Tall, Dark_.Westmoreland! - Brenda Jackson [17]
Before Brent could chew him out, Reggie said, “I’ll do it as soon as the two of you leave. If you want to drop by later and look it over, then feel free to do so.”
A stern look appeared on Brent’s face. “And don’t think that I won’t.”
Reggie rolled his eyes. “Just don’t return before six this evening.”
Brent raised a brow. “Why?”
“Because I need to take a nap.”
Brent chuckled. “You never take naps.”
Determined not to explain anything, Reggie said, “I know, but today I definitely need one.”
As soon as Pam and Brent left, Reggie called and checked in with his parents. Usually on Sunday he would drop by for dinner, and he didn’t want his mother to worry when he didn’t make an appearance.
After convincing Sarah Westmoreland that he was not coming down with a flu bug and that he just needed to rest, he was ready to end the call, but she kept him on the phone longer than he’d planned to give him a soup recipe…like he would actually take the time to make it. Not that she figured he would. She was just hoping he had a lady friend available to do his bidding.
He couldn’t help but smile as he climbed the stairs to his bedroom. His mother’s one wish in life was to live to see her six sons all married and herself and his father surrounded by grandchildren. A bout with breast cancer a few years ago had made her even more determined to see each one of her sons happily married.
Her dream had come true—almost. Jared’s recent announcement that he and his wife, Dana, would become parents in the fall meant that all of James and Sarah Westmoreland’s sons—with the exception of him—were married and either had kids or were expecting them. Quade had blown everyone away with his triplets. But then multiple births ran in the Westmoreland family.
When he reached his bedroom, he began stripping off his clothes, remembering when he had stripped for an audience of one the night before. He had been aware that Wonder Woman’s eyes had been directed on him while he’d taken off each piece…the same way his eyes had been on her.
As he slid between the covers, he promised himself that once he woke up, he would have slept off the memories and would be focused on the present again. That morning he’d thought about trying to find his mystery woman, and he still intended to do that, but he owed it to Brent and his campaign staff to stay focused and put all his time and energy into winning this election.
But still…
He thought about the lone earring he had in his dresser drawer. On the way into the office, he would stop by Jared’s favorite jewelry store, Garbella Jewelers, to see if they could possibly tell him anything about the earring, like who had made it and, possibly, from which store it had been purchased. Checking on something like that shouldn’t take too long and wouldn’t make him lose focus.
As he felt himself drifting off to sleep, his mind was flooded with more memories. He wondered how long this fascination, this mind-reeling, gut-wrenching obsession with his mystery woman, would last.
He wasn’t sure, but he intended to enjoy it while it did.
Olivia sat in the chair across the room, and her observant eye zeroed in on her father and Cathy. She tried not to chuckle when she noticed how they would look at each other when the other one wasn’t watching. Boy, they had it bad, but in a way, she was glad. Sooner or later, her father would realize that Cathy was the best thing to ever happen to him. Even now, after working as his secretary for over fifteen years, their relationship was still professional. She knew in time that would change, and she would do her part to help it along.
“Dad?”
Orin looked up from his seat behind his desk and glanced over at her. Cathy was standing next to his chair. They’d had their heads together while Cathy critiqued his speech. “Yes, sweetheart?”
“Why did you send for me to be your escort for all these fund-raising events when you had Cathy right here?”
As if on cue, Cathy