“Oh, casual Tuesday,” Liz said with a giggle. “How did I get a sport coat out of this deal?”

“Must be your lucky day.”

Liz wasn’t so sure about that, but Brady looked damn good: khaki pants, a light blue shirt with a navy blue-and-white diagonal-striped tie, under a dark blue blazer. She didn’t think she would ever get over how attractive he was, in and out of a suit. He took her breath away literally and figuratively.

Brady just shook his head at her stare and urged her into his Lexus. Almost as soon as they were out of the driveway she was fidgeting. He didn’t say anything about it until they were almost into the city.

“All right, what are you nervous about?”

“How are you not?” she asked, looking out the window and avoiding his gaze.

“You do not need to be nervous to be seen with me.” He reached for her hand and laced their fingers together.

“I know!” She bit down on her lip and tried to grope for what she really meant. “I’m not nervous about being seen with you. It’s just new for me. I feel like there’s an etiquette or protocol that I don’t know.”

Brady laughed lightly. “It shouldn’t be any different with me than it was dating . . . anyone else.”

The way he hesitated over that made Liz wince. She knew he was talking about Hayden, but that was the last person she wanted to think about right now. That relationship had gone up in a cloud of smoke because of what had happened with her and Brady. It wasn’t exactly guilt that slammed into her, because she was still furious that Hayden had outed their relationship to the press. It just felt like a weight . . . a sadness that things had ended the way they had. She swallowed back the memories and returned to the matter at hand.

“And . . . it is kind of our first date,” she said, peeking up at him.

“I believe I took you out for breakfast once and to a number of galas.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “That breakfast was just us planning out our affair. We talked terms. You could hardly call it a date. And you didn’t take me to either of the galas I attended. The first was for work.”

“You did a lot of work,” he said with a smirk. Both of them were clearly remembering the first time they’d had sex after the Jefferson-Jackson gala in Charlotte.

“The second gala, you took someone else.”

“But I was with you,” he reminded her. “And I flew you out to Hilton Head.”

“Are you really going to bring up Hilton Head? Where you left me alone in a suite nearly the entire weekend?” she asked.

“Fine. This is our first date?” he asked cheerily.

“Yes.”

The smile that crossed his face made her suspicious. He pulled out his phone a second later and jotted out a quick message before replacing it into his pocket.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Hmm?” he asked coyly. “Oh, nothing, baby. Just changing reservations.”

“You made reservations?” She wanted him to take her to the nice places she had always envisioned herself being with him, but reservations meant fancy places, and she was hardly dressed for that.

“I always make reservations,” he said. “Don’t stress about it. I have it all covered.”

“This is where communication comes in.”

He winked at her. “Surprises are surprises. I’m allowed to keep secrets when it comes to that.”

She couldn’t even argue. She just needed to relax. Her day had been so hectic, between the reporters and the newspaper. But she had still gotten time with Brady, and that was what mattered. They would figure everything else out together. Right now she should let her boyfriend surprise her on their first date.

God, she was really going to have to get used to calling him her boyfriend. It sent a thrill through her every time she even thought it.

A short while later, Brady pulled his car up in front of a quaint restaurant with an impressive covered outdoor patio. She had never heard of the place before.

She took Brady’s hand when he offered to help her out of the car. Brady handed the keys to a waiting valet and then escorted her into the room. She kept a soft smile on her face and her head held up.

The restaurant was small, with tables placed close together and lit only by candlelight. It seemed cozy, if a bit cluttered, but the food must have been great, because nearly every table was taken.

Their appearance garnered a few stares from the people seated nearby, and Liz followed Brady’s lead. A waitress seated them at the only open table, in the far corner. Two gentlemen came up to them once they were seated and shook Brady’s hand.

“I’m Jake Smith. Pleasure to meet you, Congressman,” the first guy said. “I was really pulling for you in that race last year.”

“Good to meet you too, Jake. I always appreciate meeting hardworking people out there who voted for me,” Brady said. Brady turned to the second guy. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Curt, Congressman. It’s going to be a tough race this year,” Curt said. His gaze shifted to Liz, and then back to Brady.

“Tough race every year,” Brady said. “This is my girlfriend, Liz. I’m fortunate to have such a wonderful woman who will be there along the way.”

They shook hands with Liz, who smiled, but said little. “Always good to have a strong woman behind you,” Jake said.

“Only the best,” Brady agreed.

“Well, we won’t keep you,” Curt said. “We just wanted to thank you for all that hard work you’re doing. We knew your father when he was working for the Triangle area. Great man.”

“I’ll be sure to let him know you said that.”

They all shook hands again and then were gone.

For the first time, Liz realized that maybe Brady’s entire life really was one big campaign. He hadn’t known those two men, but she was sure they would vote for him for life. She had wondered what it would be like to be on Brady’s arm, and she knew this was only just the beginning, but that thought encouraged her.

“You seem . . . different,” Brady said after water was brought to their table and he ordered a bottle of wine.

“Different good or different bad?”

“Neither. You seem more relaxed.”

“It was kind of nice to see your interactions with everyday people. Do people always just come up to you like that?”