“Congresswoman Strong! I didn’t know you were going to be here!” This was a benefit of events like this; he got to see some friends he didn’t get to see much of anymore.

“Well, you know, I’m retired now, so I get to pick and choose which of these things I go to, but I couldn’t miss tonight.”

Twenty minutes later, as Max chatted with the mayor of San Francisco, an older white man and a cheerful-looking Black woman joined their group.

“Senator, have you met the mayor of Berkeley?” The mayor of San Francisco gestured toward the older white man. “Mayor Emmitt, Senator Powell.”

He and the mayor shook hands, and then the Black woman behind the mayor held out her hand to him.

“Senator, a pleasure to meet you. I’m Alexa Monroe, the mayor’s chief of staff.”

“Nice to meet you, Alexa,” he said automatically. He turned back to the mayor, and then his head snapped back to Alexa.

Alexa . . . Monroe?

If he had any doubts, the knowing smile in her eyes removed them. He’d been so focused over the last hour, he’d completely forgotten Olivia’s sister would be here.

“Great speech tonight,” she said.

He grinned at her.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” They smiled at each other for a second, though she had a slight measuring-him-up look on her face. He suddenly felt nervous. Did he pass muster?

He made himself turn back to her boss.

“I’ve heard you’re doing excellent things in the Berkeley school system with restorative justice,” he said. “It’s a good example for others who think it may not work.”

The mayor smiled as Zachary snapped a picture of the four of them.

“I hope that’s the case,” the mayor said. “Though there’s often such a bias against programs like that. I have high hopes for your criminal justice reform bill, you know.”

Olivia’s sister smiled and nodded behind him. Why did he feel so much pressure on how he answered her boss?

“I have high hopes for it, too,” he said. “I’m not sure if the rest of Congress is where we are yet, but it’s our job to convince them, isn’t it? But I’m not sure if anyone in my office has talked to you about my town hall plan for the summer—I want to hear from youths themselves about what they need to recover and thrive. I want this to be about them, not the politicians, but I’ll make sure we consult you about plans.” He glanced at Alexa. “My office will be in touch soon.”

She handed him her card.

“Just in case you don’t know how to find me,” she said to Max with a straight face.

Georgia tapped him on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I have to pull the senator away for a moment; he’s needed in the photo line.”

There was another round of handshakes as he said good-bye.

“I hope I get to talk to all of you again, and soon.” He let his eyes twinkle at Alexa as they shook hands, and her smile widened.

He walked away with Georgia toward the photo area.

Had Alexa liked him? He hoped she liked him. He knew Olivia and her sister were close, and it would matter to Olivia if Alexa thought he was some pompous douchebag.

He walked by Wes on the way to the photos, but Wes was in the middle of a conversation, so all they had time for in passing was a quick fist bump. Even that, though, felt like a respite. To see someone who actually knew him, whom he could be real with, in the midst of this need to constantly be on, was like for one brief second someone had opened a window in a hot, stuffy room. The relief he felt even walking by Wes made him realize how great it would be to have Olivia here with him tonight. If she were here by his side, he could nudge her when he wanted to—but couldn’t—roll his eyes, he could exchange “we’ll talk about this later” looks with her when someone said something wild, or he could laugh with her when something ridiculous happened. It was incredible to even think about that.

He didn’t see Alexa again for the rest of the night, until he ran into her and the mayor just as he was leaving.

“Mayor Emmitt, and . . . Alexa, right? I hope you had a good night.”

They all shook hands again.

“It was a great night,” Alexa said. “The speeches weren’t too long, some of them gave me a lot of hope for the future, and I got to meet some really interesting people, so I’d call that a winner.”

He smiled at her as he turned to walk out the door.

“I got to meet some people I’ve wanted to meet for a while, so it was a great night for me, too. Have a safe drive back to Berkeley.”

Max walked back into the hotel room twenty minutes later to find Olivia sitting on the bed, fully dressed, with her laptop on her lap.

“So.” He kicked off his shoes and flopped down onto the bed next to her. “What did your sister think of me?”

Olivia’s eyes widened. They widened just a little too much, as a matter of fact.

“Oh, you got to meet her? I wasn’t sure if that would happen, I thought the fundraiser might be too big for . . .”

He waved his finger at her.

“I’m not buying a single second of this, you know. I am one hundred percent certain your sister texted you before she even left the ballroom. I had to meet a member of your family, and I had to do it without you by my side, so I deserve to know what she said.” He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “Come on, I’m dying here.”