Disappointment punched her gut. “Oh.”

“It’s okay. I’ll go over what to expect, and what you need to say to the reporters.”

Eliza nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped through the door. After securing the deadbolt, she turned to the car and let Jay lead the way.

Twice she caught herself lifting her fingers to her lips. She reduced herself to pinching her hands to keep them in her lap. Of late, the nail biting was becoming an issue. Normally her nerves were steady. She patted her purse at her side and remembered the small pistol she kept there.

It was a security blanket. One she probably didn’t need any longer, but she couldn’t be too careful.

Jay explained that Carter would do most of the talking. She was to nod, smile, and tell the media that if it weren’t for Carter’s intervention, she and Gwen would have been in danger.

“They’ll ask personal questions. Don’t answer them,” Jay told her. “Let Carter do the side stepping. He is the politician after all.”

Right! And everyone in office masters the art of double speak their first week on the campaign trail.

The driver maneuvered them around the front of the hotel briefly, where news vans from every local station were parked. The driver didn’t stop in front, instead he took a side entrance, parked, and opened the door for the two of them.

She was thankful for a few minutes out of the spotlight. Jay and the driver flanked her sides as they walked her into the hotel. A few employees glanced up as they walked through an obvious staff entrance, but no one stopped them.

The brim of your hat will hide your unease. Use it. Gwen’s voice echoed in Eliza’s mind and she tilted her head.

The hard floors shifted to lush burgundy carpet as they passed a doorway. The cool, dry air inside the hotel circulated the smell of whatever cleaning agents the staff used. She kept her gaze low, barely noticing where they were walking.

Jay held open another door and Eliza passed through.

“Jay, what’s going on, where’s…” Carter’s voice trailed off when Eliza lifted her eyes to meet his.

His jaw dropped and his words dried up. Shock, admiration, and desire flashed in his eyes. “Eliza.” Carter’s voice was breathy.

A wave of feminine power tugged at her pride, as he stood there speechless.

“Hey, Carter,” she said.

“Wow.”

Her cheeks warmed. The others in the room grew silent.

“You approve? The hat isn’t over the top, is it?” Not that she was taking it off. She felt safe under it, which was silly, but she did.

“Perfect. Everything is perfect.”

Behind Carter, someone cleared his throat. He turned and the half a dozen men in the room started to return to whatever it was they were doing. “Ten minutes,” a kid, maybe in his twenties, said waving a phone in the air.

Carter managed two steps in her direction and grasped her hand. He lead her to a second door in the suite where there was a king size bed, perfectly made with a garment bag draped over the frame.

“Sorry I had to send Jay to get you up. Something came up.”

“You’re a busy man.”

His hand rested on her arm after he’d pulled her through the door. He didn’t remove it.

“You look…amazing.”

She expelled a nervous laugh. “Are you trying to make me nervous?”

“No. I’m just… I mean, you’ve always been beautiful, but this…” He waved his hand in the air. “This is perfect. It’s as if you had a political coordinator telling you what to wear.”

He thought she was beautiful? Really? “Gwen,” she said, still stuck on his compliment.

“Gwen what?”

Shaking out of the daze, she gave him a better answer. “I knew Gwen would know what I should wear. If you need a political coordinator, she’s your girl.” Maybe it’s the dress and hat he thinks are beautiful.

Carter squeezed her arm. “Are you nervous?”

“No,” she lied. “Yes…a little. Jay briefed me, in the car. Nod, smile, and say very little.”

“Right. Let me do the talking.”

She chuckled. “Jay called it side stepping.”

A knock from the other side of the door interrupted them. “Time to go, Mr. Billings.”

Carter let his hand drop to hers. “You ready?”

“As much as I can be.”

His hand squeezed hers. He paused. “Eliza, do you trust me? Outside of football plays that is?”

She remembered their conflict at Christmas and laughed. “I think you’re an honest man.” For good measure, she added. “I’ll vote for you.”

“But do you trust me?”

Would she call him in an emergency and expect him to drop everything and be there? “Yeah. I trust you.”

He bobbed his head. “Okay…okay. That’s good.”

He was having a short conversation with himself, she mused.

Someone knocked on the door a second time. “Mr. Billings?”

“We’re coming,” he called and directed them through the door.

****

He felt the moment her palm went damp. Double doors opened and the two of them, surrounded by his manager, one bodyguard Neil insisted on, and three of his staff, escorted them onto a raised platform.

The last thing Carter wanted to do was let go of her hand, but when he reached the podium, he didn’t have a choice.

He gave her a reassuring smile, squeezed her hand, and let go. She held tight to her purse but otherwise appeared unaffected by the constant flashing of lights set off by the photographers in the room.

“Mr. Billings? Carter? Mr. Billings?” Reporters called his name repeatedly. He lifted his hands and waited for all of them to calm.

“Thank you for coming,” he began. “Everyone has been patient. I hope to ease your curiosity today. Thanks to YouTube, many of you witnessed an interesting video last weekend. As many of you know, myself and Miss Havens…” He glanced at Eliza, who smiled and nodded. “Stood up for our very close friends Lord and Lady Harrison, the Duke and Duchess of Albany as they renewed their wedding vows in Texas—”

“Don’t they do that every year?” someone from the mash of reporters called out. A few reporters laughed.

Carter smiled. “Yes. They do. Love makes people do things like that.”

“Give ’em five years. That’ll stop.”

Carter lifted his hands again. Sticking with his speech, Carter told the reporters he was in the bar briefly where he and Blake’s bodyguard noticed a couple of unsavory characters giving unwanted attention to Eliza and Lady Gwen. He purposely used Blake and Gwen’s titles to add a sense of class to the situation. Earlier today, Blake suggested he use their titles as much as he needed if it would help the situation.