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He sighed as if he was conte Did he think she was being difficult, when she had relented so easily in the diner thison Sunday?" he finally asked

"Sunday?" she said, surprised She didn’t knohat she had been expecting, but Brady kept shattering every expectation she had

"Yes"

"U I don’t have any plans"

"Good Don’tup and down This ht of waiting threeto see hi, after announcing his candidacy only a couple of weeks ago She should be glad for any time with him…even if she wanted hi?" she asked

"It’ll be a surprise I’ll send a driver to collect you fro?"

"Not aher head "No"

"You can nap on the drive"

Liz heard soh the phone and she froze even though she knew they couldn’t see or hear her She felt as if their ti a secret that no one knew about, and in that second it brought a sive h the phone as he spoke to soain and then Brady spoke "I have to go Sunday at eight at the diner"

"Do I need to bring anything with "

Liz’s entire body heated as she hung up the phone and thought about the last time he had seen her like that She didn’t want to think about anything else until Sunday Unfortunately, she had a mountain of work, but at least in this moment, she could daydream about her politician

Franklin Street was dead as Liz stood in front of the diner She yawned and tried to wake up Early et to sleep last night She was too antsy about getting to see Brady She didn’t even knohere they were going, and it didn’t really matter She just wanted to be with him

A black town car slowed to a stop directly in front of her Was this real life? She pulled open the door and sat down on the black interior She glanced around the car, deflated when she saw that Brady wasn’t already in it She figured they would be picking hi, Ms Car her a sether that she was actually Ms Carmichael Of course Brady would tell the driver to pick up Sandy Carherty And thus, her secret identity was now a reality

"Gooda yawn

TheBuckle up We have about an hour drive ahead of us," he said, continuing down the eht Thank you," she answered politely An hour away Where was he taking her that was an hour away? She could drive pretty much in any direction and hit a major city an hour outside of Chapel Hill When they had talked on the phone, Brady hadn’t given her any clues, and she didn’t suspect the driver would be any help either He was paid to get her there and no more

She wanted to nap on the drive, but despite sleep deprivation she was too excited to rest Plus, she had actually taken the ti she needed was to show up, wherever they were going, with a print from the car on her face

Instead, she pulled out her notepad that she always kept tucked away in her purse, right next to her handy-dandy voice recorder, and started flipping through her scribbled notes for her next article on the upco election She had received another B paper fro closer to the target, but she still had a lot of work to do Liz had never tried so hard in her entire life to meet the expectations of one of her instructors And she would be damn sure that she excelled

By the time they pulled off the interstate, she had constructed an outline for the article She tilted her head to the side as she rearranged soht yet She didn’t knohat she washer Maybe it would be better once she actually sat down and typed it all out

"Nearly there, Ms Carh the rearviewher pen into her purse and straightening to inspect her surroundings

They were rolling down a narrow street where the lines had all but disappeared Trees lined the craggy-looking road as tall as the eye could see, and they leaned forward, creating a tunnel through which to drive They could be anywhere in the North Carolina countryside right now

The road curved around a sht up to the lakefront Liz perked up and leaned forward between the front seats to catch the view She could just see the other edge of the lake fro lake houses dotted the perie as ht the glea said, turning to the right and driving around the lake

Liz wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but a secluded lake an hour outside of the city was not it She had reat time in that hotel, but it couldn’t compare to the lake Did he have a house here? Would they have the place to the s

She frowned at the thought of not having a suit to wear She knew that he had said that he preferred her in nothing, but he had to think that they would actually go out on the lake together Why else would he bring her there, other than for the privacy?

Greg turned down a side street and pulled into the driveway of a two-story log cabin–style house with a wraparound porch and a s up to the front door The second story was allass s Trees and bushes perfectly landscaped the yard, and rows of tulips wrapped around the etting out of the car and running around to her side He opened the door for her, and she stepped out, mesmerized "Senator Maxwell has asked that I show you inside He is delayed by business and hopes that you understand the inconvenience"

Understand? She was at the eous lake house she had ever seen

"Follow me," he said with a smile He trotted down the stone path to the stairs, retrieved a key from his suit coat, and allowed her access to the house "He’s taken the liberty of providing breakfast for you, and wanted to be sure to let you know that there should be swimsuits upstairs that fit you"