I ran to the car, hugging the beautiful woman with long black hair and kind eyes who stepped out.

“Mari Dikri, I missed you so much.” She hugged me so tight that I couldn’t help but let the tears free. Five years without seeing her, without her hugs or her little quirks that made me feel loved.

She smelled of jasmine and lilies, the scent I associated with love and my childhood.

“Oh, Mommy. I’m so happy you’re here.” I held on to her and cried for the next few minutes, not caring if I was making a spectacle of myself in front of all the guests.

Finally, when we pulled apart, I glanced behind me and found both Carol and Jacinta dabbing at their eyes.

“Do I get any love or does Mommy get to hog you?”

I stepped out of Mommy’s arms and turned toward my brother, but noticed my father standing behind Ashur.

I peeked at Dev, who gave me a nod of encouragement.

“Ash,” I whispered and let him engulf me in his giant arms. “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t me. The man behind you is the reason she’s here. The reason they’re both here.”

I looked into Dev’s eyes. This was what he’d been doing in Houston. Not meeting with potential donors. He was trying to convince my parents to come see me. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for Devin to stand in front of my father after all the hell Papa put us through.

I love you, I mouthed to him, making him smile at me.

I stepped out of Ashur’s arms and approached my father.

“Papa.”

He looked older, with more gray in his hair and lines on his face. He seemed a bit more fragile than the formidable man I knew growing up, who’d tried to control my life.

“Beti.”

We stared at each other, making no move to show any affection. I couldn’t remember the last time Papa had hugged me or told me he loved me. It was something I could never expect from him, and I refused to make the first move.

“Come inside.” Jacinta broke the standoff. “I have rooms ready for you. You can freshen up before we have dinner and board the riverboat. Dev, will you check on the guests while I get everyone settled in?”

Devin nodded and moved toward the crowd enjoying their cocktails.

I threaded my arm through my mom’s and led her toward the steps of the house. Tyler and Ashur joked while Carol and Jacinta engaged my father in a conversation, asking him his opinion of the latest technology trends on the market.

Papa seemed to enjoy the discussion and happily shared his thoughts. Of all my friends, Jacinta had been Papa’s favorite. He would go out of his way to make time for her whenever she was around. It was as if he ignored the fact her brother was married to his estranged daughter.

“Mommy,” I said in my family’s native language of Gujarati.

“Why did Papa come? He can’t bear to look at me, much less want to socialize with me.”

“Your husband is very persistent.”

I gave her the side eye. “Right. I buy that.” We ascended the steps into the house. “Mommy, I have to tell you something before you learn about it in the tabloids.”

“I know, sweetheart. You’re going to be a politician.”

“That’s part of it.” I paused midstep. “How do you know this? I haven’t made it public.”

“I read the news. All rumors have some truth. Your client likes to talk too much, but he’s a smart man and never puts anything out to the public that doesn’t have a solid basis. I don’t like his tactics but he’s never disrespected you. In fact, he adores you.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. This woman could always pull apart the facts from the fiction.

People assumed I’d inherited my smarts from Papa with his technology savvy. What most never knew or dared to learn was that Mommy was a child prodigy like I was. She had graduated magna cum laude from Princeton and then by the time she was twenty-three, gained her PhD in computer analytics and physics from Oxford University.

The life she’d planned had taken a dramatic turn when her grandfather arranged her marriage to Papa. She’d cemented her family’s place in the Indian community, not by her achievements in science and technology, but by marrying into one of the wealthiest Indian families in the United States.

“Mommy, you are brilliant. No wonder Papa keeps such a tight rein on you. He’s afraid you’ll overshadow his success.”

“Samina—” her voice grew stern, “—don’t go there. Be happy I’m here.”

I released a deep sigh. I’d never win any discussion where it concerned Papa. “Okay. I hear you.”

“I know you did. Take me to my room.” She followed me along the hallway. “I want to change. Your Papa has a meeting with your father-in-law.”

I frowned as I opened the door to her suite. “Why?”

“Business,” she responded, and that was the extent of the information she was going to give me.

She had this way of shutting down a subject that left no room for argument. It didn’t matter how much I fought with Papa. He never could keep me quiet the way Mommy managed with a glare.

Oh well. I’d better enjoy my time with my mom instead of worrying about what the two fathers were concocting.

* * *

An hour after setting sail from Jacinta’s property, I stared at the passing homes along the river. There was so much going on, and I couldn’t hide the strain anymore. I’d come to the lower deck, away from the festivities, to refocus and prepare myself for the discussion I’d have with the family after all the guests left.

I could only pretend to enjoy myself for so long. Hell, Jacinta looked exhausted, and she thrived on the chaos of a socialite party. Thankfully, she’d told me about a back passage to this level so that I could escape.

A boom of laughter reached my ears, and I heard the distinct accent and timbre of my father’s voice. He was a politician in his own right, using his charisma to charm everyone around him.

Papa still hadn’t spoken a full sentence to me. He acted as if I wasn’t even in the room, and whenever anyone mentioned my name or asked about my newfound fame, he’d made an underhanded comment like, “That’s the life she chose—she can’t expect anything less.”

I could tell Ashur was doing everything in his willpower to keep from losing his temper every time Papa opened his mouth. During my younger years, I used to resent Ash for being Papa’s favorite, but quickly I learned he used his position in the family as a way to keep a buffer between Papa and me. My big brother dealt with so much crap because of me. I knew he’d have left long ago and told my father to shove his money where the sun didn’t shine if I weren’t in the picture. Ashur loved me and protected me the way I’d wanted Papa to do.

God, I had such daddy issues.

“Baby, is everything okay?” Devin asked as he sat down next to me. “You barely touched your food at dinner, and you haven’t said much since we left the dock. Don’t let your father get to you. I heard what he said to Representative Cartwright.”

“He wants to hurt me because I didn’t follow his plan for my life. And telling others that I didn’t have the stomach or will for business is his way of taking a jab at me. It’s not as if I was ever going to get to run Kumar Tech. He has strict views on women’s roles.”

I exhaled and wrung my hands together. He would have done to me what Mommy’s family did to her, educate and then marry the prized daughter to the most advantageous alliance. Papa acted modern but was as ass-backward as they got. Hell, most families in India were more open-minded than he was.

There I went again with my daddy angst.

Devin pulled me to his side and pressed my head against his chest.

“I’m glad you didn’t say anything to him. I saw your jaw clench,” I said as I watched a family jumping into the water from their dock.

“I was tempted, but it would have hurt your election prospects if I threw my father-in-law off the riverboat. Now tell me what’s really bothering you. Are you nervous about the announcement tomorrow?”

I glanced up at him, but he pushed me back against him.

After making love to me in the cabin, Dev and I had touched on my conversation with Tracy but hadn’t gone into details. Devin accepted the plan, but something told me he was holding back his true feelings and I was too chicken shit to probe him. What if the loss of his privacy was too much for him? After the pictures came out, we’d become even more of a spectacle.

“Honestly, I’m worried about telling our families about the pictures. The election will be less important to my father than the images of me naked.”

“This isn’t about him, Sami. Someone illegally took photos of you in a vulnerable state and then threatened to hurt you. If your father can’t see your innocence, then he doesn’t deserve a single thought. One day Spencer Miller is going to be sorry.”

I lifted my face up, and the look in his eyes told me he was planning something.

“What did you do?”

“Ash and I have it under control.”

“Excuse me. When did you and my brother become friends again? The last thing I knew, Ash wanted to take you to the gun range and use you for target practice.”

“We came to an agreement,” Devin said. “Our differences are secondary to your safety. Plus, your brother missed taking our annual guys’ trips.”

“I’m not sure if I believe you but I’ll buy it for the moment.” I pursed my lips and then narrowed my eyes. “Now tell me what the two of you did.”

“Let’s just say, it helps to have a billion-dollar technology company at our disposal.”

I jumped up and paced, pinching the bridge of my nose.

This was bad.

I cocked a hand on my hip. “Devin James Camden, don’t do anything to hurt your position. He’s not worth it.”

I was already about to put him in the spotlight. The last thing I wanted his actions to do was affect his job, or worse, land him in an ethics investigation.

“Stop worrying.” He tugged me onto his lap, spreading my legs to straddle him. “Ash is going to use his channels to see if he can buy the pictures before Decker sells them to Sanders.”

I gripped his shoulders as his hands slid to my hips. “What if he doesn’t budge?”

“Then Ash is going to hack him and wipe the cloud and any electronics the pictures were downloaded onto.”

“What?” I jerked; however, he held on to me so I couldn’t stand. “When did you have time to plan this? I know it couldn’t have been between fucking me four times today and mingling with potential donors.”

“I called him after our date the other night. I will break every law to make sure some scumbag doesn’t terrorize my wife.”

“Okay, Mr. Rule-and-law-breaker. What have you done with my do-everything-by-the-book husband and when can I get him back?”

“Very funny.” He cupped the back of my head. “I will do what is necessary.”

“I’m serious. Devin, let me handle this. I have a plan. I’m not going to let any man dictate my future ever again. Even you.”

He glowered at me, but before he could respond, Jacinta and Ashur rushed toward us.

“Do you two do anything other than fuck?” Jacinta pulled me off Devin then handed me her phone. “We have a crisis. Talk to him.”

“Hello.”

“Sam, darlin’. If you don’t get ahead of this, we’re up shit creek.” Clint Bassett’s voice surprised me.

“Umm. Clint. Why are you calling me on Jacinta’s line?”

“Because I couldn’t get hold of you.”

“What’s going on?”

“Someone named Spencer Miller offered me compromising pictures of you in exchange for a spot on my show.”

A lump formed in the pit of my stomach, and I looked up at Jacinta. She clenched her fists and shook her head. Ash was no better. Then I glanced at Devin who was reading something on his phone. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Did you take the offer?” My voice cracked.

“For the love of all that is good, I would never shit on you like that. I told that fucker to jump off the nearest cliff.”

“Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for? Girl, I know what you’ve been planning, and I’m going to get you elected. Do you hear me? Why do you think I did all the things to put you in the spotlight? You needed a platform, and I gave it to you.”

I leaned against the railing of the boat and let the breeze cool the July heat from my body.

“Clint, who has the pictures? I know you know.”

He remained quiet for a second and then spoke. “The photographs went out ten minutes ago to all the major gossip sites. The fucker mentioned Sanders would pay me handsomely to release them on all my social media platforms.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have recorded that?”

“You know me well. Yes, I have that asshat recorded. Miller also had Sanders on the line during the conversation. The dipshit thinks I’m some idiot who doesn’t understand how these things are played. There is no way that fucker Sanders can pretend Miller did this on his own.”

“Will you send it to me? No, send it to Tracy. I know she’s the one who leaked my plans to you.”

I peeked over my shoulder and saw Devin watching me intently. A frown marred his beautiful face as well as worry. I wanted to reassure him, but it would be a lie. This was a new game, and I was a pawn. Well, at least that’s what Sanders believed.

“I’m tempted to release the tape. That would show Sanders’s loyal supporters what a shithead he is. I’m sorry for the language, Sam. I just can’t stand men like this using their power to hurt the women who challenge them. I have four daughters, for Christ’s sake.”

I couldn’t help but smile. The shock jock was outraged at the injustice of my situation.

“Clint,” I said, taking a deep breath, “I am going to handle this my way. If you want to help me, wait until I make my announcement. Do not do anything that will take away from the press conference I am going to have tomorrow morning.”

“You better make it good.”

“Clint, I mean it. Don’t fuck this up by opening your mouth.”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. That’s the bossy lady I first met. I take it your husband has fixed things with you.”

“Clint,” I warned, making him laugh harder in response.

“Good. I’d hate to have to kick his ass. Now, go show those bastards who’s in charge.”

“I’ll do my best.” I hung up and handed Jacinta the phone.

She snatched it out of my hand. “Care to fill me in or should I guess?”

Ashur walked up and sat next to Dev, who hadn’t moved the whole time I was on the phone. “So, it’s a go?”

“What’s a go?” Jacinta asked.

“Dev and Ash, don’t for one minute think to take over. Do I make myself clear?” I stood and then began to pace. “I love both of you, but this is my battle.”

Jacinta waved her hand. “Hello. Someone get me up to speed or I’m going to lose it.”

“Spencer Miller released the pictures.” Dev stared into my eyes. “And my wife is going to counter by announcing her candidacy.”