Chapter Forty-One
~ Ashton ~
Our time at the Lake House had ended all too soon. We’d barely had time to hang out before we had to make the trip to the airport so that we could fly to Washington, ready to watch her father be sworn into office. Anna had been quieter than usual, but that was probably down to it being Jack’s birthday.
By the time we arrived at the hotel we were staying at, we didn’t even get time to change our clothes or freshen up before a little man in a penguin suit and too much gel in his hair ushered us into the private dining room, where her parents and a few close family and friends were gathered.
We were the last to enter, and everyone else was already seated and dressed impeccably in smart suits and evening dresses. I couldn’t have felt more out of place in my jeans and T-shirt if I’d tried. Anna’s dad stood as we entered, smiling warmly. “You made it. I’m afraid we had to start without you, so you’ve already missed the chicken liver pâté.” A shudder tickled down my spine at how disgusting that sounded.
“Thank God,” Anna whispered, not even bothering to disguise her distaste. I chuckled, poking my finger into her ribs in reprimand.
Her dad grinned and walked over, and I noticed that the rest of the room had gone silent and were watching the exchange. “How was today?”
Anna’s body tensed as she raised her chin. Her hard exterior was back again, she never seemed to like anyone getting behind her defences. Thankfully, she had been allowing me to lately. “Fine.”
Her dad nodded, obviously catching on that she didn’t want to talk about it to him. “Good. I’m glad you’re here. Thank you for coming.”
She shrugged, finally now letting a beautiful smile creep onto her lips. “Of course, I wouldn’t miss it. Shall we sit and get on with dinner, Ashton hasn’t eaten for two hours, he’ll be passing out soon,” she joked, grinning up at me.
“Two and a half,” I corrected, winking at her playfully. Her dad chuckled at my side, so I turned to him. “It’s nice to see you again, sir. Thank you for allowing me to crash your family dinner.”
“Anytime, son, anytime.”
Dinner was… small. Even after five courses, my stomach was still trying to eat itself. How upper class people survived eating a tiny piece of fish drizzled in oil and laid on a bed of asparagus, I would never understand. Thankfully though, Anna had said the same thing once the evening was over and we were finally dismissed. To make up for it, I’d followed her to the family floor and her suite, and we’d ordered Sloppy Joes.
The dinner conversation had been a little too high brow for me, and I’d struggled not to show my boredom. It was nice though, being included in Anna’s family. And it wasn’t even Anna that had requested my presence; it was her father that had asked for me to attend with his daughter. After the ‘hands on ass plastered all over the tabloids’ mistake of our vacation, I had been worried that he would have had a problem with me, or told me to keep my mind on the job, but it hadn’t even been mentioned at all.
After two Sloppy Joes, I was finally satiated, but it was now almost midnight. “I should really go and let you get some sleep, we have an early morning call tomorrow,” I begrudgingly said, pushing myself off her sofa and wiping my hands on a napkin.
She frowned, and her eyes flicked to the door. Just like when we’d attended her father’s birthday party, I’d been booked a room that was three floors down with the other agents, and the Spencer family and other close-knit members of her father’s cabinet had this floor booked out to themselves.
“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, pouting.
“I could stay if you want, but I’m not sure how we’d explain it to anyone that asks why I spent the night in your room,” I shrugged. I didn’t want to leave either, especially not after everything that she’d been through. No doubt she would be suffering tonight.
She stood. “Stay then. I don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. I don’t want to be on my own, not tonight.” She took my hand and nodded back towards the four poster bed behind us in the large room. My heart leapt in my chest because she clearly didn’t care about the subsequent rumours it would generate. When we got to the bedroom part of her suite, she picked up her pyjamas from the bed and smiled at me tentatively before silently turning and waltzing into the bathroom.
Watching the door for her return, I slipped out of my clothes, laying my gun and holster on the bedside unit before climbing into her bed. She came out a few moments later, dressed in a killer red silk negligée that made every male part of me wake up and jump for joy.
A small smile graced her lips as she slid into the bed next to me and scooted up close to my side. As I wrapped my arms around her, I sighed contentedly. She felt so incredibly right in my arms. Every inch of her silk-covered body pressed against me as she just looked up into my eyes. The way she gazed at me made me feel like the most important man in the world. It was almost as if I was the only thing that she could see, and, in that moment, I knew we were meant to be together forever.
Her hand tangled into the back of my hair as the weightless feeling consumed me. “Ashton, can I talk to you about something?” she asked quietly. I nodded. She took a deep breath before she spoke. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, and because you asked me to open up to you more, I figured that maybe I should talk to you about it.”
I smiled encouragingly and reached out, brushing my fingers across her cheek. “You can talk to me about anything.”
Her eyes fluttered closed as she dipped her head and pressed her face into the side of my neck. “Carter’s trial starts in just over three weeks,” she mumbled against my skin.
Anger boiled inside me, the same as it always did when I thought of him. “Yeah,” I managed to force out.
“I know the lawyer guy said that I probably won’t get called to give evidence again, but I was wondering,” she gulped, “if I do have to go to court, would you come with me? Maybe you could sit somewhere where I can see you?”
I bent my head and kissed her hair. It actually hurt a little that she felt she needed to ask. “Of course I will.”
Her small body relaxed against mine as she pulled her head back and smiled up at me gratefully. “Yeah? Thanks. I think that’ll really help me if I can see you.”
Her comment made me feel a hundred feet tall. “Whatever you need, Baby Girl. Though I’m pretty sure you won’t get called.”
She nodded in agreement. In her eyes, I could see the love burning and swirling as she stroked the back of my neck with one finger. I desperately wanted to lean in and kiss her, but I forced myself to remain still. After a few minutes she moved forward and snuggled into my neck again. Her leg tangled in with mine the way it always did when she wanted to go to sleep, so I knew the conversation was over. The next three weeks before the trial were obviously going to be a distressing time for her, but hopefully she’d allow me to help her in any way I could and not close herself off from me like she did everyone else.
Her father’s inauguration ceremony went exactly to plan. Anna, her mother, and I had stood on the sidelines, watching as he’d stood in front of the White House and had been sworn into office, taking the pledge and promising to serve his country.
Security had been immense. Police on motorbikes lined the streets, secret service were out in abundance too, issuing commands and checks through their ear pieces. I’d never seen so many guns all in one place.
Cameras buzzed and flashed everywhere, people stood and watched, soldiers lined up to salute and show their respect to their new commander and chief. The whole thing had been mind-blowing, and although I’d seen previous Presidents sworn into office on the TV, it was different being part of it and actually knowing the man that was going to lead his country for the next four years. An immense pride had swelled inside me as he’d been bestowed the title. Anna’s hand had tightened in mine as she watched with wide eyes and an even wider smile. She looked so proud of him that she was practically bouncing on the spot. Melissa was even worse and had a hankie at the ready, dabbing under her eyes as she cried happy tears.
As he’d stood at the podium and given his speech, people had listened, enraptured, and transfixed with every word. He certainly had the heart of the nation behind him and, to me, it was a momentous occasion, just to say that I was there the day that President Spencer was sworn into office.
Then there was the parade where people cheered as we all walked behind her parents. Afterwards, we’d all been led into the White House and given a tour of the private residence. Anna, being given her choice of bedrooms for when she stayed here in the school holidays, chose a blue room that overlooked the grounds at the back. The whole time we’d wandered around, my heart had been in my throat because of the sheer luxury and intricacy of the building.
After spending a few hours with Anna, getting lost within the corridors, secret passages and large expansive rooms, we’d finally had to leave to catch our flight back to Arizona, leaving her parents to go through the motions of the rest of the ceremonies and galas that were scheduled over the whole week. The Spencers’ goodbye had been a teary one, especially on Melissa’s part who hadn’t managed to contain her emotions all day long.
By the time we arrived back at our apartment, we were both exhausted and fell into bed without even unpacking our bags.