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Liz sed hard, trying to push down the growing heat rising in her core and her quickening pulse Why did she feel like this? It hadn’t been that long since she had been with soht up But just the thought of those strong hands grasping her hips was sending her iination into overdrive

She needed to shut down Now

"Thanks, Jerry Tell Francine I said hello I’ll try to get by to play so up his phone and placed it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket He turned to face her, leaning against the railing, and smiled "You showed"

"Are you surprised?" Liz asked despite herself He didn’t seeet what he wanted

"You never know"

"Well, you didn’t tell"Then you definitely wouldn’t have showed"

Liz arched an eyebrow He thought he had her pegged already Well, he was in for a real surprise She would have come up here for sure if she had known that he was uy, even if she would have been nervous as hell "And yet I haven’t left"

"I told you not to," he reminded her "Did you like your drink?"

Liz looked down at it in her hand Empty When had that happened? "Yeah Thank you"

"You’re welcome," he said with the same smile thathere Why had he bought her a drink, and as he e her article She wasn’t sure if he really cared all thatto help hih, she waited to find out what he wanted She was too intrigued

"Can I get you another?"

"No, thank you I know ht" Why was she telling him this? Wouldn’t no have sufficed?

"Are you sure?" he asked, his face aaround her He still had the natural self-confidence she had seen in the press conference, but still there was so else, and she didn’t knohat it was Did he want to know about the paper? Did he want to know about her article? So?" she asked, straightening her blazer

"Need soether "Why would I need soht…" She trailed off, embarrassed "Just the paper…"

"Oh, no," he said His eyes see her She wished she knehat he was thinking or where this was going

"Do you enjoy flying?" he asked abruptly

"What?"

She was taken off guard Did he want to take her flying? That was ludicrous

"Flying, like in airplanes," he added

"I don’t understand"

"I never did My ears popped, ot aseat, the lines were too long, and it always happened when I wanted to stay ho her this? He didn’t even know her na," he inforive me medicine to knock me out so I wouldn’t hyperventilate"

"I’rew out of it, of course I had to, especially if I wanted to be a politician like ers and toes would get warle I’d find it hard to s My stomach would be racked with nerves I couldn’t focus properly on as at hand I couldn’t keep h air It was one of theexperiences of my life"

"I’ve hyperventilated before," she admitted--she wasn’t sure why "My sister made me run a couple miles to the store with her in the middle of the summer in Tampa, but I’listened as they stared into hers "Then you knohat I mean?" He waited until she nodded "Well, I’ve never associated that feeling with anything good in my entire life…until you asked me that question today"

Liz’s mouth popped open without any intention on her part "What?"

Her question had been tough She hadn’t cared, though She had wanted answers and all he had done was sidestep She hadn’t thought he had given it ht about her

"I think I hid it as well as I could, but I had to get off of that stage I was suffocating under your scrutiny"

"Me?" she squeaked, losing all semblance of composure

"And I wanted to kno you did that"

Liz didn’t knohat to say No one had ever said anything like this to her before She felt like an idiot staring up at hi lost in the endless dark depths of his eyes Hoas she supposed to respond to that? Only two ht this was so that she completely disarmed him Him State Senator Brady Maxwell III

"You seem surprised," he said

"Of course I’m surprised, Senator Maxwell," she said forin to respond to that I wasn’t doing anything on purpose I just…asked you a question"

"You asked one hell of a question," he said, leaning forward into her

"I’ up taller in her heels