She was almost certain that it wouldn’t feel the same as it once had. Reporting had lost some of its flair when she had lived life on the other side.

With a smile that radiated confidence and energy, Brady walked up to the microphone. He had such an incredible presence about him that was hard to ignore. Even when Liz had openly disagreed with his policy positions, he had still captivated her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming out today on such short notice. I don’t intend to take up much of your time. I simply came here to address some of the accusations that are being thrown around about me and my fiancé.”

The quiet room filled with buzz. Liz heard the word spoken over and over again. Fiancé. What an entrance. If the audience hadn’t been taken in by his confidence and tenacity, they were all listening now.

“Ever since our relationship was made public, rumors have flown around about why we’re together. As if I need a reason to be with the woman that I love. As if I need a reason to pick her. As if in some realm of this universe, she isn’t good enough for me, a sitting congressman. The names that I have seen and heard hurled at her, at us, have been disgraceful. It would be nothing short of traumatizing for a woman walking into a public relationship, if that woman were anyone other than Liz Dougherty, who is without a doubt one of the strongest people I have ever encountered.”

Liz felt her face flush. He was refuting everything those people had said about her even though he hadn’t thought that it would do any good. She saw it on his face then. He didn’t care. He just wanted to defend her. He didn’t want to see her cry ever again or have to deal with the backlash of another failed attempt at a journalism career. He wanted to take the pain away.

“So, let me stand here right now and set the record straight. Liz Dougherty and I started a relationship two years ago. We broke up and then got back together in February of this year. At no time was I with anyone else while Liz and I were together. She’s not a home wrecker. She’s not pregnant. And she’s certainly not doing anything to try to get me to stay with her other than being the amazing woman she is.”

Brady paused to let the words sink in. “As for her work as a journalist, yes, she is Dear Congress, as the media made known yesterday afternoon. The articles she wrote were not in collusion with me. They were an outlet for her after graduation. They were fun. A hobby that received mass acclaim from little-known media outlets such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, and CNN. Yesterday she quit of her own volition after the editor requested that she continue writing these articles. She didn’t quit because of me; she quit because she is getting her PhD and needed more time for her career than for her hobby.

“I implore you to see our relationship for what it is, and not what it is being twisted to mean. Judging someone is easy. Accepting the truth that Liz and I are happy together seems to be much more difficult. So just for the record, Liz Dougherty is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and it is my pleasure to announce that we will be getting married next year.” Brady raised his hand to the audience as a signal to them. “Thank you and have a nice day.”

The room exploded as everyone seemed to speak at once. But all Liz saw was Brady. She couldn’t believe what he had just done, and now she understood why Heather had been arguing with him. She probably hadn’t wanted him to be so . . . brash and condescending, but it sent a very clear message. He loved her. They were getting married. Whatever the media hurled at them didn’t matter, and he wouldn’t tolerate it any longer.

Brady went on to the Q&A section, but Liz didn’t need to hear the questions. She took a step away from the entrance with a pleased sigh.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she slid it out to check the message.

Are you at the conference?

Hayden. Well, damn. She hadn’t heard from him since the start of the summer, when she had accused him of conspiring with Calleigh against her and Brady.

Yeah, I’m here.

She received a reply almost instantly.

Can we meet up?

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. How would it look to have Brady confess his love for her and that they were getting married, only for her to go meet her ex-boyfriend? Not smart.

I can’t. Why?

I have a lead on C.

C. Calleigh. She had almost forgotten that Hayden had agreed to keep his eye on Calleigh and tell her if anything was amiss.

How bad?

There was a pause as she waited.

Nothing concrete yet, but I’ve overheard a couple times that something is being planned. I’m trying to figure it all out. I only have strong suspicions that I thought I’d tip you off to now. Then y’all could investigate. I’d rather do it in person, though.

Liz chewed on her bottom lip. I can’t meet. If you can, send me what you think now and I’ll pass it along.

Okay.

Liz started to put her phone away, thinking that was the end of the conversation, when it buzzed one more time.

Congratulations on your engagement.

She cringed and got rid of her phone. She knew that he was only being nice, but she could feel his pain in those four words. Hayden had wanted that with her, but it hadn’t been in the cards. And he’d had to stand there in the audience while Brady announced their engagement to the world and talked about how much he loved her. She didn’t feel bad that Hayden knew, just that it hurt him.

With a heavy sigh, she returned to the opening and stood next to Heather. “How is he doing?” she asked.

“Great. The reporters seemed surprised by his brashness, so they’re feeding off of it. I’m going to wrap it up here soon, though.”

Liz turned her attention to Brady and the reporter who pushed her way through the crowd to speak. Calleigh Hollingsworth.

“Congressman Maxwell, you refute the claim that Miss Dougherty is the reason for your breakup with Miss Edwards. Yet, you are the reason that Miss Dougherty left her boyfriend, are you not?”

“Miss Dougherty was not on good terms with her boyfriend and they broke up as a result of miscommunication.”

“I see,” Calleigh said. “Miscommunication over the extent of your relationship?”

“Over a past relationship that had no bearing on who she was dating at the time. As much as that relationship has no bearing on the current now,” he said curtly.

“And you don’t think that she turned to you simply because her previous relationship failed? Or that she is using you . . .”