Her Secret, His Duty

“You’ve always been successful at whatever endeavor you’ve undertaken,” she said thoughtfully. “You have all the qualities to be a great senator, but have you considered how you’re going to juggle the running of Adair Enterprises with the responsibilities of being a state senator? Not only does the job take a lot of hours and work, but campaigning will be a huge commitment of both time and energy.”

“I know, but I’m lucky that I have good people working with me at Adair Enterprises and they will step up to cover whenever I can’t be at the business.” He took another drink. “Has Mom given you any hint as to whether she’s going to take up the challenge and run for president?”

Debra smiled. “Your mother shares a lot with me, but this is one decision she’s keeping pretty close to her chest. I know there is pressure on her from a variety of places to run, but I have no idea what she’s going to decide.”

“She should go for it. She’d be great for the country. Not only is she strong and intelligent, but she’s more than paid her dues and she’s smarter than any of the other schmucks who are making noise about running.”

“You’re preaching to the choir,” Debra replied with a smile. “She’d have my vote in a minute.”

He returned her smile and suddenly the nerves jumped through her veins once again. “This is nice,” he said as his gaze swept the room and lingered on the fireplace. “I’ll bet it’s quite cozy in here when the fire is lit and you have something exotic cooking in the oven or on the stove.”

“It is nice,” she agreed. “Buying this place was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

He finished his coffee and when he set the mug down on the table and looked at her, something in the depths of his eyes caused her to tense warily.

“Debra, about that night...”

“What night?” she said quickly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She pled with her eyes for him to take it no further. She didn’t want to have a discussion about a night that shouldn’t have happened. A hand automatically fell to her lap, as if in an attempt to hide the secret she carried.

“I’m your mother’s assistant and I’ll do everything I can to help you reach your goal of becoming a North Carolina state senator,” she said softly. “And that’s really all we have to discuss.”

He held her gaze for a long moment and then gave a curt nod of his head and stood. “Thanks for the coffee, Debra, and all your hard work.”

“No problem. One more thing, did you bring me the list of names of people you want to invite?” She got up from the table.

He snapped his finger and grinned at her. “I knew there was a reason I stopped by here. The list is in my coat pocket.”

Together they left the kitchen and went back into the living room where he grabbed his coat from the back of the chair and put it on. He reached into one of the pockets and pulled out the printed list.

“Thanks,” she said as she took it from him. “I’ll get the invitations ordered tomorrow and have them addressed and mailed by the end of the next day. Do you want to look at the invitations before they go out? I was thinking something simple and elegant.”

“I trust your judgment.”

“You can trust me in everything,” she said pointedly, hoping her words were enough to put him at ease about that damned night they’d spent together.

He’d probably wanted to mention it to her to assure himself that she had no plans to take it public. She could probably make a little extra money selling the story to the tabloids.

She could only imagine the salacious headlines if the information got out that he’d slept with a member of his mother’s staff while practically engaged to a wealthy socialite. But he had nothing to worry about where she was concerned.

“You have absolutely nothing to be worried about,” she said to reiterate to him that the secret of their unexpected tryst would remain just that—a secret.

“Then I guess I’ll leave you to the rest of your evening,” he said, and they walked together toward the front door.

“I’ll get in touch with you sometime tomorrow, as soon as I get the things emailed over from Stacy,” she replied, grateful that they’d broached the subject of their night together without really talking about it.

“This dinner party is an important first step and together we’re going to make it amazing,” he said. He gave her one last devastating smile and then stepped out the front door and disappeared into the gloom of a cloudy twilight.

Debra locked the door behind him and leaned against the door. Curse that man. She could still smell the heady scent of his cologne, feel a lingering vibrating energy in the air despite his absence.

She shoved herself off the door with a muttered curse and carried the list of names he’d given her into the small chamber just off the living room that served as her home office.

She placed the list on her desk next to her computer and then left the room and returned to the kitchen. She placed Trey’s coffee mug in the dishwasher and silently cursed him for even making her think about that night.

Her body flushed with heat as she thought of how he’d slowly caressed each and every inch of her skin. His kisses had driven her half out of her mind with desire and she knew making love with Trey Winston was an experience she’d never, ever forget.

What bothered her more than anything was the knowledge that even knowing it was wrong, even with the unexpected result that had occurred, she’d do it again in a hot minute.

* * *

Trey wasn’t sure what he had hoped to accomplish by bringing up the night he’d spent with Debra after all this time. Over six weeks had passed and they’d spoken numerous times since then without ever mentioning what had transpired between them.

So, what had he wanted to say to her tonight? What had he wanted her to say to him? That she’d liked being with him? That he’d been a pleasing lover?

He mentally scoffed at his own thoughts. As terrible as it sounded, he probably just wanted to double-check that she didn’t intend to go public with their misdeed, but even thinking that did a disservice to the woman he knew that Debra was. He knew how devoted she was to the family. She would never do anything to hurt any of them in any way.

Instead of heading home to his mansion, he decided to drop in and visit with his grandmother in the nursing home. As he drove his thoughts continued to be filled with Debra.

She’d looked cute as a bug in her jeans and green sweatshirt. He’d never seen her in casual clothes before and the jeans had hugged her long legs, shapely legs that he remembered wrapped around him.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, realizing the skies were spitting a bit of ice. January in Raleigh could be surprisingly unpredictable. It might be cold with a bit of snow or ice, or it could be surprisingly mild. Occasionally they got a killer ice storm, but thankfully nothing like that so far this year.

The weather forecast that morning had mentioned the threat of a little frozen precipitation, but nothing for travelers to worry about. Slowing his speed a bit, his thoughts went back to Debra.

Her townhome had surprised him. He’d expected the furnishings to be utilitarian and rather cold, but stepping into her living room had been like being welcomed into a place where he’d wanted to stay and linger awhile.

The living space had been warm and inviting, as had the kitchen, as well. He thought of the stark formal furnishings in his own mansion and for a moment entertained the idea of hiring Debra to do a bit of decorating transformation.

It was a silly thought. If he worked his plan to achieve his ultimate goal, then Cecily would be moving into the mansion and she’d want to put her own personal stamp in place there, although he doubted that Cecily would have the taste for warm and inviting. She’d want formal and expensive. She’d want to create a showcase rather than a home.

He punched the button on his steering wheel that would connect him to phone services. He gave the command to call Cecily on her cell and then waited for her to answer.

“Darling,” her voice chirped through the interior of the car. “I was wondering if I was going to hear from you today.”

“Between work at the office and planning this dinner party, I’ve been swamped.” He could hear from the background noise on her phone that she wasn’t at home. “Where are you now?”

“At a Women’s League meeting. I’m already not-so-subtly campaigning for you, Trey.”

He smiled, certain that she was doing just that. “You know I appreciate it.”

“You’d better,” she replied with a laugh. “Rumor has it your mother is seriously considering running for president. We’ll let her have that position for two terms and then we’ll be ready to move into the White House.”

Trey laughed. “One step at a time, Cecily. This dinner party will let me know if I can get some of the big hitters in town behind me in order to achieve the first step in the process.”

“You can take it one step at a time, but I’m already envisioning what the White House Christmas tree will look like,” she replied with a laugh. “Oh, gotta go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

She ended the call and Trey shook his head. Cecily McKenna was like a force of nature, unstoppable and powerful and completely in his corner. She would make a perfect ally and support as a wife.

He pulled into the parking lot of the Brookside Nursing Home, an upscale establishment where his grandmother, Eunice, had resided since Walt’s death.