“HOW CAN we trust Byron Robidoux in the Senate? The man has more drama than a daytime soap opera. Secret babies are only part of his tumultuous personal life. His close relationship with this woman he claims he didn’t know had his child has now cost him his fiancée. I don’t care how much he denies it. Byron Robidoux is exactly what we knew he was. A rich playboy who decided to run for a higher office on a whim.”
Byron picked up the remote and turned off the television. Silence filled his living room and he tossed the remote onto the couch. If only he could shut off the lies spewing from Nelson McLeod’s mouth. His opponent hadn’t wasted any time taking advantage of Byron’s broken engagement.
Byron couldn’t blame him. His life was unfolding like a daytime drama. Yolanda hadn’t come out and said she and Byron broke up because of Zoe. Not after she’d put on such a great show of her and Zoe getting along. Instead, she offered just enough insinuations about making room for everyone to be happy and her wish for Byron to have all the best with his new life.
He couldn’t even get mad. He’d chosen Yolanda because she was good at spin and strategy. How could he have expected her to do anything less?
The doorbell rang. Byron groaned and ran his hand over his face. He was not in the mood for company. He’d debriefed with Roy. Listened to his dad tell him how to handle the bad publicity. Come up with a statement that convinced voters to trust him despite the activities in his personal life. He was spent, and no one should have a need for him at all tonight.
He picked up his cell phone and pulled up the app connected to the camera at his door. He was prepared to tell whomever was on the other side to fuck off. Especially if it was a reporter who thought they’d snag the next scoop on him. The words were forming on his lips when the image of Travis on the other side of the door with a brown paper bag in his hand filled his screen.
Sliding his phone into his back pocket, Byron strode to the front door. “Come on in.”
Travis held up a six-pack. “I thought you could use a drink.” He crossed the threshold.
Byron chuckled and rubbed his now-smooth chin. He’d finally shaved the beard. He needed all the help he could get with being a likable candidate, so he’d finally caved to the people who said he looked more professional without the beard. “I need something a lot stronger than beer.”
Travis held up a brown paper bag in the other. “I’ve also got whiskey.”
Byron took the bag from Travis and pulled the bottle of Johnnie Walker out of the bag. “See, that’s why I like you.”
They went inside where Byron grabbed two glasses and put ice in a bucket. He and Travis settled at the high-top card table next to the built-in bar.
“I didn’t expect you over,” Byron said as they sipped their drinks.
“Because of the drama with the media, or because I eloped with India?”
“Both,” Byron admitted. He and Travis hadn’t hung out since he and India eloped. Granted, Byron was out of town most of the time on the campaign trail, but where he’d once go to Travis’s place to hang out or ask his friend to meet him at a bar for drinks after a stressful day, he didn’t anymore. He went to the estate if Zoe was there. Yolanda was right about that.
“Where do you want to start?” Travis asked.
“There’s no need to rehash the thing with India. I said I was cool with you two and I mean it. Congratulations.”
Byron held up his glass. Travis hesitated a second then clinked his glass with Byron’s. He meant what he said. He had more things to be worried about than Travis marrying the woman he loved. On the list of fucked-up things with his family, Travis and India’s genuine love for each other wasn’t one of them.
“So Yolanda wasn’t as perfect as you thought,” Travis said. A hint of I-told-you-so in his voice Byron wished he could get angry about.
Byron frowned and lightly hit his hand on the top of the table. “How did you see it? How did I miss it?”
“I didn’t see this. I never thought you should marry her, but that wasn’t because I thought she’d leave you hanging like that.”
“Yolanda is smart. All she ever wanted was to win. To have political influence without actually serving.”
“Then why break up with you?”
Byron lifted a shoulder and sipped his drink. “She said she was on board. In the end, she thought Zoe was a threat. She wanted to get out and control the optics of her moving on. We both know having Zoe back in my life made this road to the Senate harder.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“Keep campaigning. Keep pushing uphill. I can’t afford to bow out of the race and let McLeod win. He’ll do everything he can to support pushing our state back three hundred years.”
He had a challenge ahead of him. Good thing he wasn’t afraid of challenge. Giving up wasn’t an option.
“I know you’re going to keep campaigning. I mean what are you going to do about Zoe?”
“What are you talking about? Her number of campaign appearances might need to go down until this stuff with Yolanda dies down, but otherwise I don’t see anything changing.”
He wasn’t going to hide her or take back the statement he’d released. There was still the matter of the emails to her, and Yolanda’s last words. Who was trying to make things harder for him and Zoe?
Travis sighed and shook his head. “You’re not usually this slow. You wanted a wife to make you appear like a family man. Yolanda has left and created a mess when she did. You obviously still hold a torch for Zoe. Kill two birds with one stone.”
“What? Nah.” Byron scoffed. “I’m not going to replace Yolanda with Zoe.”
“Why not?”
Why not? Two words that carried so much temptation. “Because, it wouldn’t be good optics. Despite what Yolanda said the public isn’t going to accept me getting a new fiancée right after we split.”
“Yes, they will,” Travis said confidently. He leaned back and sipped his drink.
“It’ll feed the rumors that something is going on between us.”
“And? Look, I haven’t been around you two a lot, but I’ve been around enough to know you’re feeling her. What was between you hasn’t gone away. I say go for it. People love a second-chance romance.”
The idea sent a ripple of anticipation through Byron. The same ripple he’d felt when he’d looked into Zoe’s eyes in his car the other night. He wasn’t naive enough to pretend as if he and Zoe weren’t attracted to each other, but he needed more than attraction. He’d be better off single than reinvesting his heart into the idea of a relationship with Zoe. The last thing he needed was another failed relationship during this campaign.
“People love the idea of reunited lovers in books and movies. Not in real life.” Byron tapped his finger on the edge of his glass. The hum of energy sparked by Travis’s suggestion still buzzed in his system even as he tried to ignore it. “Plus, Zoe and I were never lovers in real life. She never chose me.”
“So you’re not denying you still like her.”
Liked her. Wanted her. Thought about her. Constantly. “She’s cool. I like her, but...”
“But what?”
After all these damn years she still had her hooks in him. He’d pulled her into his life when he didn’t need to. She never would have sought him out because he was running for Senate. She would have stayed out of his life and lived hers. Yet, he’d insisted on finding her. If he’d left well enough alone...
Then the person looking for her would have found her.
If he hadn’t looked for Zoe, Carlton would have found her and given her location to whomever sought her out. A person Byron believed was connected to Kendell. He’d gotten Dominic to intercept her emails so she wouldn’t see them anymore while he searched for the source. She’d be dealing with this on her own if he hadn’t looked for her.
“We’re helping each other out. That’s all,” Byron said.
Travis met Byron’s eyes. “I get it. Being with her is complicated and she broke your heart.”
“She didn’t break my heart.”
Travis smirked. “Sure. Your stance on never falling in love just magically happened after she left you.”
“I was like that before.” He’d dated women without thoughts of the future before meeting Zoe. Zoe was just the one woman he’d wanted more than a casual affair with.
“Byron, stop trying to talk yourself out of doing what you want. I get it, the campaign would be harder, but what do you really want? Go for it. Go for her.”
Byron felt a sensation in his chest. The same sensation he’d experienced whenever she looked at him as if she felt something, too. The instinct to take her in his arms and ask her to be with him.
He already knew how that would end. He’d confessed his feelings to her once before and she’d turned him down. He’d be setting himself up for disappointment again.
“I didn’t bring her back into my life for this.”
“Are you sure? Because if you believe one hundred percent that Zoe isn’t into you then cool. But if you have any indication she could feel the same, don’t let another thirteen years go by wondering what could have happened. All I’m saying is let her know you’re interested. Open the door and see if she walks through it. After all these years shouldn’t you at least try to shoot your shot?”
HE WAS WASTING his time. The thought went through Byron’s head over and over since talking to Travis earlier. Still, he found himself picking up the phone and calling Zoe later that evening. He hadn’t talked directly to Zoe after the need to amicably break up with his convenient fiancée arose. They’d been in damage control ever since. He hadn’t made it to the estate for the remainder of the weekend because of that. Byron wasn’t sure when Zoe would be back.
“Byron? Is everything okay?” Her voice sounded distant as if she was on speakerphone.
“Yeah, everything is good. I just wanted to check and see how you were doing.” He cleared his throat. “Did your presentation go well?”
In the middle of all the damage control he hadn’t gotten to ask Zoe how things had gone for her when she’d returned home. If the presentation she’d been working on so hard before he’d pulled her out for the night had impressed her boss or not.
Her deep sigh echoed through the phone. “Presentation went well.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Let’s just say I have to do some of my own damage control here,” she said. “John has expressed concerns about my current situation and how it’s affecting my job performance.”
Byron closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Damn, Zoe, I’m sorry.”
“You know what, it’s not your fault. Part of this is because I didn’t want to deal with my past.”
“But it wouldn’t be coming up and threatening your career if it wasn’t for me.”
“Well, this is just another reason to search for better opportunities.” Her voice was optimistic if strained. “I may need that good word you mentioned before.”
“Anything. Just let me know.” There he went trying to fix things for her again without question. Yolanda was right. He didn’t think straight when it came to Zoe. “Are you in the car?”
“Yeah, Lilah had archery practice tonight. I just dropped her off and I’m on my way home to work on some things until she’s done.”
“Is Lilah okay? After everything that happened?”
“She is,” Zoe said. “She thinks it’s all exciting and can’t wait to get back up to Jackson Falls again. I told her what Roy said. That we should lay low for a while.”
That was the plan, but Byron didn’t want to lay low or push Zoe away. “Don’t worry about Roy. Visit whenever you want.”
“Thanks, Lilah will appreciate that.” He heard the smile in her voice. Maybe Lilah wasn’t the only one who would appreciate that. “How are you doing?” she asked.
His fiancée dumped him because she felt he was still in love with Zoe. He and Zoe had never finished that conversation they’d had right before his life got scrambled. “Not too good.” He needed to know what she’d meant when she’d said she was in unfamiliar territory. He knew he couldn’t start a new relationship right now. Not with his breakup so fresh. He’d be killed by the media and no one would focus on the issues. Yet, he had to know. “I can’t stop thinking about that night.”
“Me either. Wait...what the hell?” Disbelief filled Zoe’s voice.
Byron stiffened. “What’s wrong?”
“There are police and fire trucks everywhere,” Zoe answered, sounding distracted. “I can’t get down our street because—”
A siren blared and cut off the end of her sentence. When she spoke again her voice trembled. “Oh, my God. My house is on fire!”