I frown. “Who?”
“The President is waiting in my office for you.”
I stare at him. I half stand, sit back down. “What?”
“The President. He wants to see you in my office.”
I shake my head. “That’s not possible.”
“He’s really in there. Please, don’t keep him waiting.”
I stand up slowly and look past Roger, down the hall, and into his office.
Sure enough, Adam’s in there, sitting at the edge of the desk.
I take a step closer, glance at Roger. He nods at me.
“Go ahead,” he says.
I turn away and walk down the hall. I open the office door and step inside.
Adam’s sitting there. My Adam, my President, my Daddy. He’s all alone.
His smile almost hurts.
I shut the door behind me.
“Thanks for coming,” he says softly.
“Of course, sir.”
He winces at that. “Maggie, listen—”
“No, you listen,” I say suddenly, glaring at him. “You abandoned me. You stopped talking to me, started firing everyone. It scared the hell out of me. I didn’t know why you were ignoring me, why you were getting rid of your staff, what was going on. You abandoned me, Adam.”
I take a step toward him. I can see pain on his face, clear in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry I made you feel that way,” he says. “I never wanted this to happen.”
“Then why? Why put me through all of this?”
“I thought I was doing what was right,” he says softly. “But I was being a coward. I was making the wrong choice.”
“What choice?” I ask.
“Linda Torres. I was distancing myself from you. I thought if I could do that, maybe I could protect you when the story came out about us.”
I blink. “There was nothing you could do,” I say.
“Actually, you’re wrong.” He cocks his head. “I can tell the world that I’m in love with you.”
I stand there, very still, for what feels like a long time. His words slowly reverberate along my spine.
“In… love with me?” I finally manage to say.
He stands up from the desk, steps closer to me. “I love you, Maggie. I’ve loved you from the start. My only mistake in all this was not telling you sooner.”
I stare at him, unable to feel my own hands. My heart’s beating so fast, I might throw up, might pass out.
“Are you okay?” he asks, looking concerned.
“I love you too,” I blurt out.
He grins, comes closer. I throw myself at him.
He grabs me, pulls me against him, and kisses me.
I know the office can see it. He knows it, too. But clearly, he doesn’t care.
I love him. I’ve loved him from the start, and he loves me too. I feel like everything I’ve been thinking, been working toward, suddenly clicks into place. Everything I’ve been feeling is real. Everything I’ve been thinking is real.
I love him, and he loves me.
We slowly break off the kiss, the best kiss of my life. I look into his eyes.
“I’m still annoyed with you,” I say softly.
“I know,” he answers, grinning.
I kiss him one more time. “You asshole.”
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’ll never let you out of my sight again, okay?”
“Okay.”
He smiles, hugs me, and lets me go. “But we have a decision to make, and I want to make it together.”
We sit in Roger’s chairs and he explains the deal with Linda. He tells me about how she’ll keep her story to herself, but only if he admits that he loves me publicly.
“Your life will change,” he says. “Even more than it already has. I don’t know what things will be like for you at first, but it could be bad.”
“I can handle it.”
“I don’t know if you can.”
“Adam.” I take his hand, his strong hand. “If we do this, you’ll lose it all. Healthcare reform, everything. The public might turn on you.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I should’ve taken it earlier. I shouldn’t have needed Linda Torres to force this.”
“Linda didn’t force anything. She just made our life harder.”
He smiles sadly. “That’s why I love you.”
I grin at him. Those words. They drive me wild.
I kiss him. “Let’s do it,” I say.
“Are you sure?”
“If you are, I am.”
He nods once. “Okay then. Just so long as I get you, I don’t care what else happens.”
“You have me.”
I kiss him again, slow and deep. He looks into my eyes.
“I love you, Maggie. And I can’t wait to tell the world.”
I grin at him. “I love you too, Adam.”
He stands. I stand up next to him. He takes my hand.
“Come on. Let’s go to my office and discuss this with Charles.”
“Okay.” He leads me from Roger’s office.
Everyone’s staring at us. Iris looks like she wants to scream.
I grin at her and shrug.
I follow Adam down the hall. He slows and looks at me before taking my hand. We walk like that together, people staring at the two of us.
“What do you think?” he whispers to me. “Weird, right?”