In Bed With the Opposition (12 page)

Chapter Twelve

“Can’t you go any faster?” she asked.

“Not unless you want us to arrive at the hospital in an ambulance,” Ethan said.

Grace gripped her seat belt. She was thinking about her dad, he knew. And he said the only thing he could think of to comfort her. “No one’s going to die on you this time, Grace.”

He pulled around the front to drop her off, so that she could rush in ahead of him. He watched her run—literally run—into the hospital, then went to find a parking spot.

By the time he hustled up to the main desk for directions, he was brought up short to find that he recognized the nurse. Usually good with faces, he groped for a name. “Batgirl?”

“Hi,” she said. “I’m Molly. Grace’s friend.”

“Right. I’d love to chat, but—”

“Grace went up to the third floor. I’m the one who called. It was a nasty crash. His legs were both shattered. Collarbone was broken, too.”

“And Senator Halloway?” Ethan asked. If anything happened to that old man, Grace might never get over it.

Nurse Molly shook her brightly colored Goth-girl head. “He wasn’t in the car. I told Grace to calm down. Blain’s already out of surgery and he’s a young and healthy guy. He should be okay.”

Ethan let out a long sigh of relief for Grace’s sake.

Molly sighed too. “She’ll probably freak out when she sees the cuts and bruises on his face, but I think he’ll be back to looking like Malibu Ken in no time.”

Malibu Ken
. Ethan almost sniggered at the apt comparison, but the situation was too grave for humor. Still, he liked Grace’s friend and he wondered why they hadn’t spent more time with her. Molly was hard-edged, but kind of cool. Not the sort of friend he might have expected Grace to have. Yet another reminder of just how much of her life Grace kept to herself.

“How’d it happen?” Ethan asked. “Do you know?”

“He was rushing between appointments, skidded on the ice, and wrapped his sports car around a tree,” Molly said, with just the faintest trace of contempt.

So, they were on the same side when it came to Blain Halloway. That was encouraging.

Molly pointed Ethan to the elevators. By the time he found the right room, Grace was sitting outside of it in the hallway.

“The family’s inside,” she said. “So I’ll wait out here. Only a few visitors are allowed at a time.”

Ethan slipped into the seat next to her. “Once he’s awake, the restrictions will ease up.”

“The last time we spoke wasn’t…we didn’t have the best conversation,” Grace said, obsessively brushing cat fur off her coat, guilt written on her features.

“Hey, he’s not dying,” Ethan said, lifting her chin. “He’s going to be in therapy for a long time, but broken bones heal.”

She wasn’t that easily reassured. “Just because you work for a doctor doesn’t mean you are one.”

“No, but I spent a lot of time in hospitals when I was a kid.”

She angled to him, interested. “Why? Were you sickly?”

“My brother was. I wouldn’t even have been born if he didn’t need a bone marrow transplant…”

Her eyes widened. “What does
that
mean?”

“My oldest brother, Danny, had leukemia. Without a donor, he was going to die. None of my other siblings was a match, so my dad reversed his vasectomy and my parents, well, they made me. And lucky for everybody, I had the right DNA.”

“Oh my gosh,” Grace said, bringing her hands up over her mouth in genuine surprise. “Was the transplant painful?”

Ethan shrugged. “I was just fourteen months old when they took the marrow. I don’t remember.”

She mistook his shrug for modesty. “So, you were literally born to save someone, Ethan. That’s totally amazing…” She trailed off at the expression on his face. He hadn’t meant to let anything show. In fact, he seriously regretted the subject had ever come up. She was stressed out enough without this grim bit of history.

“Oh no,” she said. “The transplant didn’t work?”

“It worked for a while,” Ethan said, fighting back the lump that sometimes lodged in his throat when he thought about it. “But Danny relapsed and eventually died.”

Grace was right that he’d been born to save somebody, but he’d failed. In a way, it was the first campaign he’d ever mounted and he’d been trying to make up for it ever since. No single win or loss at the ballot box was personal to Ethan, but somehow, they were all a justification of his right to exist.

“Ethan. I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago. It’s okay. Really.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I promise.”

Then Senator Halloway peeked out into the hallway. “Gracie, Blain’s asking for you.”

…

Where had she been when Blain Halloway lost control of his car and nearly killed himself? That’s right, she’d been playing games with Ethan Castle. Being kissed by Ethan Castle. Falling in love with Ethan Castle… She had to wonder if Blain didn’t do this on purpose just to make a point.

When he’d first awakened from his surgery he’d engaged with Grace in slurred conversation. When she came back later, he hadn’t even remembered seeing her there before. Now, days into Blain’s recovery, he was still speaking like his mouth was full of gravel. “The way you’re looking at me, it must be pretty bad.”

Grace forced a smile. “Don’t worry, you’ve still got all your super-white teeth.”

“Once upon a time, I wouldn’t have had to do anything quite so dramatic to get your attention.”

Once upon a time, she’d have jumped at the chance to satisfy his every whim. But she wasn’t that girl anymore. She also didn’t think it was wise to have a conversation about it when stupefying amounts of pain relievers were coursing through his veins. “Well, gee, I’ve never had anybody wreck a car for me before. Now that’s romantic.”

He laughed, which she took as a good sign. “I’m sick of Jell-O. If you don’t bring some of your mother’s cooking for me, I’ll do something crazy.”

Grace was relieved at his petulance. “What will you do? Take Molly hostage? Call a press conference bewailing the state of the health care system?”

Oops, she shouldn’t have said that last part. Some part of Blain’s mind started turning. “Speaking of, wasn’t that fund-raiser tonight?”

“Yep. The senator is behind me by about ten minutes.”

“How’d he do?”

Grace didn’t want to stress Blain out, but she also didn’t want to lie. “He said Nancy Jackson had a lot in common with Jack Sprat’s wife.”

Blain made a gurgling sound. “
Oh, no
.”

“It was horrible,” Grace admitted.

“We’re going to have to spin this…”

“We can’t spin it. He called Nancy Jackson fat! It was a petty, sexist, indefensible comment.”

“Exactly. When your candidate says something indefensible, the only option is to attack. When you’re defending, you’re losing.”

It sounded like something Ethan would say. “Well, do whatever you’ve gotta do.”

“If you hadn’t noticed, I’m kind of laid up,” Blain said, motioning to the casts on his limbs.

Senator Halloway appeared in the doorway. He folded his overcoat on one arm and removed his bowler hat. “Did he tell you, Grace? We want you to take over the campaign.”

Grace laughed uncontrollably. Her boss was such a kidder!

But Blain wasn’t kidding. “I can’t run a campaign from a hospital bed. So that means you’re it, Grace.”

Grace got her laughter under control. “I’ve never managed a campaign in my life. I can’t do it. I couldn’t even finish law school. You need to hire a professional, sir.”

Kip Halloway shook his head. “You are a professional and I want you.”

Grace felt an enormous weight pushing her to the floor. “You’re making a huge mistake.”

“I don’t want to work with anybody else, Gracie Girl.”

She was shaken. “This is a really bad idea. Horrifically bad.”

“It’ll be your show,” Blain promised, unconvincingly. “But I’m just a phone call away. I can help.”

“You’re the one I want,” Senator Halloway said.

“Then you’ve lost your wits, sir!”

“No, he hasn’t,” Blain insisted, shifting uncomfortably in his hospital bed, skin paler against the sheets. “You believe in him. When reporters talk to you, they’re not going to hear an edge of cynicism in your voice. You used to call roving political operatives mercenaries. Well, what do you think the press thinks of them? When
you
speak for Kip Halloway, you speak with conviction. You love him and you’ll make the voters love him, too.”

It was an incredible honor and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was, at long last, a way of moving forward out of her stalled career. And yet, Grace was torn—and not just because she worried about her own competency.

If she became the campaign manager, she’d be working directly against Ethan. They’d be battling each other. And there was no way she could keep seeing him. This would ruin her relationship, just as she was finding a love of her own…

“You have to do it, Grace,” Blain said. “If not for him, then for me.”

“Don’t guilt me,” Grace said.

But he didn’t have to.

If Kip Halloway needed her, she couldn’t say no.

…

Could there be worse romantic timing than breaking up with someone before Valentine’s Day? Telling Ethan over the phone would have been cowardly. Certainly nothing worthy of either Wonder Woman or Pocahontas. So Grace mustered up her courage and knocked on the door of the camper.

Some college kid answered. “Are you the pizza girl?”

Ethan hurried forward through a throng of volunteers, muscling the kid out of the way. “Whoa, I thought I was picking you up tonight at eight. I’ve got reservations at The Prime Rib.”

Grace’s inner foodie wept. She’d be missing out on escargot and chocolate mousse pie. “I have to talk to you but I guess now is a bad time?”

“Nah,” Ethan said, hustling her inside. “Hey, everybody! This is my gorgeous girlfriend, Grace Santiago.”

His
girlfriend
. How she wished she could be. Grace waved to all his volunteers, but her smile was strained. “This is quite an operation.” It wasn’t just Wii Boxing and foldout couches anymore. Ethan had the walls covered in precinct maps and calling lists.

He puffed up a bit. “I do what I can. It’s nothing like Halloway headquarters. You’ve probably got heat and projection maps overhead.”

“Also, gold-plated office chairs,” she quipped.

Ethan gave her a look that said he wanted to be alone with her. “Hey, everybody, that’s a wrap. Take off for tonight.”

“We’re not getting pizza?” Morris asked, despondent.

Ethan shooed them out.

For a few moments, Grace and Ethan listened to the static of a small television set crackling in the background. Then Ethan wrapped his arms around her. “So you couldn’t wait another couple of hours to see me?”

His voice was husky. He looked good. He smelled great. And he
felt
amazing. Why had she tortured herself by doing this face-to-face? She bit her lower lip and tried to get a grip.

He noticed. “Grace, you okay?

She took a deep breath. No, she wasn’t. How was she going to tell him? “It’s just, Blain has a really long recovery ahead of him. He’s not going to be able to manage the campaign.”

Ethan made a face. “It’s hard to feel sorry for a guy who totaled a perfectly good sports car. I do that kind of thing in video games, not real life. But I’m really sorry to hear he’s not doing well. I hope he gets better.”

Grace fought back tears, and he touched her cheek.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” He kissed her and she groaned. He took one of her hands and gently guided it to the small of her back until she was helpless and open to him. Maybe if she just let him do this, maybe if she just had this one last night with him…

“Grace?” he whispered by her ear, biting the hollow in her neck just beneath it. “Do you have any idea how much I want you? How hard I’m falling for you?”

What was she supposed to say to that? She was falling for him, but none of that mattered, because they couldn’t be together. “I really care about you, too, Ethan.”

He pulled back, a touch of hurt in his eyes. “You
care
about me? Don’t be flip.”

“I’m not,” Grace protested.

“You are,” he said, his expression darkening. “You’ve always been like that. Light and guarded, unless I’m having my way with you. That’s the only time you’re raw, the only time you let down your walls.”

It was true, but what could she do about it? Her world was upside down, and the last thing she wanted to do was talk. “Can’t you just kiss me?”

“And if I kissed you, what would you do?”

“I’d kiss back,” she said.

“And if I touched you?”

“I’d touch back.”

“And then?” he asked.

Her lower lip quivered. “I’m sorry.”

Ethan lifted an eyebrow. “Is there something I’m missing here? I’m fine with taking things slow sexually, but I feel like we’re taking things slow in other ways, too. I already know how you kiss, how you taste, how you feel. I know you love waffles and holidays. I know you can’t get out the door in the morning without making a list and that you can’t sit at a table if the salt and pepper shakers aren’t lined up. I know you keep a lint brush in your purse to obsessively brush off the cat fur on your clothes. But I want to meet the cat. I want to spend time with your friends. I want to see where you live.
Let me in
.”

“I want to,” she said, tears brimming. “But it can’t happen now.”

He looked her right in the eye. “Is it Blain?”

Yes, it was Blain. But not for the reasons it used to be. And not for the reasons Ethan thought. “Senator Halloway wants me to take over the campaign.”

Ethan stared. She couldn’t tell if he was surprised or if he was going to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Grace Santiago, the girl who couldn’t finish law school, running a campaign? It was pretty ludicrous. “And what did you say, Grace?”

“I said yes. It’s going to be you against me. We’re going to have to duke it out, so we can’t keep seeing each other. Even if we tried to keep it quiet, I’m not sure it would be ethical.”

Ethan ran a hand through his dark hair and his jaw clenched. When he spoke, it was loud and angry. “I don’t suppose it ever occurred to you to turn the job down?”