I heard Bradley choke on his wine.

Josh pulled me against him and I felt all awkward and dumb with the stupid tray in my hands. Megan’s gaze snaked along my body and the plain, shapeless uniform I was wearing.

She spelled out the next words. “Joshua MacBride is married to a waitress.” And then she giggled; a Cruella DeVil laugh, all cutting and nasty. At least, to my wounded ears.

“Shut up, Megan, or—”

“Don’t.” I waved my hand at Josh. I didn’t want a scene. There was no point. “Please, don’t.”

I threw all my energy and pride into keeping my head high and my voice from breaking. “Excuse me. I have to get back to work.”

Except I couldn’t keep serving those damn prawns. I almost dropped the tray at the corner of a serving table and darted out of the elegant room full of people who belonged to a world I didn’t understand and maybe never would.

I rushed through the entrance hall of the Four Seasons and stormed into the driveway just outside the hotel. The stuffy doorman sent a grumpy look my way. The uniform I wore made it clear I wasn’t part of the clientele. Outside it was late November and freezing. The cold slapped me in the face.

I wrapped my arms around my upper-body to keep some of the warmth in. I’d overreacted. Totally overreacted. Who cared if some Grace-Kelly wannabe was giving me the thumbs-down? But tonight it hurt.

“Cass?”

I shut my eyes and forced my mouth to spread into a smile. One. Two. Three. I turned to face Josh. Sonya would be disappointed because he didn’t have his trademarked smile on. What struck me was how nicely tailored his suit was. It made me loathe my shapeless uniform even more.

“I like your suit.”

My random comment fazed him. He shrugged and answered, “Thanks. I bought it last weekend.”

I nodded. Last weekend I’d been pulling an extra shift at the coffee shop. Josh was always at his office on Saturdays. And a lot of Sundays too.

“Cass, I’m going to cut to the chase. Meg and I had something going in our freshman year at Georgetown. I came across her once when I was still living at Jack’s. But I don’t like the girl and I’ll always try to keep it short. She wasn’t nice to Lenor either, if that makes you feel any better.”

A chuckle climbed up my throat and died on my lips. The effect didn’t sound pretty. “I guess I should be honored then.”

God, I was such a pathetic bitch. “Sorry,” I mumbled, my eyes stuck on the tips of the ugly black shoes that matched my ugly black uniform. The problem with me was that when I started out on the road of self-pity I kind of went all the way. Thelma-and-Louise all the way, up to the big drive from the cliff.

The frowning doorman walked past us. He didn’t frown for long as the sub-zero look Josh threw back at him made the guy scurry back to his post by the main doors of the hotel. Josh bridged the space between us and led me back inside. I welcomed the central heating. He searched for an alcove at the side of the hallway. He found one and we walked into it where nobody—guests or staff—could see us.

We stood there, watching each other, sizing each other up, without saying a word. As always, I had to blurt something out first.

“Listen, I get it. I need to kick myself in the ass and get over my insecurities. You’re the guy with Capitol Hill at his feet and I’m a waitress. Fact.”

“You’re also a singer and a songwriter. A talented one. Whether you choose to do something about it now that Sweet Second has been added to Shawn’s album is up to you. You could also choose not to work. I gave you the option.” That was harsh…. But true.

“You’re right. I’ve chosen to be a waitress and put my music aside. For now.” I had to start owning my choices instead of whining and playing the blame game for the directions my life took. “But, I guess, before coming here, I didn’t realize how…” I looked for a good word but failed, “… different we were.”

“Come on, Cass. Yeah, back in there, there was some snobbish brat who talked down to you. I guarantee she won’t be doing it again after what I said to her. But I can’t lie to you, there’ll be other bitches like Megan Alistair or assholes like Peter Hewitt. Washington is crawling with them.”

I wanted to shout: Let’s get the fuck outta here then! But I didn’t. Instead I let him talk.

“No matter what, they can’t touch us as long as we don’t forget who we are.”

“And who are we?”

“Josh and Cassie MacBride from Steep Hill, Kansas.”

“That’s it?”

He came closer and his fingers brushed against my neck, circling gently around it. I held my breath while my heartbeat quickened. “No, that’s not it. Josh, Cassie and Lucas MacBride from Steep Hill, Kansas.”

“That sounds good to me.”

I hid my face against his chest and I mumbled the embarrassing truth. “I’m scared of being a burden. I feel so out of my depth here. I keep screwing up, even when I take the subway.”

He gently pushed me away, then his hands cupped each sides of my face. “You are not a burden, Cass. You’re my partner and we’re going to build a life here together. For ourselves and for Lucas.”

I nodded, while biting my lower lip.

“When you’re with me, Cass, I feel like I can conquer the world, like I’m the master of the universe.” His mouth brushed mine. “At least, you make me want to be.”

I gave him a fully-formed chuckle this time and took a step back. “Thanks for giving me the head-ups, Champ. I’ve got to start working on a new wardrobe, like right now.”

“Why? I love the way you dress.”

“Come on. This isn’t going to cut it at the White House.” I looked down at my uniform.

“Cassandra MacBride, you are my First Lady. No matter what shit you’re wearing.” He pulled me back against him and rested his chin on the top of my head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever make it big here, but what I know for certain is that I’ll never let anyone hurt you or Lucas.” He moved back so that he could look at me in the eyes. “The day I fail to do that, it’ll be the day we’re packing.”

Josh had a plan. He always had a plan. He had ambition, drive and stamina. Maybe it was time for me to have a plan too. Lucas was my everything, but I wanted him to be proud of me. I wanted to inspire him.

There was something deeply screwed-up in my ways. While Josh achieved by doing things positively, I reached my goals by ‘not doing.’ Not keeping Lucas way back when I was seventeen, or not going on tour because of the adoption.

Maybe it was time for me to have a plan, a positive one.

We made it back home later than I’d planned… for our celebration. The guy who was supposed to help Sonya clear up hadn’t felt one-hundred-percent all of a sudden. I didn’t have the heart to leave her on her own.

I’d found Josh at ten sitting at the bar of the Four Seasons, fiddling with an empty glass. He hadn’t seemed to care about the crowd around him and all I’d wanted was to make my way into his thoughts. But I knew I was already in them when his gaze met mine. His eyes sparked to life, welcoming me back into the place in his heart that was mine alone.

“Thanks for the cab.” I dropped my bag onto the new sofa and kicked off my sneakers.

Josh undid his tie in that sexy way of his… undoing me at the same time. I shook myself up. Nothing was going to happen tonight. If I’d learned one thing from the tempura-prawn incident, it was that I wasn’t ready.

He headed to our galley kitchen. “What’s all this?”

I joined Josh who stood in front of the stove top where a casserole dish waited to be reheated. He raised the lid and stared at the mushy, lumpy red sauce inside, then threw me one of his signature eyebrow arches.

“Penne alla Arrabiata,” I answered. Two plates, two glasses and a bottle of red wine sat on the small kitchen table… atop the pretty, white table cloth I’d brought back from Steep Hill. Gran’s table cloth.