Tall, Dark_.Westmoreland! - Brenda Jackson [38]
Reggie crossed the room to her, and without giving him the chance to make the first move, she reached up and drew his mouth down to hers. And he kissed her with a gentleness that he had to fight to maintain.
When she released his mouth, he gazed down at her. “Sure you had enough?”
She licked her lips. “For now.” She then smiled. “I’ll get the rest on Saturday.”
He lifted a hopeful brow. “You will come?”
She smiled. “Yes, I will come.”
Although he knew they needed to finish getting dressed and be on their way, he reached out, caught her around the waist and pulled her gently into his arms, immediately reveling in the way her body seemed to cling to his, perfectly and in sync. And then he lowered his mouth to hers for a kiss that would keep him going strong until Saturday night, when they would come together once again.
Eight
“C athy will be calling you later today, Libby.”
Olivia lifted her gaze from her cereal bowl to glance over at her father, with a questioning look on her face. “For what reason?”
“To schedule all those fund-raisers that you and I will need to attend over the next couple of weeks, beginning this Saturday.”
Panic shot through Olivia. “Not this Saturday night, I hope.”
Her father quirked a thick brow. “No, it’s Saturday midday at the home of Darwin Walker and his wife.”
She nodded. Darwin and Terrence used to play together for the Miami Dolphins. Last year Darwin, who, like Terrence, had retired from the NFL, moved to Atlanta after accepting a coaching position with the Falcons.
“And why are you concerned about Saturday night? Do you have plans or something?” Orin asked.
Olivia swallowed. She hated lying to her father, but there was no way she could tell him the truth. Running for political office had made him somewhat unreasonable, especially when it came to Reggie. She was convinced that the only reason he didn’t like Reggie was that he was the main person standing in the way of him becoming a senator. However, she intended to do as Reggie had suggested and believe that the election had no bearing on what was developing between them.
She met her father’s gaze. “Yes, I have plans. I ran into a friend at the party Saturday night, and we’re getting together again this weekend.” At least what she’d said wasn’t a total lie.
Her father’s features softened. “That’s good. I’ve been feeling badly about asking you to put your life in Paris on hold to come here and be my escort for all these campaign events. I’m glad you’ve managed to squeeze in some fun time.”
If only you knew just how much fun I’ve had thanks to Reggie, she thought.
Both she and her father resumed eating, and the kitchen became quiet. There was something she needed to ask him, something she truly needed to know. The issue had been bothering her since she’d heard about it yesterday.
She glanced across the table at her father. He had resumed reading the paper and was flipping through the pages. She hated interrupting, but she had to. “Dad, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, sweetheart,” Orin said, looking up to meet her gaze and placing the newspaper aside. “What is it?”
“Reggie Westmoreland,” she said and watched her father’s jaw flex.
“What about him, Libby?”
“Did you authorize any of your staff members to put out that false statement about his company facing bankruptcy and layoffs?”
Her father frowned. “Of course not. Why would I or my staff do something like that?”
“To discredit him.”
His features tightened. “And you believe I would do something like that or give my staff permission to do so?”
“I don’t want to believe that, but I’m not naive. I know how dirty politics can be, Dad.”
Orin leaned back in his chair. “Are you taking up for Reggie Westmoreland?” he asked, studying her features.
She sighed deeply. “No, Dad, I’m not taking up for anyone. Such tactics can backfire, so my concern is actually for you.”
What she didn’t say was that she was sure Reggie was aware