The Danforths: Reid, Kimberly and Jake: The Cinderella Scandal / Man Beneath the Uniform / Sin City Wedding

She intended to keep it that way.

At seven forty-five that evening, Abraham Danforth’s campaign headquarters had officially been open for fifteen minutes. The scent of fresh-brewed coffee and still-warm cookies wafted through the already crowded room. Music, upbeat instrumentals meant more to inspire than entertain, flowed from an overhead sound system, but could barely be heard over the excited conversations of volunteers and newly hired campaign staff. Because the man of the hour hadn’t arrived yet, anticipation increased with each passing minute.

Reid, arms folded, leaning against the back wall of the room, watched the activity buzzing around him. His family was scattered throughout the room: Kimberly sat at a guest book table; Adam manned the volunteer schedule; his cousin Jake was currently charming Matilda Henning, the president of the Savannah Women’s Historical League. Nicola Granville, wearing an Honest Abe II campaign button on the lapel of her navy blue blazer and a straw Danforth for Senator hat tucked neatly over her red hair, made her way through the throng of people and personally greeted each and every one of them.

Abraham might be the heart of the campaign, but the volunteers were the lifeblood. Without them, no amount of publicity or money could win an election.

But there was really only one volunteer—albeit a reluctant one—that had caught Reid’s attention and he shifted his gaze to Tina.

Wearing tan linen slacks and a black turtleneck, she stood by the refreshment table with Jason, a cup of punch in her hand, listening politely to an animated, balding man dressed in an oversize gray suit. She appeared cool and composed and even interested in what the man was saying to her, but when he turned away from her to grab another cookie from a tray, Tina’s boredom flashed in her eyes.

Reid smiled, even considered saving her. It would be easy to make his way over there and tell her she had a phone call in the back office. But he wasn’t so sure she would appreciate the gesture, not with Jason standing there, and especially not after what had happened between them this afternoon.

Not that he was really sure what had happened. He’d kissed her, she’d kissed him back, they’d both enjoyed it—that much he knew. Everything else was just a little fuzzy. Maybe he had hit his head too hard, he thought, though it certainly hadn’t knocked any sense into him.

Because all he’d thought about since he’d kissed her was kissing her again.

From the moment Tina had walked into campaign headquarters with Rachel and Jason a few minutes ago, Reid had been very aware of the fact that she’d kept her distance from him. She hadn’t even glanced in his direction. It would certainly make sense that with her boyfriend here, she might want to avoid the man she’d been in a lip lock with just a few hours earlier.

But what she couldn’t avoid was the unspoken tension still lingering between them. It didn’t matter that she was on the other side of the room, it was there nonetheless. He knew it, and he knew that she knew it, too.

Whether she would admit it or not was another issue.

‘‘A friend of yours?’’

Reid turned at the sound of Ian’s voice, annoyed that his brother had caught him staring. ‘‘Who?’’

Ian took a sip of his coffee, then grinned that annoying I’m-your-brother-you-can’t-fool-me grin. ‘‘Not the type you usually go for, is she?’’

Refusing to answer his question or rise to the bait, Reid simply lifted a brow. ‘‘And exactly what type is it you seem to think I go for?’’

‘‘Dim-witted debutantes,’’ Ian said, cocking his head. ‘‘High-society heiresses, soporific society girls.’’

Reid frowned. So maybe a few of the women he’d dated had been a little shallow, he thought irritably. Or maybe just a little low in the brain cell department. So what? He’d been looking for company, not commitment. And Ian, of all people, who’d avoided any kind of relationship since his divorce, was hardly one to talk.

‘‘For your information,’’ Reid said dryly, ‘‘her father owns Castle Bakery.’’

‘‘Ah. One of the Alexander daughters.’’ Ian nodded, then sipped his coffee again as he glanced across the room at Tina. ‘‘Jake and I have talked about adding some new items to D&D’s. Maybe I should go introduce myself.’’

Reid slid a dark look at his brother. ‘‘She’s not on the menu, Ian.’’

‘‘Is that so?’’ Grinning, Ian returned his attention to Reid. ‘‘Not on my menu or yours?’’

Reid would have liked nothing better than to wipe that smirk off his brother’s face, but considering the time and place, it would have to wait. ‘‘Neither. She has a boyfriend.’’

Ian shrugged. ‘‘I don’t see any ring on her finger. You getting soft in your old age?’’

‘‘Why don’t we go out back and see who’s soft?’’ Reid said irritably.

‘‘You’re too pretty in that new suit to mess up.’’ Ian slapped a good-natured hand on Reid’s shoulder. ‘‘And besides, I hear she’s got sisters. Good Lord, please tell me that’s one of them.’’

Reid followed the direction of his brother’s gaze. The tall, leggy blonde had just stepped through the front door. Curls spilled from a silver clip on top of her head and tumbled around an oval face, lush mouth and pale-green eyes. The long-sleeved ruffled blouse and black leather pants she wore showed off a body that most men could only fantasize about.

And right now, Reid noted, just about every man in the room was doing some serious fantasizing.

‘‘Daughter number one, Sophia,’’ Reid said. He’d met her yesterday at the bakery. ‘‘Why don’t you go introduce yourself?’’

Keeping his eyes on the blonde, Ian straightened his tie, then handed Reid his coffee. ‘‘I think I’ll do that.’’

Reid watched his brother move in on Sophia like a panther, but he had the feeling that the woman could handle herself. He took a moment to appreciate her beauty—he was human, after all—but it simply wasn’t the eldest Alexander daughter he was preoccupied with at the moment.

And even though he didn’t want to admit it, not even to himself, he knew that Ian had been right about Tina. She was different from the other women he’d dated or been interested in before. It was strange how she annoyed and fascinated him at the same time. Something about her had caught his attention and refused to let go. Despite his better judgment, he intended to explore what that something was.

‘‘May I have everyone’s attention, please,’’ Nicola said over the noise in the room, then waited until the crowd slowly quieted. ‘‘I’d like to thank you all for coming this evening. I speak for Abraham and myself when I say how grateful we are to each and every one of you for so generously donating your time and money to this campaign. With your support, there is no doubt in our minds and hearts who the next senator of our beautiful state of Georgia will be—Abraham Danforth!’’

Cheers and applause exploded from the crowd, and a few zealous volunteers held up Honest Abe II bumper stickers that Nicola had distributed a few minutes ago.

‘‘And a special thank you,’’ Nicola said when the crowd quieted down, ‘‘to Ivan and Mariska Alexander from Castle Bakery for so generously providing refreshments for us this evening.’’

Mariska beamed and waved at everyone, while Ivan, clearly not liking the attention, nodded stiffly.

‘‘At this time I’d like to invite everyone to mark the date for a cocktail party at Crofthaven in two weeks.’’ Nicola waited for the excited murmur to settle down, then smiled and went on, ‘‘For now, while we’re waiting for Abraham to arrive, please help yourself to drinks and desserts and introduce yourself to your fellow volunteers.’’

Reid sipped on the coffee his brother had left him while the crowd moved in on the sweets. And speaking of sweet…Reid glanced back to where he’d seen Tina standing a few minutes ago, but she was gone. Slowly he scanned the crowd, but didn’t see her amongst the mass of people crowded in the room.

He didn’t see Jason, either.

They hadn’t gone out the front door, Reid was certain of that. Which meant they’d either gone into the back offices, rest room or out the back door.

What the hell does it matter? he thought, though he already knew the answer. It did matter, dammit. And he was suddenly in a bad mood because he didn’t want it to.

If she and Jason really were an item, then fine. But if that were true, Reid asked himself, then why, just a few hours ago, had she been kissing me? And why, when he’d asked her point-blank what the deal was, had she turned so indignant?

Something didn’t jibe. Reid wasn’t certain what it was, but once and for all, he wanted an answer.

It took several minutes to make his way through the crowd, but when he finally stepped into the back hallway, Reid could see the offices and the rest room were empty.

Questioning his sanity, not to mention his lack of common sense, he stepped outside.

The air was crisp, the cloudless night sky filled with stars. An iridescent ring shimmered around a nearly full moon. In the far distance, a ship’s horn sounded from the river. A perfect night for a tryst, Reid thought, closing the door behind him.

When he saw the couple standing in the shadows of the garden, their arms entwined, Reid’s hands balled into fists and he nearly turned back around. But then he heard Ian’s voice in his head, accusing him of being soft. Like hell I am.

Relaxing his hands, he shoved them into his pockets and strolled casually over. ‘‘Nice evening.’’

The couple jumped apart. Jason stepped in front of the woman in his arms, shielding her from view. ‘‘We were just…getting a little fresh air.’’

Why the hell was Tina hiding behind this guy? Reid wondered. The woman he’d met wasn’t the type to cower in a corner when confronted. Unless she was worried about Jason finding out she’d been kissing another man.