“That’s right,” Brady said.

Hayden thrust his hand out. “Hayden Lane. I’m the editor at the college newspaper.”

Brady took it, keeping his campaign mask firmly in place, but Liz could see the fire brimming in his eyes as he stared at Hayden. His gaze shifted to Liz and she could see precisely what he was thinking in that moment. You’re with this guy now?

Brady knew exactly who Hayden was. She had kissed Hayden in D.C. while she had been seeing Brady. Their picture had shown up in the newspaper when school started.

“Nice to meet you,” Brady responded. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to get to.”

And without another second’s pause, Brady turned and walked in the opposite direction. She was left alone with Hayden, but she might as well have been all by herself all over again . . . because her heart had been ripped out of her chest with Brady’s departure.

Chapter 10

BIN 54

The rest of the day passed in a blur of Brady Maxwell. It was like the seven months that she had gone without him had just been a haze and those precious moments with him were her clarity. She remembered all too clearly what it felt like to walk through the world feeling as if she had walked out of Technicolor into black and white. That was life with and without Brady.

By the time she was supposed to meet with Savannah for dinner, Liz was just happy to have an excuse not to have to be around Hayden. He knew she was off. Her focus was shot, and half of the time it felt as if she were listening to him underwater. She told him that she was having dinner with Savannah, which got her raised eyebrows from Hayden.

“Where are you going?” Hayden asked curiously.

Liz shrugged. “I don’t know. She just asked if I wanted to go.”

“Strange.”

“Is it?” Liz asked, wrapping her arms around her middle. She couldn’t seem to get herself straight.

“I mean, I know y’all are friends, but I didn’t think you guys really hung out like that.”

Liz shrugged again. She didn’t know what else to do. “She asked me. I said I’d go.”

“Are y’all meeting anyone else?” he asked. He seemed to be trying for casual, but they had been together too long for her not to get what he was asking.

“I don’t think so.” She really had no idea.

“Not her brother?”

Liz’s eyes bulged. There was no f**king way that was happening. “No. Why would you think that?” she sputtered.

“He was just . . . looking at you is all.”

“People tend to do that when they’re introduced,” Liz said, trying to brush it off.

“I don’t know,” Hayden said, taking her nonchalance for it not meaning anything. But of course it meant everything. “I’m probably crazy and way off base, but I didn’t really like the way our politician was looking at my girlfriend.” He pulled her into him and kissed the tip of her nose.

She laughed lightly, hoping that she sounded disbelieving. She was sure she failed, but he couldn’t see her face, so maybe she pulled it off. “We’re talking about a congressman. A man who works for the House of Representatives. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t look twice at a college reporter. You, Hayden Lane, are just imagining things.”

There. It was her first direct lie. How had she managed it so flawlessly?

“Well, you do look pretty gorgeous today.”

“Thank you,” she said, nuzzling into his chest to hide her face.

She felt like a total shit. She didn’t deserve him.

Liz ended the conversation as quickly as she could and hurried back to her house. She had no idea what to wear to dinner tonight. It felt weird obsessing over clothing options just to hang out with Savannah, but she had a pretty kickass style and it made Liz want to dress nice. She decided on a high-waist navy-and-white striped skirt with a navy tank top tucked into it. She paired it with a pair of brown sling-back platforms that made her calves look killer.

For a second she thought about pulling out Brady’s necklace and wearing it, but it felt too strange. She had put it away for a reason. One afternoon in his presence wasn’t going to change that reason.

Savannah showed up just after eight o’clock in her shiny BMW. Liz was out the door before her friend even got out of her car. Victoria was on a date with Duke Fan and she wouldn’t be home until later, so Liz locked the house up tight. She teetered to the car in her heels and then sat down in the passenger seat.

Liz felt better about her choices after assessing Savannah’s outfit. She was in a knee-length black dress with several strands of pearls and oversize Ray-Bans. Her long dark hair was pulled off of her face into a loose bun at the base of her neck.

“Are you sure you’re not going into politics?” Liz joked in greeting.

“Don’t even get me started,” Savannah said, pulling away from the house and off onto Rosemary Street.

“Where are we going anyway?”

“Have you ever been to Bin 54?”

Liz shook her head. “No.”

“It’s a steakhouse just off of Raleigh Road before Meadowmont.” Meadowmont was a community where groceries, shopping, and fine dining were walkable from the apartments. It was too far away from campus for Liz’s taste, but it was still a nice concept.

“All right,” Liz said. She wondered what the pricing was going to be on a place like that.

They drove the ten minutes to the restaurant and Savannah pulled into the parking lot. She took a spot and cut the engine.

“Okay. So, before we go inside I thought I’d just fill you in on why I’m being so weird and secretive.” Liz arched an eyebrow. “You know I don’t really talk about my family.”

“Yeah . . .”

“Well, I love them. They’re pretty awesome. But I don’t get to share them with many people because they’re in the spotlight. Since you and I kind of . . . I don’t know . . . bonded over that fact, I feel like I can trust you.”

Oh, no.

“So, don’t take this weird, because my fam is cool, but we’re having dinner with them,” Savannah said quickly.

Dinner with the Maxwells? Liz was pretty sure that was the worst idea she had ever heard. If it had been awkward to have those few minutes with Brady . . . what would a whole dinner be like? And with his parents!