CHAPTER 13
Lia took her own car instead of riding with her father to the party. She made sure she arrived early so she could keep a vigilant watch for Jimmy’s arrival.
Tonight was going to be challenging enough. She didn’t want him to have to be alone and feel awkward for any amount of time.
Smoothing the fabric of her black dress one more time, she realized she was feeling pretty awkward herself. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies she hadn’t felt in years, all from the thought of seeing Jimmy again. Not just seeing him, but declaring him her official date for this event to her father, the senator, John and pretty much the world as she knew it.
She prayed he’d come up with something decent to wear.
Second-guessing her suggestion he wear a suit to a black-tie event, she realized she really should have arranged for a tux to be dropped off at his house. Though it was doubtful he would have accepted it from her. James Gordon didn’t seem the type to take handouts gracefully.
More than that, with his muscular build she doubted he would fit in anything off-the-rack anyway.
To still her jangling nerves, Lia grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray and downed a big swallow much too fast.
Reconsidering the wisdom of her idea of using alcohol to calm herself, she put the half-empty glass on a nearby table and glanced again at the doorway.
Maybe she should go out front and make sure that they had Jimmy’s name on the guest list. She was about to do just that when she noticed everyone, the women in particular, staring at the entrance.
Through the crowd she saw a tall figure dressed in the unmistakable uniform of the Marine Corps.
As he paused in the doorway, he took off his hat and surveyed the room and that’s when she got her first look at James Gordon in his dress blues.
He was in the military. Add one more mystery to all the rest already surrounding the man who took her breath away.
He spotted her and their gazes locked, him looking uncertain as his lips tipped up into a small smile, her trying to recover from the shock and from the fluttering of her heart.
She returned his smile and made her way across the room, dodging around guests in her path. When she finally stood directly in front of him, she raised a hand and touched one of the many ribbons pinned to his chest.
“Wow.” Her voice sounded breathy to her own ears.
“Hey, darlin’.” Jimmy took her hand in his and planted a light kiss on her fingertips.
She drew in a shaky breath, her gaze rising from the spectacular sight of the uniform to the face of the amazing man inside of it. “Well this raises about as many questions as it answers.”
His expression turned contrite. “I’m sorry. I know I owe you a lot of explaining. Later, in private. Can you wait until then?”
Lia could wait for an explanation, but not for a kiss. The buildup of sexual frustration within her couldn’t be denied any longer. She’d lived like a nun for months. Her body remembered too well what Jimmy could do to her and it demanded satisfaction.
The uniform had initially been a shock, but now the sight of him in it was starting to make the woman in her stand up and take notice.
Who knew she had a thing for a man in uniform? Although maybe it was just this man in particular, uniform or not.
Feeling wicked she stepped closer and ran her hands up his chest.
“I’ll wait for us to talk, but not for other things. Do you think there’s a coat closet around here somewhere?” She glanced around them.
Grinning, he stilled her hands with his. “You’ll have to wait for that too, darlin’. But I don’t think I can wait for a drink. I’m such a bundle of nerves I’m practically shaking.”
He hooked her arm through the crook of his elbow and led her toward the bar.
“Why are you nervous?” She glanced at him as they walked and her gaze caught on his ribbons. Judging by the number, he’d been in a while and seen a lot. Among the things he’d seen and done, some certainly had to be a lot more frightening than a black-tie cocktail party.
Jimmy covered her hand with his and gave it a small squeeze. “I’m officially meeting my girl’s daddy. Something that monumental tends to make a man nervous.”
Her heart melted right there in a little puddle on the floor and she fought to not tear up. “I like being your girl.”
He treated her to his crooked smile. “Good.”
As they paused near the bar, she took the opportunity to stand on tiptoe and kiss him.
Jimmy’s eyes drifted closed for a second. He groaned and pulled back from her lips. “Don’t get me started, darlin’. I’ll embarrass myself and the uniform.”
She liked knowing he couldn’t resist her any more than she could him. She looked forward to them tempting each other much more in the future.
But besides the chemistry between them, so much more was becoming clear to her. Standing next to Jimmy, she realized that her continuing to plan her life around the incessant round of political cocktail parties to please her father was absurd.
This was not her place or her responsibility. Her mother was the other half in the Monroe-Carrington political dynasty, not Lia.
She was done. Starting right now.
The decision, as well as the enormity of the vow to herself hit her hard. Through misty eyes she noticed her lipstick smeared on Jimmy’s mouth.
Reaching up, she wiped it from his lips and said, “Let’s get out of here.”
He opened his eyes wide. “Now? I didn’t even speak with your daddy yet.”
Frustrated, Lia sighed. He was right of course. She’d invited Jimmy here for a reason. Them sneaking out before meeting her father so she could jump him made no sense.
“Okay. We’ll talk to my father. Then you’re taking me to your place.”
He laughed. “I’m warning you, darlin’. It’s a cheap military rental. It’s no mansion like you’re used to.”
“I don’t care, as long as you’re in it.”
“That’s good to hear.” He brushed his fingers along her jawline, his eyes looking suspiciously misty as well. “Let’s go find your daddy.”
Lia dreaded this meeting with every fiber of her being, but with Jimmy next to her and the promise that they could leave and be alone together as soon as it was over, she could face just about anything.
All too soon she spotted her father in the crowd. Glancing at Jimmy, she asked, “You ready?”
Squeezing her hand, he tipped his head. “Yes, ma’am.”
“All right. Here we go.”
Her father’s eyebrows couldn’t have risen any higher toward his receding hairline when stepped in front of him on Jimmy’s arm and said, “Father. You remember James Gordon from Gordon Equine.”
“Um, yes.”
“Sir.” Jimmy extended his hand and her father had no choice but to grasp it.
Her father didn’t have a chance to comment further since Senator Dickson walked up at the same moment. “Governor. Lia. And whom might this be?”
Lia smiled sweetly, enjoying it probably a bit too much as she said, “Senator, I’d like to introduce you to my date, actually my boyfriend, James Gordon. You might remember meeting him at his family’s farm this afternoon.”
The senator’s mouth dropped open just as his son joined them.
With a soaring heart, Lia repeated the introduction for John Dickson III and watched him pale in reaction.
Taking control of her life and her future had been far easier and much more satisfying than she’d ever imagined.