Heir to Scandal

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.