The Senator's Daughter (19 page)

“Okay.”

Her smile made it all worthwhile. It was time to face the music.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

K
AT
REGRETTED
AGREEING
to meet Alex at the senator's house. She'd spent the two-hour drive telling her mother about her new relationship; something that she could hardly define, let alone describe. Her mother had been surprisingly accepting, more focused on the upcoming dinner at the senator's house than on what Kat was saying. Emilia continued to be cagey about her own relationship with the senator, insisting there was nothing to say. But it was hard to ignore how much her mother seemed to have changed.

Kat had picked out a dress for Emilia at the mall, but her mother had pulled out a gown from her old wardrobe. Every time they had moved from one house to another, Kat wondered what was in the brown-and-black suitcase her mother never opened. Today, she'd come home from her dinner-slash-breakfast with Alex to find her mother trying on various dresses. She'd picked a royal blue one, made of elegant silk with silver beading on the waist. It had been meticulously kept in a plastic bag in the suitcase.

Her mother had even gotten ready herself, adding silver ball earrings and makeup. She looked beautiful, like the woman Kat had seen only in pictures.

Reluctantly, Kat had put on one of the outfits the campaign had bought, a shimmery deep maroon dress that she'd fought with Elle not to buy. But having come home so tired that she'd fallen right on her bed to catch a nap, she hadn't had time to figure out what else she could make work from her meager closet.

As they rolled up to the massive, wrought-iron gates, Kat's mouth dropped open. The senator's
house
was in McLean, Virginia, in the older part of town on Chain Bridge Road. This was his Washington, DC, home, just a few miles outside the city. Most long-term congressional representatives kept a residence close to the capital, where they spent most of the year, and a family home near their constituent base. The senator had a second house near the state capital of Richmond, close to headquarters, but given the amount of time he'd been in DC, this was where he spent most of his time. It could conservatively be called a mansion.
I am way out of my league.

She turned to look at her mother and saw her eyes misting over. “Mom, did you ever live here?”

Her mother shook her head. “We had a smaller house a mile down the road, but we were here so much, it might as well have been home. This was his father's place. His mother hosted a lot of campaign fund-raisers here.”

Kat swallowed. She never would have pictured the woman who bought their clothes at Goodwill to live in this type of house. She drove through the gates to the circular driveway. She half expected a valet to come out and take her keys, but not seeing any, she parked in a small lot adjacent to the six-car garage. Her economy-sized, budget car looked like an ugly coffee stain on the front of a beautiful white wedding dress.

Alex's car wasn't there, and Kat fought the panic rising in her chest. She couldn't do this without him. It took her a few moments to realize neither she nor her mother had made a move to exit the car. “We don't have to do this, Mom. We don't owe him anything.”

Emilia sat frozen and Kat felt her pulse quicken. She'd thought her mother had been doing well. What if it had all been a mild manic episode? Kat was used to full-blown events where it was obvious her mother was off the rails, but there had been times when she was a child that her mother had been functional. Times when she'd gotten herself dressed and shown up to parent-teacher conferences and actually signed report cards so Kat didn't have to fake her signature.

Kat clicked her seat belt back in place and turned the key in the ignition. She needed to get her mother out of here. It was one thing for her to deal with her mother coming off a manic episode, but she didn't want Senator Roberts and his perfect family to witness it.

She put her hand on the clutch to move the car into Reverse, but her mother touched her shoulder to stop her. “I'm ready. I want to do this.”

Kat searched her mother's eyes but saw none of the wildness, none of the deep despair.

They walked up to the stone-front house and stepped up to the covered portico. Kat looked for an additional bell on the double door. She'd already rung one bell when she pulled up to the gate. There was a giant knocker on the door that seemed heavier than what Kat could possibly lift. The door opened.

It was the senator himself, polished and stately in a light blue shirt worn open-collar, without a tie. “Emilia, Kat, it's so good to see you.” He widened his arms to welcome them. Kat stepped through the door first to give her mother a moment to get used to the sight of him. He was an imposing man and stood in a marble foyer in front of a grand double staircase. He kissed Kat on the cheek. “I'm so pleased you accepted my invitation.”

She nodded. “I hope you got my message about Alex... I...”

“Ah, yes, sorry—I didn't get a chance to call you back, but I spoke to Alex and told him he was more than welcome. He's running a little late.”

She turned to see her mother still lingering at the threshold. The senator held out his hand and she took it, stepping into the house. “Emilia, you look lovely as ever. Is that the blue dress you wore—”

Her mother nodded at the senator, finishing his sentence. “At our engagement party.”

“I love that dress on you.”

Her mother smiled and Kat had to stop her own mouth from falling open. It was the most brilliant smile she'd ever seen.

All those dresses
her mother had kept locked away in the suitcase. They were all from when she'd been with her father. Kat's throat tightened as she watched the senator take her mother's elbow and usher her gently down the hallway. They looked like the perfect couple. She clasped her hands together, hoping she hadn't set her mother up for the second heartbreak of her life.

As they walked through the house, Kat tried to keep her eyes focused on the senator and her mother ahead of her and not let her jaw hit the floor. The entire town house they were renting could have fit into the living room they entered.

Her half brother and sister were already there. Vickie greeted her first. She was a tall, elegant woman with bright green eyes and strawberry blond hair that was wrapped in a chignon at the nape of her neck. She was wearing casual linen slacks and a green blouse that made Kat feel like she was trying too hard in her ridiculously expensive designer dress.

She turned to meet Walter, who was dressed in a polo shirt and slacks, his light brown hair and blue eyes mirroring the look of a younger Senator Roberts. He went to the bar in the corner of the room and brought them glasses of white wine.

Kat fought the urge to check her watch.
Where is Alex?
Why didn't he call
me
to say he would be late?
she thought irritably.

They sat on an ivory-and-pale-gray tufted sofa with high arms. Kat perched on the edge, unable to get comfortable and careful not to tip the crystal glass that held her wine. Somehow, the senator and Vickie filled the room with conversation. Emilia, seated beside Kat, appeared perfectly comfortable. Silence was never good, but her mother seemed to be enjoying the banter, nodding and smiling at the appropriate times.

Kat nearly jumped for joy when the doorbell rang. The senator returned a couple of minutes later with Alex. Kat was on her feet, but not before Vickie and Walt, who rushed to hug him. It was the first time they'd seen him since his disappearance. Kat stood back and watched the ease with which Alex interacted with the senator's family. He accepted Vickie's hug and peck on the cheek with familiarity and bumped fists with Walt, accepting the good-natured ribbing that came his way. He walked over and gave Kat a kiss on the cheek and did the same to her mother. The senator excused himself to go check on dinner. Alex easily filled the role of host, refreshing everyone's drinks from the bar and chatting lightly with Vickie as if he'd been doing it for ages. Her stomach churned.
He wants a first lady.

When the senator announced dinner and invited everyone to the kitchen, Alex placed his arm around Kat's waist as they filed out of the living room. “How are you doing?” he whispered.

The warmth of his breath in her ear sent her nerves tingling all the way to her toes. She could do this. With Alex at her side, she could face the life she would have had.

“Kat, I hope you like pot roast.” Senator Roberts was wearing a cheesy Kiss the Cook apron. They were in an enormous room that served as a kitchen and family room. The new term was
great room
. A giant granite countertop island had been set with plates.

It was all too much. The sight of domestic normalcy in a house that looked like Buckingham Palace.

“It's your famous pot roast, isn't it?” Emilia exclaimed. She was grinning from ear to ear.
Where has this woman been all my life?
Kat thought.

The senator nodded and everyone turned to stare at him and her mother. Their eyes were locked on each other as they obviously shared a moment.

“Right after we were married, I hosted our first dinner party,” Emilia began.

“She forgot to tell me that she didn't know how to cook,” the senator continued.

“I thought it would be simple enough to follow a recipe for coq au vin.” Was her mother giggling?

“An hour before dinner, I come home to see if Emilia needs a hand and all I see is smoke billowing out of the oven. Emilia is nowhere in sight.”

“I was upstairs getting dressed.” Her mother was definitely giggling.

“She was so distraught when she found out.”

“His mother and father were among the guests, and I so wanted to show them I could host a party. So Bill gets right to work and whips up this delicious pot roast. It was a total hit and it became one of my favorite dishes.” Kat watched her mother's face transform as she relived the memory. The twinkle in her eyes told the story far better than words.

The senator set a serving tray on the kitchen island and Vickie pulled out a bowl of spinach salad from the fridge. Everyone took a seat at one of the bar stools.

“The pot roast is one of our favorites, too.” Vickie's lighthearted comment deflated Emilia. Kat's heart clenched painfully as her mother averted her eyes, focusing on getting onto the bar stool.

Conversation at dinner centered around Alex's disappearance and the senator's IED bill. The senator, Vickie and Alex carried the conversation. Walt chimed in from time to time, but he seemed to be the silent observer. Kat wanted to find fault with her father's family, to see them as taciturn children whose daddy had been too focused on his career to pay attention to their well-being, or else spoiled brats who'd been handed everything on a silver platter, but they seemed to be genuinely kindhearted, well-adjusted and accomplished people. Their love for each other and the senator was obvious. Kat couldn't get rid of the lump in her throat.

Alex squeezed her hand every few minutes, even if he was in the middle of a sentence or in the throes of an animated story, but Kat felt cold. Alex was a part of this family; these were his people, not hers. She hadn't had much to eat, yet dinner churned in her stomach.

They'd scheduled an early evening since Kat and Emilia had to drive home. She hadn't accepted the senator's invitation to stay overnight—baby steps—and she was happy to use the excuse of the long drive to say goodbye. Vickie and the senator hugged her, and Walt gave her an awkward kiss on the cheek.

When they were at the door, the senator turned to her. “Why don't you bring the car around, Kat. I want to chat with your mother a few minutes.”

Kat glanced at Emilia, who nodded. Alex walked her to the car.

“You okay?”

It seemed that was all he'd asked her all night. This time, she shook her head. “What am I supposed to do with that?” She gestured to the front porch, where her mother was laughing at something the senator had said. “What's the point of all this? To show me what a happy little family he created once he left my mother? And why is she—”

“Taking it so well?” he finished for her.

She nodded. “I sound like a horrible person, don't I? I should be happy it went so well, that she seems happy, but...”

“You're waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

She nodded, and he pulled her into his arms. She focused on the comfort of his hard muscles beneath her fingertips, the steady beat of his heart. The world seemed to melt away when he held her like this, and she wanted to stay here for the rest of her life. In this moment, he felt like her Alex, not the man her father was grooming.

“It's okay to be angry,” he told her. “To feel a sense of loss. Don't be mad at the senator—he would've given you this life if he knew. He wants you to be a part of all this now. That's why he wanted you here tonight.”

She pushed against him, breaking their embrace. “Is that what you think this is about? That I'm jealous of the wealth those kids enjoyed?”

Unlocking the car, she slid into the driver's seat and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

A
LEX
WATCHED
K
AT
collect her mother and drive away, debating his next move. What exactly had he said that set her off, and how was he supposed to fix it? He returned to the house. Senator Roberts had asked him to stay so they could have a chat. It wasn't an unusual request; Alex often spent time with the senator, and he even had an assigned guest room in the twelve-bedroom house. But he knew this time was different. The senator had been short with him on the phone when he'd told Alex that he was welcome to come to dinner as Kat's guest. Then he had tasked Alex with an assignment that he knew would make him late.

After that awkward conversation, Alex's next phone call had been to Crista, who had tearfully admitted that she'd been spying on him at the senator's request. Alex shouldn't have been surprised. How many times had he spied on his staff? It was the way the game was played in campaigns; loyalties were constantly shifting. It was the nature of all temporary work. Any staffers who weren't already looking for other positions would be soon. Regardless of what happened in November, most of them would be out of a job.