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"I’," Gray said

They had lunch in the kitchen rather than the dining roo around, but the vice president said he was so used to the so over your shoulder while you were trying to eat your chicken was a little intiave the vice president the wrong look, he round and carted off in one of those black SUVs

Gray kept shooting hi

After lunch, Gray’s dad excused hiain later

"Afraid you were going to get shot over lunch?" Gray asked as they headed outside with their iced teas

"Hey You ht be used to it I’m not No wonder you and your sister declined the protection"

Gray shrugged as they took a seat by the pool It was uncharacteristically warh there were outdoor heaters, so it was perfect to sit out on the patio

"We’re both adults and it’s not like we’re minor children of the president We didn’t need the protection, and they offered us the option I think the Secret Service has better things to do with their time than babysit us"

"True Though they hed "I kind of doubt that You know the nomadic lifestyle I live They’d probably hate it Not much action, and they told us both they didn’t consider us to be under any threat of danger, so it’s all good"

"Glad to hear it"

"So we’ve talked a lot abouton with ?"

This is where Drew could come out and tell Gray about hi, per se They weren’t, really Or maybe they were They’d had sex a couple times, a fact that Dreas sure Gray wouldn’t want to hear about

"Not really Kind of busy with the start of the season, so I haven’t had any tiht want to stop going through one woman after another and find one to settle doith"

Drew laughed "Oh, come on Just because you’ve found the love of your life, now you’re going to try to get the rest of us to follow you along into a lifeti s of his iced tea "Soet around to it one of these days"

"You’re only saying that because you haven’t found the right woht to what happily ever after ht look like, because for the past years he’d focused only on his career

But now, he was at a strong place in his career, and he felt settled, at least in that respect It was his personal life that felt unsettled

Carolina was the catalyst for that When she’d popped back into his life, he’d started questioning everything having to do with the "personal" part of the equation Suddenly, he was seeing how she fit into that part of his life

Only he knew she would never see it that way He knew she was only focused on her career, and not on having a relationship with him

But were the two of the sx with her And she was fun to be around

They were just beginning to get to know each other

It was too soon to start thinking about that happily ever after

"You never knohen that right wo out over the water

"Spoken by soht have already found her?"

"I didn’t say that"

"So far, you haven’t saidWe used to talk about worin "That was back e thought of wo about I’d like to think we’ve grown up so about, shetreacherous waters here, and he should just shut the hell up before he drowned

"Then I’ll respect that Let’s go play some pool"

Relieved to take that subject off the table, Drew stood "Now you’re talking"

They went into the ga TV Even the vice president joined theame of pool until Aideen called them for dinner

They had steak and shrimp with a really damn fine wine They talked the state of the country with the vice president, along with just about every sport on the map They probably sat at the table for a couple of hours It was thetireat to see hiot about the Secret Service guys hanging around

"When do your Secret Service guys eat?" he asked the vice president

Mitchell laughed "I don’t know Hey, Paul, when do you eat?"

"We swap off, sir Gage and I will have dinner itch with Rogers and Bennington at eight p forward to Aideen’s steak and shrimp?" the vice president asked

"Very uy hadn’t so , but he’d bet the guy noticed every movement around them

The only time the Secret Service ot up and ents followed By then, they had swapped out for another pair Really, it was confusing Just statues in black suits

In fact, when Drew heard the front door, the agents still didn’t h he assuh their earpieces as entering

"We’re back!" Loretta Preston’s voice rang out from the entryway

"We’re in here, Loretta," Mitchell said, rising to go greet his wife

Drew and Gray got up, too, and headed toward the living roo laid down on the sofas

"Holy shit, Evelyn Did you buy out the mall?" Gray went over and put his arms around his fiancée

"Seems that way, doesn’t it?" Evelyn kissed Gray "My feet and back are killing me Your mother is a world-class shopper"

Drew zeroed in on Carolina, who looked sexy in tight jeans, knee-ski sweater She turned and saw him, then smiled "It’s much easier to shop when you have the Secret Service as an escort It’s like the parting of the Red Sea We had no trouble getting into any of the stores"

Loretta laughed "That’s because the boys always have to clear out the store in advance Kind of e"