There was a knock on his door, and Kara poked her head in.

“Sir, your ten thirty appointment is here.”

He glanced down at his calendar.

“It’s blocked off in my calendar, but I thought this was an appointment with you—do I have any briefing papers for this?”

Kara grinned at him.

“I don’t think you need them, sir.”

She threw open the door, and in walked Olivia. She had on a dark gray suit, a blue blouse, and black high heels. She looked incredible. And, most of all, she was here.

Max stood up and gaped at her.

“Senator,” she said, with a nod to him. “Kara, thank you.”

Kara winked at Max and closed the door.

Max couldn’t stop looking at Olivia. He just wanted to drink her in. Just being in her presence made him happy. He’d missed her so much.

“You’re here,” he said. And then he wanted to kick himself—why didn’t he say something more articulate, more romantic? Something that made it clear to her how much he loved her, and how serious he was about working through this with her?

She walked toward him, but before he could move around his desk to pull her into his arms, she sat down in the chair across from his desk.

She reached into her briefcase and pulled out some papers.

“I got your initial contract, and I had some edits to it. I thought it made the most sense for us to talk in person.” She looked down, and then up at him. “First, I have a question. Do you mean this? All of this?”

Hope rose in his chest. He wanted to jump up and come around the desk to embrace her, say he’d do anything to get her back. But he knew that was the wrong thing to say—he knew if he said that, she’d think he wasn’t serious. So instead, he looked right into her eyes.

“Yes,” he said. “I do.”

She closed her eyes for a second and nodded.

“Okay,” she said, and pushed a few sheets of paper across the table to him. It was his side of the draft agreement he’d sent to her, with her edits and additions.

I, Maxwell Stewart Powell III, agree to the following:

1. I will never put you on the spot in public.

2. I won’t push you to go to events with me, I won’t even suggest it, except for the very important ones; for those I’ll give you as much warning as possible. And I will always make it clear you can say no.

You can suggest that I, Olivia Grace Monroe, come with you to any event you want to, but you should make it in the form of a question. And don’t push me to say yes if I hesitate.

3. You don’t ever have to be a part of my job; our relationship is not a political move or talking point, and I will never publicly make reference to you without your prior knowledge and approval.

4. I won’t push you for last-minute plans, because I know you hate it; just because I live my life like this doesn’t mean you need to as well. And I will give you plenty of time to make any decision. If you say no, I will stop trying to convince you.

You can suggest last-minute plans—your spontaneity is one of the reasons I fell in love with you, and I don’t want to kill that part of you. Plus, sometimes they’re excellent (e.g., Disneyland, Hawaii). I, in turn, will be more open, but I’ll say no when I need to.

5. I will stop and think whenever I’m either furious or very excited, and will try my best not to say the first thing that pops into my head.

6. I will check in with my staff anytime we think their advice on dealing with the media, etc., would be helpful so we’ll know the smoothest path to take.

Or, so we can make an educated decision to take the harder path.

7. I will always order more than one dessert.

8. I will love you for the rest of my life.

I, Olivia Grace Monroe, agree to the following:

1. I will be open about my feelings to you when I’m anxious or scared or worried, even though that is hard for me. I understand that I don’t have to fake it till I make it with you.

2. I will be open to talking to the press when you or your staff believes such a conversation will be helpful for your career, as long as I get significant assistance and prep in advance.

3. I will talk through my decisions with you, instead of just leaving you hanging for days or weeks or months—we are a team and I trust you to listen to me.

4. I will always support you in your pie- (or cake-?) making ventures.

5. I will attempt to learn how to relax and be more flexible—bear with me.

6. We will renegotiate this agreement once a year every year in August, because I recognize that feelings and needs can change.

7. I will love you for the rest of my life.

He fought back a grin at her edits and picked up a pen.

“I have just a few notes to make on your side of the contract,” he said. He scribbled in the margins for a few moments, and then pushed the paper back over to her.

“Your thoughts?”

I, Olivia Grace Monroe, agree to the following:

1. I will be open about my feelings to you when I’m anxious or scared or worried, even though that is hard for me. I understand that I don’t have to fake it till I make it with you.

And I, Max, will always listen and pay attention.

2. I will be open to talking to the press when you or your staff believes such a conversation will be helpful for your career, as long as I get significant assistance and prep in advance.