Her face went slack with shock. “But, I don’t understand. Why?”

“Because he was groomed his whole life to hold this office, and I guarantee he’ll bring more to the table than anyone on that impressive list of yours.”

“This is you being loyal to the O’Connors, isn’t it?”

Nick suppressed the burst of anger that shot through him. “This is me doing what I want to do, Christina.”

“He’s got a lot of baggage,” Trevor observed.

“Luckily we’re not running for anything,” Nick said. “What’s next?”

They exchanged glances.

“What?”

Trevor tugged a paper from his pile and held it up for Nick to see.

“Son of a bitch,” Nick muttered as he got a look at a print out of the photos taken that morning outside his house. “They’re already online?”

“On the Post site and the Star’s.”

“Great,” he said, imagining Sam’s reaction to the suggestive photos.

“We’ve got some new polling data in, too,” Trevor said with a nervous look at Christina. “Your approval rating in the Commonwealth is hovering right around seventy-eight percent. Unfortunately, the other twenty-two percent tend to be in the conservative, family-values column, and they don’t approve of this.” He referred to the picture.

“Well, that’s too bad.” Nick’s jaw felt tight with tension. “Again, I’ll remind you that I’m not running for anything.”

“No, but that moral minority can make the next year awfully unpleasant for us,” Trevor said.

“It’ll be a distraction, Nick, er, I mean, Senator,” Christina said. “Sorry.”

“This subject is off limits, people,” Nick said.

“You could take care of the whole thing,” Trevor said hesitantly, “if you, you know, married her.”

“I can’t even get her to officially move in with me. She’s not ready for that, and she’s certainly not ready for the M word. Not after what she just went through with her ex-husband.”

“I know you don’t want to hear this, Senator,” Trevor said, “but your relationship with her is going to pull the focus off the issues. All I’m saying is if you could convince her to marry you, it’d take the wind out of the media’s sails. Even an engagement would make things a lot easier.”

“He’s right,” Christina added. “Once the relationship is legitimate, it loses its appeal.”

“Are you guys finished analyzing my personal life?” Nick asked.

They had the good grace to at least squirm a little.

He leaned forward to make sure he had their full attention. “The relationship is already legitimate, and I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks of it. Is that clear?”

“We get it,” Christina said. “All we’re asking is that you think about what Trevor said. If you’re heading toward marriage, sooner would be better than later.”