When Kara left his office, he put his head down to try to read through his stack of briefing papers for the hearings the next day, but he couldn’t concentrate on them. The whole reason he and Lana had broken up, shortly before he announced his run for the Senate, was because he’d been so busy he hadn’t made time for her, and he’d realized he hadn’t cared enough to make time for her. He couldn’t conceive of not making time for Olivia. He pulled his personal phone out of his bag.

Bad news—completely forgot I’m not coming to LA this weekend. I’m in the Bay Area all weekend. A school event, a dinner, and huge fundraiser I can’t believe I forgot about

Wait. He had an idea just as he sent that.

Hey—want to come with me? I could do my events, you could see your family, and in between, we could see each other

He dropped his phone in his pocket and bit his lip. Would she go for this? He hoped so.

A few hours later she texted back.

Hahaha that sounds delightful but you know it’s impossible

As soon as his meeting was over, he texted back.

Why is it impossible? You told me you were overdue for a weekend at home—you can have that! See your sister, go to your old favorite burrito places, and spend the nights with me

Plus, otherwise, we won’t get to see each other until next weekend

After only a few minutes, she texted back.

Let me think about it. Talk to you later?

He knew Olivia well enough by now to know she never made a snap decision, but God, that part of her frustrated him. He wanted her to be excited, say yes, say she loved him, and not have to stop and think about it every time.

He would just have to convince her, that was all.

Olivia could not believe she’d let Max talk her into coming to the Bay Area this weekend. She still hadn’t told her family about Max, and there was no way she’d make it through the weekend without telling at least her sister. But as soon as she walked out onto the pavement at the Oakland airport and took a deep breath, she felt her shoulders relax. Sometimes, it was just really fucking good to go home.

She still felt conflicted about her decision to move to L.A. instead of the Bay Area. It made perfect sense business-wise: there were already a lot of firms that did what they did in the Bay Area and fewer in L.A., their handful of anchor clients was mostly based in Southern California, and, most important, Ellie was already settled in L.A. with her family.