commissioned a facial re-creation sketch, but it hadn’t been released to the public yet. Xander hadn’t asked how Brody knew about it. He was just grateful for the heads-up.

When the sketch hit the news, people would start sniffing around the farm for answers. They’d garnered some attention when the body was first unearthed, but no one really believed it had anything to do with his foster parents, Ken and Molly Eden. The sketch would change that. When Tommy was identified, it would place the dead teenager in their care and people would be forced to consider their involvement. His foster parents weren’t fit to deal with the journalists and police that would knock on their door looking for information. Ken was recovering from a heart attack and Molly would be too distraught by the idea of Tommy’s death to answer questions. They needed someone at the farm to run interference and Xander was the best choice.

From a very early age, he’d had a way with people. He could talk anyone into anything. His mother used to tell everyone he was a born politician. Ladies found him charming. His constituents described him in a poll as “trustworthy, well-spoken and honest.” He would use every tool in his arsenal to fight off the press and protect his family.

Xander had been back in Cornwall for two days and so far nothing but Little League and strawberries. That meant he should really take advantage of the peace to run the errand he’d been considering since he arrived home.

He picked up the hardback book on the coffee table and admired his handiwork. “Fostering Faith by Xander Langston,” he read aloud. It was still a little surreal even after having author copies for a month already. He’d never intended on writing a book, especially a memoir. Xander had never thought his life was particularly exciting, but the publishing house that had approached him about the project felt otherwise. He was a young and successful congressman whose parents had died tragically and young, thrusting him into the foster-care system. Apparently, that was nonfiction gold.

It had taken a year to write between his official duties and volunteer work at the D.C. Fostering Families Center. Knowing a portion of the proceeds would go to his favorite cause had kept him going when he was stuck in the middle of chapter seven. That and the hefty advance he’d have to return if he changed his mind.

The book came out next week. There would be a charity gala and signing in a couple weeks back in D.C. to raise money for the Fostering Families Center. Hopefully, his reason for coming home wouldn’t sink his plans and his sales.

While he was in Cornwall, he wanted to make one special personal delivery. He’d already given copies to his foster parents and his brothers and sister, of course, but he’d brought an extra one on this trip for his high school sweetheart, Rose Pierce. She’d featured heavily in the book as one of the best things to ever happen to him. He wanted her to have an autographed copy and he needed to give it to her in person.

Xander looked down at his watch. It was after seven. His foster brother Wade now lived in Cornwall and had told him that Rose still worked most evenings at Daisy’s Diner, just up the highway. This seemed like the perfect time to go. Tonight was Molly’s night to play Bunco, so he was on his own for dinner anyway.

He could deliver the book and get a good meal. Daisy’s had been a favorite haunt of his teenage years. Rose had worked at the diner back then, too, and he’d wasted many an hour sitting at the counter, sipping milkshakes and talking to her between customers.

Xander climbed into his black Lexus SUV and decided he would get a milkshake tonight for old times’ sake, especially if Rose would make it for him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had one. It might have been the summer before he left for Georgetown. The August heat and his lovesick heart had lured him to the diner nearly every day for a chocolate shake and a few last moments with Rose.

Once he’d left town, life had started moving so quickly. Years had flown by in what felt like minutes. His trips back to Cornwall had been short and infrequent. Lately, he was more interested in a crisp Chardonnay with his meal than a tall glass of chocolate ice cream. Daisy’s Diner and its milkshakes had become a distant memory from his childhood.

But not Rose.

He still remembered touching her as if it were yesterday. They had been each other’s first loves—that young, passionate, all-consuming and overly dramatic love. You never forgot about that. If it were up to him, he would’ve taken her with him to D.C. He’d asked, damn near begged, but she wouldn’t go. She’d had a terminally ill mother and admission to a nearby college that allowed her to stay close to home and care for her.

He’d understood, but he hadn’t liked it. He’d also attempted to meet her demand that he go on to Georgetown and forget about her. He’d avoided her when he came to town. He’d even skipped their high school reunion, but he’d realized that forgetting about Rose was impossible. He’d always remember those big brown eyes and pouty lips. He’d always wonder what happened to her.

No longer. Tonight he was going to focus on tracking her down and catching up on lost time. Writing the memoir had brought his memories of Rose to the forefront of his mind. Now that he was back in Connecticut, he had to see her and he wouldn’t be distracted from this task, not even by Tommy Wilder’s corpse.

Xander pulled into the gravel parking lot at Daisy’s. It was a Thursday night and not a particularly busy one if the cars in the lot were any indication. Through the front windows he could see a couple old guys drinking coffee at the counter and a family in the corner booth. He didn’t see Rose, but perhaps she was in the kitchen.

He went inside and opted for a booth near the entrance. It was fairly warm in the diner, making him wish he’d chosen a polo shirt and khakis instead of the long-sleeved dress shirt and blazer he had on. He slipped out of his navy Armani jacket and hung it on the coat hook before he sat down on the red leather bench and tossed the book beside him.

The menus were clipped in a metal stand behind the ketchup and the napkin dispenser, so he reached over and started studying. Not much had changed since he’d been here aside from the prices. They still had milkshakes and his favorite bacon cheeseburger with barbecue sauce and crispy onion rings.

It was a heart attack on a platter, but tonight he wouldn’t worry about that. He never got to eat casual, home-cooked food like this in D.C. There it was nothing but expensive multicourse meals at gourmet restaurants. Quick lunches included fresh hand-rolled sushi or gyros and falafel from the carts on the street. But the common feature was always eating while working; talking legislation and deals with other political insiders over a meal was standard practice.

This diner made him feel as if he were seventeen all over again. The only thing missing was—

“Hey there, can I get you something to drink?”

Xander looked up and found himself lost in the wide brown eyes that headlined his teenage fantasies. Rosalyn Pierce, his first love, standing right in front of him after all this time, as though he were dreaming while he sat there.

“Xander?” she said, her jaw initially dropping in surprise before she tightened her lips into a stiff line of concern. She was real. His fantasy Rose would’ve climbed into his lap and nibbled on his ear as she used to.

“Rose,” he replied, his mouth suddenly dry. He’d come here specifically looking for her, yet finally coming face-to-face with her threw his entire body for a loop. “Wade mentioned I could find you at Daisy’s. I’m so glad you’re still working here....” His voice trailed off when he realized it sounded as if she hadn’t done much with her life in the past decade. Rose’s guarded expression was proof enough of that. Normally he would’ve phrased that better, but seeing Rose had robbed him of his usual polished poise. “I apologize—that didn’t come out right.”

She gave him a watery smile and shook her head. “Not to worry. Most people aren’t lucky enough to turn their after-school job into a full-time career like I did. If it helps at all, there was a five-year gap where I didn’t even step foot in the building, but they couldn’t keep me away forever.”

A million thoughts raced through Xander’s mind and he fought to put them in some sort of order. His heart began pounding in his chest as if he were in a live televised debate and had just been thrown a curveball question by the moderator. Fortunately, he performed best under pressure.

Rose was as beautiful as he remembered, maybe even more so. In high school she’d been just a girl on the verge of becoming a woman. Now her familiar curves were more lush, making the little cotton uniform cling more deliciously than he recalled. Her long straight brown hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail that fell over her shoulder. The tip teased at the swell of her breasts, allowing his gaze to follow to her cleavage and, eventually, over to her name tag. It still read Rosalyn P., as it had in school.

Had no one snatched her off the market yet? He quickly glanced at her ring finger, which was as bare as his own. That was a crime. A woman like Rose should’ve been married years ago to a man who appreciated and worshipped her. Sometimes he wished that man had been him. He should’ve fought for her, asked her to marry him and not taken no for an answer, but how could he ask her to leave her mother when she was so ill?

Xander wanted to talk to her, to see what she’d been doing since the last time he saw her. She’d left Cornwall to go to Western Connecticut University when he went to Georgetown. The school had a teaching hospital where her mother was being treated and a great elementary education program. She loved kids and had wanted to teach. What had happened? Why was she back to waitressing when she had so much potential?

“I meant I was glad you’re still working here because it made you easier to find. Do you have time to chat with me and catch up some?”

She glanced around the restaurant, biting at her lip. He couldn’t tell if she thought she shouldn’t or she just didn’t want to talk to him. There was a hesitation in her that he didn’t quite understand. They’d parted well, hadn’t they? She’d broken up with him, so if anyone should be upset, it was him, right?

“Maybe in a little bit after this family finishes up. I’m the only server tonight, but they’re almost done. In the meantime, what can I get for you to eat?”

Xander turned away from her confusing expression to let his gaze flick back over the menu and then remembered what he’d chosen. “First I think I’ll take some iced tea with lemon. Then I’ll have the Texan burger with fries and one of your awesome chocolate milkshakes.”

Rose stopped writing on her pad and smiled. He could tell she recognized his order even though it had been eleven years since she’d brought him food to the counter. She looked up at him, her expression softening for the first time. “The usual, huh? Some things never change, do they?”

Xander shook his head and held her gaze. Her beauty hadn’t faded. His body’s reaction to her was just as immediate, powerful and distracting as it had ever been. Every inch of his body had grown tense when he caught a glimpse of her familiar curves and breathed in her perfume. It made him wonder if the magic they’d make under the summer stars would be just as explosive.

“They sure don’t. And I’m glad.”

* * *

Rose had to literally bite her tongue to keep her nerves from getting the best of her. The pain helped her stay focused, although it made it hard to smile with any sort of warmth. Whatever. What was important was that she could not panic. Not here. Not now. This was her first real test and she couldn’t flunk within a minute of coming face-to-face with Xander Langston.

Oddly enough, she’d spent a good part of the past five years fantasizing about Xander strolling into the diner just like this. Looking just like this. Smiling at her just like this. Maybe picking her up and carrying her off like the end of An Officer and a Gentleman.

And yet, in reality, the moment wasn’t all she’d hoped for. She was nervous. Anxious. Worried she would say or do the wrong thing and give her secrets away. And while Xander had the fire of unabashed attraction in his eyes, that was it. His blatant appraisal of her sent a rush of awareness through her body. A warmth rose to her cheeks and other places where a fire had not been stoked in a very long time.

Time had not dulled her reaction to Xander. How could it, when he had gotten only more handsome? Age had made his features sharper and his jaw more pronounced, but he still had the same kind eyes and charming smile. She could very easily let herself get swept up in the moment. Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to carry her out of the diner and marry her. He had come here looking for her, but she wouldn’t read anything into it. He’d missed their high school reunion a few months ago. Perhaps he’d just come to appease his curiosity and see if she still looked good. As always, hot enough to sleep with but easy to forget about.

That meant the dull ache of arousal would go unsoothed. She wasn’t about to make the same dumb mistakes twice.

She forced herself to scratch out his order for the cook and spun off in the direction of the kitchen while she still had the strength to walk away from him. It had been hard enough the first time, knowing how much was at stake. Somehow, with nothing more than a dinner order between them, it wasn’t any easier.

It had been eleven years since she’d laid eyes on Xander Langston. Eleven years! And yet seeing him like this had lit an unwelcome fire in her libido as though they were back in school again. She’d seen him on the news from time to time, especially during the flood of ads around election season, but it didn’t do him justice. That sandy-brown hair, those enchanting hazel eyes, those firm muscles disguised by his expensive and well-tailored clothes—there was no resisting it. She’d never been able to tell Xander no. He had this charm about him. Once he set his sights on what he wanted, he could be very persuasive.

For some reason, Xander had wanted her. Rose hadn’t even wanted to date him at first. He was handsome, but they were on different paths. He was the high school senior-class president. He played varsity baseball. He was popular, likable and overflowing with what they called “leadership potential.” He had a full ride to Georgetown and a bright future ahead of him. Rose had none of those things, then or now. And yet once he’d decided they should date, there’d been no turning him away.

She pushed the ticket across the stainless-steel countertop to Oscar, the night cook. “I need a Texan with extra barbecue sauce.”

Oscar grunted and turned to the grill. Normally, Rose would take the tea out before she made his milkshake, but she wasn’t ready to face him again. Instead she busied herself scooping ice cream into the milkshake machine. It was easier than figuring out what she was going to do.

“It’s not a big deal,” she said aloud, dumping the thick shake into the tall fountain glass. And it wasn’t. He was going to come and go, just as he always did. He hadn’t spent more than a handful of days in Cornwall since he’d left. Usually it was for the annual Eden gathering at Christmas when the diner was closed. And then he was back to D.C. and his work at the Capitol Building. Neither his attraction to her nor the secrets she kept from him would change that fact.

She didn’t know why he was here in the middle of the summer. Or why he’d come to the diner tonight looking for her. He hadn’t sought her out in all this time. She’d left Cornwall for several years but had been back for quite a while. She’d received no calls, no letters, no Facebook friend requests. He’d forgotten all about her, as best she could tell. Hopefully, he would be gone again before he could cause her any grief.

And at the same time...God, it was good to see him again. She felt almost like an addict who had been given a small hit of her favorite drug. It wasn’t enough to scratch the itch, but just a touch of Xander in her bloodstream would start the cravings again. If she wasn’t careful, when he left town, she would go through more painful withdrawal symptoms than ever before.

She topped the milkshake with whipped cream and stopped short of putting the cherry on top. Xander never ate the cherry. He always fed it to her.

Why did she still remember all these insignificant things? She wished she could forget all about Xander—from his smile to his preferences to the way he could make her feel with just the simplest touch. But under the circumstances, it was pretty hard to do. Xander would always be a part of her life, whether he knew it or not.

To avoid the temptation of him dangling the cherry for her to eat, she put it back in the jar. She poured his tea, dropped in the lemon and took both the drinks out to his table. She glanced at her other customers on her way there. The family had left. The two older men were nursing their coffees, but it wasn’t time to warm their cups yet. They still had half a piece of pie each.

Rose had no excuses to avoid Xander any longer. As she approached, she noticed he was poring intently over a newspaper someone had left on the counter earlier. He didn’t even notice her approach. Apparently, he was more firmly embedded in her thoughts than she was in his. Sadly, that didn’t surprise her at all.

She set his milkshake and tea on the table and he looked up, startled. “Here’s your milkshake. It will be about ten more minutes on your food.”

“Thank you.” He looked down at the milkshake with an amused expression on his face. “No cherry?”

He remembered, too. “I didn’t think you liked them.”

“I do. I always did. I just knew you liked them more.”

It was a small thing, trivial, really, and yet the realization was enough to soften her knees beneath her. Those were the kind of things he did that made her succumb to him. His thoughtfulness and giving nature far surpassed his good looks or bright future. She braced her arm on the back of the booth to steady herself. “Would you like me to bring you one?” she asked.

“No, I’d rather you chat with me for a little bit.”

Rose sank into the seat, giving her knees a much-needed break. She tried not to fidget nervously while she sat there, but she couldn’t help smoothing out her uniform and picking off stray bits of lint. It was easier than looking him in the eye. “So...” she began. “How’ve you been?”

Xander shrugged. “Busy. I pretty much haven’t stopped running since the day I moved away. School was brutal. Law school was worse.” He took a heavy draw of his milkshake and smiled. “This is great. You always made the best chocolate shakes. I ended up working for Congressman Kimball,” he continued, “and before I knew it, I was taking his place. But that’s all boring stuff. What about you?”

Rose arched an eyebrow at him. “I assure you that whatever you’ve done in the last few years is far more exciting than what I’ve been up to.”

“What happened to school? I thought you wanted to be a teacher.”

“And give up this glamorous life?” Rose laughed. “I finished a semester and had to stop. Life got complicated and I never went back. Mom died that spring and I took that pretty hard. I stayed in Danbury for a couple of years and then moved back home when my dad was having some...issues...and helped him run his shop. When my brother, Craig, took over the garage and Daisy’s owner offered me my job back with benefits, I couldn’t turn it down. So here I am.”

“Have you married? I was certain someone would’ve snatched you up by now.”

“Uh, no. Not much happening on the love front, but that’s nothing new. You were the only man in this whole town to ever notice I existed. Once you left, I went back to being invisible.”

That wasn’t entirely true. There was one male in town that noticed her. One that loved and adored her. Unfortunately, he looked at her over the kitchen table every morning with the same hazel eyes that were watching her now. He was one of several complications to her love life, none of which she had any interest in mentioning to Xander.

“You could never be invisible. The men in this town are just blind if they don’t see something great right in front of them.”

Xander knew just what to say and just how to say it, but it didn’t help. She’d pushed him away to avoid more heartbreak. Going with him to D.C. never would’ve worked, as much as he’d insisted. He’d had a big life ahead of him that she wasn’t a part of and she’d understood that. She’d needed to stay with her mother and forge a new life without Xander. Finding out she was pregnant a week after he left hadn’t changed anything. It had just made it harder to cope.

“That’s sweet,” she said, “but a girl can’t believe a word you say. You’re one of those slick politicians.”

“Not entirely,” Xander said with a smile. “I’m also an author.” He reached down beside him on the booth and placed a book on the table. “I brought this for you.”

Rose reached out and picked up the book. A grinning, handsome Xander stared back at her from the glossy cover. “Fostering Faith,” she read aloud. “This is great, Xander. Congratulations.”

“It’s about my childhood and the path that brought me to Washington. It ties in with my work at the Fostering Families Center. The center provides support, training and social activities for foster parents and children in the system.”

She cracked open the book and flipped through a few pages. She stopped when she caught a glimpse of her name in the sea of text. “I’m in it?” she asked. Her heart skipped a beat. What on earth would he have written about her in here?

“Yes. I only used your first name, but I couldn’t tell the story of my life without including you. You were such an important part of my high school years.”

His hazel gaze focused on her, making her chest tighten. She didn’t know what to say and even if she had, she couldn’t have spoken when he looked at her like that.

“I autographed it to you,” he added. “That’s why I came down here. I wanted to give it to you in person.”

“Thank you,” she managed. “I look forward to—”

“Have dinner with me,” he blurted out, his eyes widening as though he’d surprised even himself.

The suddenness of his query caught her off guard, too. “I can’t. I have to work.”

Xander frowned. “You work every day?”

“No,” she admitted. “But I’m not off again until Sunday. I figured you’d be long gone from Cornwall by then.”

Xander smiled wide and Rose quickly realized that her alibi wouldn’t be good enough. “As luck would have it,” he said, “I’m going to be in town for a while. A few weeks at least.”

“Oh.” Knowing Xander, he would ask her to dinner every day until she relented. She didn’t have the strength to fight him off for that long.

“So I can take you out to dinner Sunday night?”

No. No, no, no. Her brain could see the problems a mile away. Eventually, she would slip up and say the wrong thing. She’d mention school or Little League or her dad.... That or she’d lose her mind and think it wouldn’t hurt to sleep with him again. Then he would leave and she would be crushed. History could not repeat itself. Her heart couldn’t take it.

Rose caught a whiff of his cologne. It was a warm, spicy scent that reminded her of hot summer nights and foggy windows. “Okay,” she said before she could stop the words. Her body seemed to have different plans from her brain and at the moment, it had control of her vocal cords.

“Great. Where are you living now? I’ll pick you up.”

“You can pick me up here,” she said a touch too quickly, and then felt the need to explain herself. “I live a couple towns over. There’s no sense in you driving all the way out there.” That was true enough, although there were more reasons for not wanting Xander at her apartment.

“Fair enough, although it’s no imposition.”

Rose shook her head and glanced down at her watch. She needed to check on his food, warm up Gary’s and Pete’s coffees, and get some distance between her and Xander so she could think straight again.

“I’d better go grab your burger,” she said sliding out of the booth with the book in her hands. With an awkward parting smile, she disappeared into the kitchen. Safely hidden away, she whacked her forehead against the refrigerator door and groaned.

“Order’s up,” Oscar said, sliding the plate across the counter. “Don’t whack your head so hard you forget which table to take it to.”

Oh, there was no way she was going to forget, no matter how many times she hit her head. She also couldn’t forget that she was an idiot. She was playing with fire. Somehow the idea both thrilled and horrified her. She glanced down at the book in her hands and the handsome face staring back at her before taking a deep, calming breath. It didn’t help. Nothing would.

Rose had a date with Xander Langston.