“Samina, have you seen the news?” my friend Sarah asked the second I answered the phone.

She was Nathan Travis’s wife and one of Seattle’s top surgeons who happened to be the granddaughter of a former president and a connoisseur of all things news.

If she didn’t know about it, then most likely it didn’t happen. She had such a busy schedule between Nathan, their kids, and her practice that I didn’t know when she found time to keep up with current events.

She apparently forgot or conveniently ignored my text from earlier in the day, where I specifically said not to call so I could mentally prepare for Devin to move in.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and set the French press on the warmer. “No. I unplugged. Remember?”

The last thing I wanted to do was get on any form of media after what I’d dealt with at the office today.

Clint’s radio mission had turned my life into even more of a spectacle, forcing me to use Tara’s car and the private garage exit to leave the building. By the time I arrived home, the groups of paparazzi outside my house had grown so much that part of my street had to be shut down.

Thankfully the sheriff’s department had forced the media to leave the area and camp out at the entrance of my residential community.

“Well, future senator. I suggest you get plugged in.”

I winced. Why had I told her what I was planning?

Because her whole life has been about politics and her mother is the current Secretary of State. She’s the only one who can give it to you straight.

“I don’t care,” I said. “Can you top having my former client tell my estranged husband to fix my marriage or he was going to find me another man?”

“Yes. If a bailiff found said client having sex with his ex-wife in a courthouse bathroom. He acted like it was no big deal when he spoke to the reporters later.”

I felt heat and anger creep up my face. This could not be happening. Four months of my life and they end up back together?

“I’m going to wring his neck the next time I see him.”

“It’s been a very active news day.”

“That means you’re leaving something out. Spill it.” I sat on one of the barstools lining the island.

“He credited his visit to your office today as the inspiration for wanting to reconcile with his wife.”

Sure, my husband threatening to sue me to live in our house was going to trigger thoughts of happily ever after.

“And?” I probed.

“He’s now more determined than ever to find you a date. With the help of Kimberly, of course.”

I groaned and then rested my head on the hard granite in front of me.

“Of course. That’s all I need. The woman who called me Clint’s tramp and whore is going to play matchmaker. Someone kill me now.”

“It could be worse.”

“I doubt that. My career as an attorney is tanked. I’ve gone from being the take-no-one’s-shit bulldog litigator to a contestant on a dating game orchestrated by a former client.”

“It’s not as if this is your first high-profile case. You’ve represented at least three politicians and a swarm of TV and movie celebrities. Remember Debbie?”

My neighbor Debbie was my first politically connected client. She’d discovered through a tabloid reporter that she was the secret love child of two senators who were in opposing parties and married to other people.

“Yes, but she and everyone else I’ve represented avoided any and all media whenever possible. Clint caters to them. His ratings depend on them. I’m collateral damage.”

“I think you’re too sensitive.”

“Sarah, this case put the final nail in the coffin of my marriage. Now I’m left to make plans for a future without the one person I’ve always loved.”

“What did you expect? Great sex doesn’t make a stable marriage. Every time things got difficult, instead of working it out, you would ignore the situation and try to fix the problems by having sex for hours on end or go on vacation where you’d fuck as if your life depended on it.”

The one place where Dev and I had no problem communicating was in the bedroom. We could read each other without any difficulties, and getting it on like rabbits was our way of dealing with the frustration of our dueling careers.

The moment I took on Clint as a client and he threw me into the national spotlight, Devin and I couldn’t mask our issues anymore.

I wanted the support I’d given him during his rise through the ranks and eventually to a position as federal judge, and he wanted things to remain the same.

It was when life became too hard for him to handle that we ultimately separated.

“You’re right. Something had to give, and neither of us was going to budge.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Yes. Of course, I do,” I responded without hesitation. He held a piece of my heart that I’d never get back whether we stayed together or not.

“Do you have any hope of fixing things?”

“I never gave up hope.”

“But?”

“But, it has to be different if we are going to salvage our relationship. I refuse to be a secret anymore. This was not how I planned to spend the first years of my marriage. Do you know what it was like to watch Dev get sworn in from the audience instead of by his side like all the other judges’ wives?

“Yes, he’s a politician’s son, but I’m the daughter of a freaking billionaire. I stood up to my father when he disapproved of us. Devin never did that for me. His parents still don’t know we’re married. I moved thousands of miles away from Texas, from my family and a successful, cushy future, to be with him. I deserve better.”

I gasped for a few deep breaths as my temper flared and tears prickled my eyes. “I’m done living for other people. First it was for my father, then it was for Devin. Besides, I’m about to use my fame to catapult me to a new phase of life that Devin will never be able to handle. He’s told me countless times how he wished his father would give up politics.”

I rarely discussed the hurt I felt about my marriage with anyone. I was ashamed of putting myself in this position. Even Dev’s sister and my best friend thought I was a moron for how I’d allowed him to treat me. She’d wanted me to leave Devin years ago.

“Feel better, now that you got that off your chest? I expected you to explode months ago.”

I could almost envision the smirk on her face as she said that.

This was her plan. To get me to release the frustration and anger.

“Yes. You’re such an ass.”

“Takes one to know one. Seriously, I wouldn’t worry about your marriage staying a secret for long. The moment you file the candidacy paperwork for US Senate, nothing about you is going to remain quiet.”

I shifted the phone to my other ear and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I know.”

“The paps are going to have a field day when they discover that you had a secret wedding four years ago to ultra-conservative Louisiana Senator Richard Camden’s eldest son.”

“I never hid it. I just never acknowledged it in public.”

“Answered like a true politician.”

“Whatever,” I mumbled as I pressed the speaker button, then set the phone on the counter and took a sip of my coffee.

“How do you think your parents will react to the news you’re running for Senate?”

Great, something else to worry about. Sarah was full of happy thoughts today.

“Papa is going to lose his mind when the press starts hounding him. I doubt this will lead to a family reconciliation. He is all about donating to both sides of the aisle and using those associations to his benefit. Having a child enter the political game instead of business will be insulting to everything he believed he put into his children’s upbringing, even from me the black sheep of the family.”

“Oh, come on. My parents would be so thrilled if I jumped into politics, especially against that jackass Anthony Sanders. That man is a no-good, double-talking, sexist piece of shit.”

I almost asked her to tell me how she truly felt about my future opponent but decided against it. If Sarah got on her soapbox, it could be an hour before she came up for air.

“Yes, but that’s your quote-unquote family business.” I air-quoted my words with my fingers. “Remember when I told you how Papa reacted the day he found out Ashur joined the Air Force?”

“You said he was livid and tried to use his connections to stop Ash from enlisting.”

“Well, that would be mild compared to a child entering politics. At least most of his influence is in Texas and doesn’t reach to Washington State.”

“What about your mom and brother?”

“Mommy supports me unconditionally and Ash already knows about my plans. I told him what I was preparing to do when he came up for a client meeting. The second I tell him I filed, he’s going to start contacting donors.”

Ashur was the one person I had no doubt would stand behind me in anything I pursued.

“And Devin’s parents? They’re about to get a double whammy—not only is their son married, but their daughter-in-law is going to be the politician.”

I sighed. “Well, once they get over the shock of finding out about Devin and me, their reaction won’t be any better than my father’s. No, that’s not true. Dev’s mom will support me. She is all about women entering the congressional ring. Dev’s dad is the one who’ll go ballistic. The good senator will view it as a slap in the face. Dev was supposed to follow in his footsteps and become part of the next generation of Louisiana senators. When Dev decided to become a judge, Senator Camden’s plans for his son’s future changed to him someday holding a seat on the United States Supreme Court.”

I could almost see the shock and anger on both our fathers’ faces.

“Sorry I brought it up. I never meant to upset you.”

“It’s okay. I have to face the facts of any political bid I consider.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you have something more important to worry about. Your estranged husband is going to move into the mansion you built together. You better figure out where he’s going to sleep, and it better not be with you.”

I ignored the warning in her voice.

“Thanks, Sarah. I can always count on you to prioritize my stress.”

“Samina, if you want it to change, you can’t jump into bed together.”

“We haven’t slept together for at least six weeks.” I crossed my arms and frowned at the phone, then realized she couldn’t see me.

“Umm. Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t you been separated for over four months? Why were you bumping uglies, and why am I finding out now?”

I cringed. No one knew about that night but Dev and me. He’d come to the house to check on the progress of the pool and found me sleeping on a lounger by the beach. When he tried to wake me, I thought I was having a vivid dream and grabbed him, pulling him toward me. Then, as always, we ended up having crazy monkey sex.

“Yeah, about that. Let’s say it won’t happen again anytime soon. The next morning, Dev assumed we were back to normal, and for me, nothing had changed. Which, in turn, led to an epic fight and resulted in him flying home to Louisiana to take that bitch Veronica to the Mardi Gras ball his grandparents throw every year.”

“Bitter much?”

“You have no idea,” I grumbled, trying to push back the hurt bubbling up.

That was the day I’d made my decision to take control of my life. A man who claimed to love me but couldn’t make me a priority didn’t deserve me in his life.

“Sam, you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect the outcome to be different.”

“I know, Sarah. I’ll try my best.”

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Yoda. You and the kids have been watching too many Star Wars marathons.”

“You were on my couch for seven of the nine movies.” She paused to say something to a person in the room with her. “Hey, I have to go. You know, the mom thing. Samina, I love you. Be good.”

“Yes, Jedi Master.”

Sarah laughed before she said, “Bye, young Padawan.”

I hung up the phone and couldn’t help but smile. We were such dorks.

Grabbing a sweater and blanket, I headed for the outdoor sofas near the fire pit. I ignited the fire and then made myself comfortable on the cushions.

I closed my eyes as the cool summer breeze from the Sound glided over my face, and the heat from the burning lava rocks warmed the rest of me.

This was my respite before the storm.

I’d never bar Dev from his own house, but I couldn’t help but worry about what to expect.

Could we live under the same roof again? I wasn’t the same Samina who’d accepted being second to his aspirations.

I wanted it all or nothing.

I released a deep yawn and snuggled under the covers.

If I stayed here long enough, I could fall asleep. Maybe a short catnap was in order. Then I’d have the energy to handle the emotions of having Dev under the same roof as me again.

“Now this reminds me of another time, not so long ago, but you were naked under the blanket.”