Brady cut her off with a swift slap to the podium. He still looked calm, but Liz knew him well enough to know that he was actually pissed.

“For the record, I am very much in love with Liz Dougherty. I plan to spend the rest of my life with her. You can keep asking me questions about how we got together and what effect that has if you want, but I don’t see how they’re pertinent. What matters is that we are together and will remain so.”

He shot Calleigh a biting look.

“I just hope if you find yourself in a similar situation, someone doesn’t judge you for falling in love.”

Chapter 30

SWIFT BOAT

I have some evidence.

The text came from Hayden six weeks after the press conference where Brady confessed his love for Liz and told the whole world of their engagement. Since then it had been nonstop action. Between her classes and teaching Monday through Thursday and helping Brady on the campaign Friday through Sunday, Liz was about spent. She enjoyed both aspects of her life, but she felt a bit like a head case.

She was thankful she had Brady, who never showed how overworked he was on the campaign, but she saw his private moments of weariness. If even he was tired from the work, then she was definitely allowed to be.

You’re not going to like it.

Great. Liz wasn’t looking forward to this conversation. She had been hoping that whatever Hayden had been talking about all those weeks ago had just blown over. She had hoped that Calleigh Hollingsworth had just gotten over herself and she and Brady could move on with their lives. Apparently not.

Is it serious?

She didn’t really want to see Hayden or have him waste her time. But if she thought that whatever Hayden knew would hurt Brady with only two and a half weeks left in the campaign, then she would do whatever it took to make sure that it didn’t.

Worse than I thought.

Liz sighed and closed her computer. She wasn’t going to get any work done now with all of this swirling around in her head. She was already planning to meet Brady in Durham tomorrow for the Delta Rae show that night. The band was from the area and had come out in support of his campaign. It was going to be really fun, but now she was going to be spending some of that time dealing with this shit.

I’ll be in NC tomorrow. There’s a show in Durham. That would be the easiest time to meet.

Liz jotted out the information to him and then called Brady to let him know what was going on.

“How do you even know he actually has information?” Brady asked.

“I don’t,” she said with a sigh. “But do you want to risk it?”

“I’m going to be there when this happens.”

“What? No. You know he won’t talk if you’re around,” Liz insisted.

“The guy doesn’t even deserve to see your beautiful face, let alone get to talk to you after what happened. I haven’t forgotten, and I don’t trust him. I need to be there.”

Not that she blamed Brady for how he was feeling, but having him around to get vital information from Hayden probably wasn’t a good idea. Hayden had enough reason to dislike Brady, just as Brady had reason to dislike Hayden. She would rather avoid the awkward moment of bringing them together. “Shouldn’t you be working?” she implored.

“In the middle of the concert?” he asked, exasperated. “I’ll be a figurehead at the beginning and end, but they’re the main show. It’s just my event.”

“You’re not going to budge on this, are you?”

“No.”

Liz sighed. “Okay. Just . . . tell Heather, and figure out a way for Hayden not to be seen coming in and out of the building. We don’t need another problem.”

Liz arrived with Brady to the theater later that evening. Brady left Liz in a back room, where the majority of the noise was muffled.

“I have my opening speech and then Heather will bring Hayden backstage to discuss the supposed evidence.”

Supposed evidence. She knew how much Brady hated this, and he was trying to make light of the situation. Hayden had better have something concrete or she was never going to live this down. Liz had a sinking suspicion that he did, though. He wouldn’t have contacted her out of the blue for nothing. Or at least she hoped not.

The wait felt like an eternity, but soon enough she heard the band start their first song. She hadn’t realized that she’d been wringing her hands in anticipation. With a deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves and release the tension.

Brady returned to her side. After planting a kiss on her forehead, he leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. He seemed as though he wanted to be ready in case Hayden tried anything, which she thought was unlikely even if Brady wasn’t in the room.

Heather walked in a second later with Hayden on her heels. She firmly closed the door behind them. Liz caught Hayden’s eye and saw him assess the situation with a reporter’s eye. He shifted from Liz to Brady to Heather and back in a millisecond and his smile dropped.

“Quite a party to do business,” Hayden said.

Brady nodded at Heather, who shrugged and left. She would hear the whole thing later. If it made him more comfortable with one less body in the room, then by all means.

Hayden’s eyes were trained on Liz. “Is he staying?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

“Is there a problem with that?” Brady asked.

“Brady,” she murmured softly. “Just leave it.”

Hayden just shrugged. “No problem. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“What kind of evidence do you have on Calleigh?” Brady asked without further ado.

Liz rolled her eyes to the ceiling with a sigh. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today. I don’t know what you have, but I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to decide to let us know.”

“It was quite simple,” Hayden said, tossing a manila envelope onto the table. “Calleigh ruined everything, and you don’t deserve the way she’s been treating you. It’s personal, not professional. She’s getting sloppy, because she’s treating it like it’s a vendetta rather than an actual reason to attack y’all.”

“Well, still . . . thank you.” She could feel her cheeks burning under his gaze. She held no lingering feelings for Hayden, but it was clear that he still cared for her. And he was doing this because of that.