A Political Affair (19 page)

“No. Not really. Then the question would be
why
did I leave?”

“Yeah, it might even draw more attention. At the moment, there’s no good answer.” He smiled. “Well, I’m an optimist. We’ll work it out. It’s gonna be crazy, though.”
 

At the end of the day, Megan asked Anne again to come to her office. Anne was surprised when Stephen wasn’t in the room. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
 

“Sure.” Megan smiled and handed her a cell phone.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“You are now me, and after this evening, Stephen will be Marco. We’re giving you our cell phones. Marco thought it up this morning.”

“Oh my gosh, thank you,” she exclaimed and stared at the phone. “This is really kind of you.”

“I unlocked it, so you should program in a new password. As long as you only dial the numbers I’ve already got in it, no one will be the wiser as to who owns the phone. I’ve got another for work, so the numbers are all friends and family anyway.”

“This is so sweet of you. It’s been hard not talking to Stephen—this afternoon, I wanted to tell him about my conversation with Greg, but I couldn’t.”

“And now you can.” She smiled. “Two things, though. The first is you shouldn’t text. That’s still dangerous if anyone were to hack into the phone. And the second is the number for my hair salon is in there. The name of it is
Finis
, and Joey is my guy. He’s amazing. His number is a bigger gift than this phone.”

“Thanks.” She laughed. “And no texting makes a lot of sense.”

“I bet Stephen will call you tonight. It may be late because he and Marco are having dinner,” Megan said with a wink.

Burma Star, Marco’s restaurant of choice, was nearly empty when Stephen arrived later that evening. The only other party was a large Burmese family sitting at a giant, round table at the front of the restaurant. Stephen spied Marco at a table in the far back; he spoke with a gentleman in an apron who looked to be the owner or the chef. As the man walked away, Marco rose to greet Stephen with a hearty handshake and backslap.

“Thanks for meeting me here.”
 

“Thanks for setting it up. It’s good to see you.”

After they ordered dinner and were served their beers, Marco relaxed in his chair. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. I want to see if there’s anything I can do to help you and Anne. I feel for you.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it. It’s a dicey situation I’ve gotten us into, but . . . I’m happier when I’m around her. I can’t deny that.”

“It’s obvious you’re really happy, but it’s got to be hard.”

“It is. We’re trying not to talk at all in the office. You know, so we don’t slip up. But it’s tough because we don’t see each other much.”

“I thought that could be a problem for you two.” With a smile, Marco reached into his pocket and produced a cell phone. He presented it as Megan had given hers to Anne, minus the hair stylist.
 

Stephen was overwhelmed by gratitude. “This is really thoughtful. You’ve outdone yourself as a brother-in-law. Thanks very much.”

“Happy to oblige. No texting about sex, okay?”

“No texting at all. Don’t worry about that. Sex or no sex.” Stephen chuckled.

“So any other problems?”

“Well . . . now that you’ve brought it up . . . can I ask a favor of you?”

“That’s why I’m here. Shoot.”

“Could you and Megan spend the night at the house some time?” He grimaced. “I hate to ask, but I don’t really have any other options. I can’t ask Patty or my mother.”

A waiter arrived with their appetizers, so Marco didn’t answer immediately. When the waiter left, he smiled. “I understand. We can come over.”

“Thanks—but I think you need to check with Megan. She won’t approve, and I’d rather not have to persuade her.”

“I’ll deal with Megan. I love my wife, but she’s not thinking clearly here.” Marco shook his head. “It’s not like her—must be because this is so personal.”

“I suppose.”

“She should know this situation is all about perception. If you are found out, it doesn’t matter what you have or haven’t done. You’re cooked either way. Everyone’s going to believe you
were
doing it.”

“You’re right about that.” He snickered.
 

“In my mind, that means you might as well do what you want. There’s nothing to lose. With all this secrecy you’ve got going on, you two should at least be enjoying yourselves.” Marco raised his glass to toast the sentiment.

“Sounds
damn
good to me.” Stephen laughed and raised his glass.

“When you’re ready, we should plan a weekend at the cabin in West Virginia. It can just be the four of us. In the meantime, I’m happy to help you out whenever. I’ll work on my wife.” Marco chuckled. “And I’ll deal with Patty, too.”

Late that night, Anne sat in bed reading when an unfamiliar ring came from her bag.
Oh my God. It’s Megan’s phone.
She scrambled off the bed to get it and saw the name ‘Marco’ on the screen. She answered it with an anxious, “Hello.”

“Well, hello,
Megan
,” Stephen greeted her.

“Hi,
Marco
.” She grinned. “I wasn’t sure if I’d hear from you tonight.”

“I couldn’t resist.”

“I’m glad.”

Their first phone conversation was wonderfully mundane and normal as they caught up on their respective days and the coming week. As the conversation edged away from routine, he was curious about the portion of her life he was excluded from. He first inquired about her apartment.
 

As she described her bedroom, she mentioned the patio in the back. He asked for more specifics. “It sounds like an easy entry into your house.” His voice was full of mischief.

“Um. What are you? A burglar? No, you’re a senator. How do you explain if you get caught sneaking around the back of my house?”

“Not sure. But it would be fun to try. So what are you wearing?”

“Excuse me?” She giggled. “I’m not sure Megan would approve of me talking about that on her phone.”

“There was nothing improper about my question,” he replied with a sexy chuckle. “You could be wearing a snowsuit.”

“But I’m not.” She was coy.

“Then what are you wearing?”

“A tank top and boy shorts.”

“Like boxers?”

“Tighter. Like boxer briefs.”

“Tighter? Nice.” His voice oozed approval. “Hopefully I’ll get to see them soon.”

“How’s that going to happen? Are you going to scale a wall?”

“No, little Miss Smartass.” He laughed. “Marco suggested he and Megan go with us for a weekend together at my family’s cabin in West Virginia.”

“Really? Wow. That sounds fun.”

“I think it would be. You’d really like it. It’s beautiful out there. Old sleepy mountains.”

“It sounds lovely.” She grinned at the thought.

“Or, if we can’t make our schedules work, he offered to spend the night at the house occasionally.”

“Seriously?” Her eyes widened. She never expected they’d spend the night together.

“Yeah. How do you feel about that?”

“It feels a little like we’re getting set up for a conjugal visit, but—”

“I know. I’m sorry this is so awkward.”

“You didn’t let me finish.” Her admonishing tone turned into a sweet one. “I was going to say it sounds wonderful.”

“Oh, good. I was worried you hated the idea.”

“Are you kidding?” She smiled and sighed. “I’d love to spend the night with you, I’d love to wake up beside you, and I’m sure I’d love everything in between.”

“I can’t wait,” he said under his breath.

“Me neither.”

“All right, sweetheart, it’s late. We should both go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow and call you tomorrow night.”

She grinned at the thought of another phone call. “Great. Night, sweetheart.”

The next morning the Senate had early votes scheduled on a Defense Department appropriations bill. Pentagon spending always garnered bipartisan support. Standing in the well of the Senate chamber, Stephen talked with senators about various amendments. The lawmakers spoke in hushed tones, cajoling and even trading votes, though none would admit the latter.

Not far away, Senator Helen Sanders chatted with a few of her Republican colleagues, but her focus was exclusively on Stephen. His smile shone brighter than usual; she wondered why he was so chipper. As she admired his handsome profile, she realized how much she missed their times together.
I bet he misses me, too.
She bit her lip, remembering their round on his mother’s dining room table.

When Stephen finished his conversation, she sauntered over and motioned for him to listen. He lowered his head without a word, and she said in a husky whisper, “I’ve been thinking about you. Maybe we should get together again.”

“I’m just not going to be with you on that one, Helen.” His blank expression told her nothing, and he spoke loud enough for those around them to hear. His response was one that could have been in reference to any of the votes they cast that day. With a polite smile, he pointed toward the door. “I need to get to a meeting.”

As he walked away, she laughed to herself
. He’s playing hard to get.
She called out across the chamber, “I’m not giving up, Stephen.”

Chapter 14

The following Sunday, Anne caught a cab on Eighteenth Street and gave the driver Stephen’s address. She held her breath as the driver nodded in recognition of the neighborhood and exhaled in relief when he turned up the volume of the Redskins game. He ignored her until he asked for the fare in Stephen’s driveway.

   
She stopped herself from laughing as she stepped out of the cab. In gardening togs and a big hat, Lillian McEvoy crouched on her hands and knees in a flowerbed.
 

“Hello, Anne. Isn’t it a lovely day? I hope it will be just as nice when these tulips appear next spring.”

“Hi. It is nice today. What color are you planting?”

“Oh, lots. These are my favorite.” She held up a brown bulb in her grubby glove. “They’re black. Patrick always thought they were macabre, but I think they’re fascinating.”

“I bet they look great against all the other colors.” As she finished her sentence, the giant driveway gate automatically closed.