Loving the Candidate (Capitol Affairs #2) Read Online Free Page B

roasted nuts and Snickers bars. We had enough for a week even though we planned to be there for only three days. We ate bad food, drank expensive wine, and sat and listened to the waves lap the shore. It was a sound I had come to love, and a sound that meant Alex was all mine.
    It rained when we landed so there was nothing else to do but spend time listening to the rain, and lie in bed naked. After I had my way with him, he grabbed his laptop and worked as I rested on propped-up pillows, reading over notes for my upcoming case. This was a big case for me. I was going to be prosecuting a man accused of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter for over ten years. It was becoming a big story around D.C. The pressure was on for me to use the skills taught to me by Victoria, but I was confident.
    Alex was relaxed, content, and happy. I loved to see him like that. We talked, he made us dinner, and we even ate in bed. He practiced his speech, adding final changes to it, while we held each other and listened to old blues music. In the darkness of that room, we talked through the night about his run for the White House. It was during those quiet moments with him, the true Alex came out. The Alex I fell in love with, the man I saw at the old beach house.
    Alex read everything written about John F. Kennedy. He had brought one whole bag, filled with biographies, and articles about his life and presidency, and studied them repeatedly. He filled his office with JFK’s books, and pictures of him lined the walls. Like Alex, Kennedy had been a young senator when he ran for president. Alex wanted to do the same. It wasn’t going to be easy, and the rate of failure was high for a senator running for president. But Alex wanted it more than anything. He wanted it so badly he was willing to take any risk he needed to get there. He had already impressed his colleagues with his grasp of foreign affairs, and his ability to write legislation that moved through the Senate.
    Alex negotiated well with the House, and he had gained respect from both parties. He’d made a name for himself rather quickly. Alex had become one of the leading critics against President Richardson’s use of force in foreign countries, and one major issue Alex fought for was women’s rights. He was the longtime leader of equal pay legislation in Senate and had helped pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I was so proud of him for this. Women’s studies was my minor in college, and he knew how important this was to me. Alex had the confidence, and the personality, to take it all the way. His attitude of working hard for anything you wanted in life would help with his quest for the White House. He needed to ignore the others who told him he was too young, or not experienced enough. He needed to do what his gut told him, and it told him to run. This speech would decide that.
    The second day, I woke up to the sun streaming in the window, the sound of waves lapping on the shore, and seagulls calling overhead. I decided to lie in the sun while Alex read. The sun and I didn’t usually get along, but I wanted color for the convention. I’d bought a new bikini I couldn’t wait for Alex to see me in, and it was the perfect day to strut around. The sky was bright blue, with only a few clouds floating by. I grabbed a blanket, my case notes, and water, and headed to the shore.
    The warm, inviting ocean breeze reminded me of the times when Veena and I would sneak down to the lake during the summer and stay out all day. Living near Cleveland, we had Lake Erie, and what we called a beach. I would pretend I was by the ocean, dreaming of the day I would have a summer home to come to. Veena would be dark brown, and I would resemble a boiled lobster. The recognizable aroma of coconut tanning lotion took me to another world. I fell asleep for a few minutes, and jumped up, afraid of becoming charred. After basking in the warmth, enjoying the breeze, and reading for about an hour, I went inside to