Various States of Undress (27 page)

Regina paused. “Tonight is a little bit different, though. You might have noticed the auxiliary crowd outside my window.”

Everyone laughed.

“We have our guest speaker to blame for that.” Regina nodded. “And her mother. And her sisters.”

There was more laughter.

“Just do your best to ignore them, because you’re in for a great showing this evening. Allow me to introduce Carolina Fulton.”

There was more applause, more flashes from outside the window, and Carolina willed her feet forward until she was standing front and center. Her notecards were a crumpled tube clutched in her hands.

“Hi, everyone.”

She took a deep breath. “Like you, I’m an amateur photographer. I’d like to share some of my photos with you. The collection I assembled is a series of photos about . . . about . . .”

About Jake. About how I feel. About how he makes me feel.

And in about ten seconds, the whole world was going to know.

“The photos are about devotion. They are told through the eyes of one person. Me. I chose to focus on one subject. The individual in these photos serves his country without fail. He sacrifices his time without complaint. He is a Secret Service agent, and there’s only one word I can use to describe him. Devotion.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but she ignored them and looked across at Regina, who stood by a projector.

Regina nodded, and all of a sudden, Jake’s smiling face appeared on the blank wall. Nobody said anything, and Carolina began talking again.

“This one was taken outside my family’s cabin. I focused on his eyes, because they are green, and the background is almost completely white, thanks to the recent blizzard. More than the color, though, I focused on his eyes because he was tired. He’d been on the job for days, ensuring my safety.”

Regina went through several more slides, some featured Jake outside the cabin, and some were of him at the White House. Carolina described them all.

When Regina advanced to one of her favorites—the one of Jake with a mountain of logs in his arms, Carolina smiled. “In this photo, he was standing on the porch, gathering firewood. We were mostly dependent on a generator, and he was doing his best to conserve fuel.”

“He looks strong,” commented a woman.

Carolina nodded. “He is.”

Regina advanced to the next slide, and the woman whistled. “Wow.”

With a nervous laugh, Carolina pointed to a photo of Jake outside the White House. He was walking, his head turned to the side and he had one hand on the edge of his sunglasses. Wow just about summed it up. What was she supposed to say about this one? Oh, God. She hadn’t been using her note cards.

Pressing her lips together, she shuffled them, looking for the right one. Several of them dropped to the floor and quickly, she bent to gather them up, glancing at the crowd when she straightened.

She wished she hadn’t looked.

In the front row, Georgia appeared thoroughly confused. Virginia—whose mouth was twisted in amusement—didn’t even try to hide widening her eyes at Carolina, and Marie sat completely still, the only hint of emotion was in her eyes. They were worried.

Carolina lifted her chin. “The next slide? I think this is the last one.”

She turned to look at the wall and her eyes bugged out just like Virginia’s. It was the shot she’d taken of him on April Fools’ Day—when he’d been wearing the Justin Timberlake coat. Oh, no. Oh,
shit
! How had that gotten in there?

Laughter rippled through the crowd and the flashes outside the window went crazy.

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t supposed to be in the mix. Um . . .”

“Hey. Did you cut up my world tour T-shirt?” Virginia blurted out.

There was more laughter.

“I . . . yeah.” Carolina shrugged. “It was for a good cause.” She gave Regina a panicked glance. “Next slide. Please?”

With a grin, Regina complied and Carolina turned gratefully back toward the wall.

She frowned. “Um . . .” Looking back at Regina, she raised her hands. “I didn’t take this.”

It was a photo of Jake, standing outside Regina’s gallery.

“I took that one.” Regina said.

“Okay.” Carolina gave her an odd look.

“And this one,” Regina continued. She switched to a photo of Jake inside the gallery. He was wearing a baseball cap, which looked good—but somehow strange. She’d never seen him in one before.

Carolina blinked at it. “What . . . what’s this?”

“Turn around, Carolina.”

The deep, familiar voice from across the room made her heart surge, and all of a sudden, her legs felt as if they might slide out from under her.

She turned, stumbling a bit, and the notecards cascaded to the floor.

Jake stood there, wearing a baseball cap. He grinned at her before removing it and running his fingers through his hair. The flashes of light behind him through the large window made him look like a rock star just about to take the stage.

“Oh, God,” she whispered, her hands clutching at air.

When he walked to her and caught her around the middle, she pressed her face to his chest, sighing out her relief.

He gathered her close and kissed her hair.

She clung to him, reveling in the feel of his lips on her temple, then on her cheek and finally, as he tipped back her chin, on her lips.

He kissed her reverently and the rest of the world vanished from view. Jake was everything—and she kissed him back with no reservations.

When he pulled away, he gazed at her, his green eyes twinkling.

“I love you, Carolina.”

He’d said it loudly, and she grinned.

“I love you too, Jake.”

He caressed her cheek. “I don’t care what happens, as long as I can be with you.”

She nodded, not able to speak.

“But as it happens . . .” He winked and looked behind him. “Georgia?”

Georgia stood up and walked over. “Um, yeah?”

“Would you mind very much if I didn’t follow you around like a creepy shadow next semester?” Jake asked.

Georgia looked at Carolina, and then back at Jake. “I wouldn’t mind. Um, creepy shadow? I . . . did I say that?”

“Courtney was giving me a play by play.” He tapped his ear and laughed. “But I turned in my equipment, so don’t worry about it anymore.”

“I won’t.” Georgia’s eyes widened and after a moment’s hesitation, she walked away, joining Virginia and Marie, who stood—their arms around each other, glancing toward the window at the crowd just outside. Marie inclined her head in Carolina’s direction in a silent message:
Let’s take this some place more private
.

Carolina nodded and turned back to Jake. She pulled him toward the back of the room and slipped through the doorway. Once they were in the hall, she nestled her hand against his jaw, looked into his eyes and smiled. “What did you mean about the equipment?”

“I turned it in because I quit my job.”

Her breath caught. “I guess the hat should have clued me in.”

“I hadn’t thought of that, really.” He gazed at her. “I wore it to feel brave. I quit my job,” he went on, “because I wanted to. Because
you
helped me be brave.”

“You don’t need my help to be brave, Jake,” she said. The grin wouldn’t leave her face.

“I’ll always need it.”

“And I’ll always need you.” She kissed him, and he gathered her even closer.

“I’ll always protect you, Carolina,” he whispered. “No matter what.”

Just as he kissed her again, Marie appeared beside them, holding out a cell phone.

She gave him a little smile. “It’s for you Jake.”

“Who is it?” Jake looked wary.

Marie shrugged. “My husband. Who else?”

With a groan, Jake took the phone, and shaking his head at Carolina’s laughter, swung his arm around her shoulder and began walking down the hallway.

“Hello, Mr. President. I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do.”

Carolina laughed again. She’d never—ever—felt happier in her life.

Epilogue

Five months later

“I
T’S
SO
HOT
out here,” Carolina said with a sigh. “I told you so. Way too hot for a wedding. If it’s this hot in September, just think what next June will be like.” She glanced up at Jake, who sat next to her on a bench in the Rose Garden.

He chuckled. “You ought to be in Miami in June. This isn’t hot. I love it.”

“I know you do, but there’s no way I’m standing out here in a full-length dress and veil. My mascara would melt.”

“I thought you loved nature.”

“Sure, but not enough to suffer heat stroke. Besides, I’d probably get stung by a bee and then I’d be running around the White House grounds screeching like a psycho.”

“We can’t have that.” Leaning down, he brushed a kiss across her forehead. “But you’d still be beautiful, just like you always will be to me. I’m the luckiest man.”

Tilting her face, she found his lips and murmured against them. “I’m not sure I completely deserve you.”

He kissed her. “You better be sure.” He kissed her again. “After that media circus you put me through.”

Carolina laughed, breathless, and twined her arms around his neck. “It’s almost over. Just a few more photo-ops. You have to admit, my mom did a great job folding us right into the Family First initiative.”

“Happy surprises are the best part of being with your family,” Jake said. “Wasn’t that what she said on TV in the new commercial?”

“Yep. You looked super-hot in that by the way,” Carolina answered happily. “And Mom wasn’t spinning anything. My family loves you almost as much as I do.”

“I’m the luckiest man.” He lifted her onto his lap.

“You said that already.”

“I’ll be saying it for the rest of your life. Even when you’re bitching about the heat at one of my games.”

“Good. I like Arizona, by the way. It’s dry heat. I can handle that.” She leaned down to kiss the side of his neck, smiling when his hands settled on her hips. “So we know where we’re going to live, Coach Baxter. How about where we’re getting married?”

He gathered her close and nipped at her earlobe. “Elope,” he said gruffly. “Right now.”

“Yeah, right!” She giggled.

“We should get married at the cabin,” he said. “The security is impenetrable, the communications center is top-of-the-line and the electric fences—”

“Are soooo romantic,” she said.

He laughed, and then cradled her face in his hands. There was hunger in his eyes, but something else too. A slow-burning steady light. It was love. “The cabin. Right?”

“The cabin is perfect,” she whispered. “I love you so much, Jake.”

“I know, honey. I love you. Thank you for moving with me for my new job.”

She smiled. “It’ll be an adventure. Besides, there are mountains close by. You know I love taking photos of them. And eventually . . .”

“Eventually?”

“It will snow.”

Jake shuddered. “Let’s get back to this wedding of ours. I think the ceremony should be outside in the clearing and then we’ll stand on the front porch and wave while the Secret Service kicks everyone off the property. And then—”

She cut him off with a kiss. “We’ll start our honeymoon. Will you carry me through the doorway?”

He gave her a wicked grin.

“It would be my pleasure, Miss Fulton.”

Can’t get enough of Laura Simcox’s smart, sexy

Various States of Undress series?

Keep reading for a sneak peek of Book Two:

VARIOUS STATES OF UNDRESS: VIRGINIA

Coming from Avon Impulse in August 2014.

An Excerpt from

VARIOUS STATES OF UNDRESS: VIRGINIA

W
HEN
V
IRGINIA
F
ULTON
lifted her Jackie-O sunglasses, she realized that although she’d had a lot of weird days in her life, this one was the winner of a chicken dinner. As she squinted through the tears swimming in her eyes, rain began a steady plink-plinking on the bench even as the sun burned into her retinas like demon fire. Was
this
what it was like to be outdoors in Manhattan before noon? If so, she didn’t want any part of it.

Sitting in Central Park wasn’t one of her favorite pastimes anyway because the media, who stalked her on a normal day, were going crazy. It didn’t help that she had, without really thinking about it, thrown her favorite sequined jacket over the black funeral dress. Or that she’d chosen purple pumps to accent the outfit—thinking foolishly that all black was too drab. She looked like a shiny penny sitting in the sunny rain and the men with cameras four trees over were just like little grubby raccoons. At least her Secret Service agents were keeping them at bay. Which was a good thing, because her eyes were ringed with melted mascara and she was as pale as a vampire. Virginia needed to get out of here, but she couldn’t. Her future depended on the man who should have been here by now.

“Today is going to make me break out in hives,” she muttered to no one as she squinted up at the sky and wiped a rivulet of rain from her cheek. One of the agents walked over and wordlessly handed her an open umbrella. She nodded her thanks and pulled out her phone, pressing it to her face as if she was talking to someone. She was in deep doodie.

Her boss, Sam Owlton, who’d died a month ago at the age of eighty-seven, had finally been buried this morning, which was a bittersweet relief. He’d been a sweet old man, but he’d done something he never should have done. He’d left her his company.

After his will had been read last week, and the news had gotten out that Virginia Fulton, daughter of the president of the United States, and New York City’s most famous party girl, was the new owner of The Owlton Company, the few remaining clients had dropped like flies. She hadn’t had a clue that the respectable old real estate consulting firm she’d chosen to intern with had
already
been on its last legs. Now it was legless.

“How could I have known?” she muttered toward the blank screen of the phone. During the two years she’d worked for the man, she’d spent most of the time sitting in an armchair in his dusty office a few afternoons a week listening to him chatter about the good old days as he attempted to infuse her with his brand of street-smarts and intuition. She’d earned her real estate license and learned a lot, but it hadn’t been an actual job, not really. It was
something
, which was a hell of a lot better than doing
nothing
—appearances meant a lot when the media expected the world out of a person.