“Do you know who my father is?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Should I?”
“They didn’t just pick the call name Kennedy for me because the ladies like me. Have you heard of Senator Joe Berghart?”
My eyes widened. “Sounds familiar. Which state?”
“Maryland.”
“Is he your dad?”
“Yep. And I was supposed to follow in his footsteps. My grandfather’s before him. I was groomed with fancy prep schools and country club golf tournament trophies. Those things I actually did. They expected me to continue the legacy with a law degree from Yale, followed by a marriage to a rich socialite to help bankroll my campaigns. A trophy wife who smiled beside me and made perfect photo-op babies then handed them off to a nanny. They’d help me get elected as a state representative and work my way up, using the family name to propel my future.”
My stomach turned. I was sure that dream would be amazing for some kids, but Kennedy was a salt-of-the-earth kind of man. Sure, he was brilliant and charming, but he was also a warrior. Dangerous to the enemy. He was physical and grounded andreal. Not polished and fake like a politician where the only adventure was making deals on the back nine.
He took down ruthless drug lords and terrorists. Other things that were classified that I couldn’t even imagine.
I scraped my nails through the hair on his chest, making goosebumps stand up along his arms. “I’m guessing you joined the Navy to run away from that future?”
“Exactly. I played along until I was eighteen, but I wanted to be the anti-kid. The black sheep. Whatever I needed to do to get as far away from the veneer as possible. It totally backfired though.”
“Oh?”
“Instead of my career choice pissing them off, they made it work for them. They used my service as a SEAL to show their patriotism. The senator’s son putting his life on the line in duty to his country. The Berghart family, committing themselves to the people of the US in different ways.” He laughed, but he didn’t look like he found it at all funny. I didn’t either.
“So they inwardly hate you but love you for the good PR spin,” I recapped.
He sighed. “Until recently, yeah. This mercenary work with Alpha Mountain sure as hell doesn’t sit right with them though. I’m thirty years old, and they still need me to keep my image perfect. They don’t like me associating with a disgraced officer. They’re afraid it will come out and tarnish my record, too.”
“Another good reason to clear Ford’s name,” I murmured.
He shook his head. “No, fuck them. I know the real Ford, the kind of man he really is. I don’t give a shit if he’s labeled dishonorable or not. I’ll still have his back. But I want to clear Ford’s name for Ford. I could care less about my parents’ concerns.”
“I take it you’re not close?”
His pale eyes met mine. “They were awful parents. Judgmental pricks who I could never please. They never forgave me for joining the Navy instead of going to Georgetown, where I’d been accepted. And I flushed the chance of a Yale law legacy down the toilet.”
I glanced up at him. “I’m sorry. My parents never wanted me in the Navy, either.”
Kennedy brushed the hair back from my face. “Really? Isn’t your dad an admiral? I thought all his kids went into the Navy.”
“Yeah, we did, but I’m agirl.” I wrinkled my nose.
His hand cupped my bare ass. “I’m well aware of that.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Ah. I see. Were you supposed to stay home, be a school teacher, and have babies or something?” Kennedy flashed his dimpled grin–the one that dissolved me into a puddle of hormones.
“I don’t know. I honestly can’t tell what my dad wanted for me. Be that housewife because as a woman, I could be content with my husband’s life being mine. Or be a Navy pilot and say it was because I was trying to keep up with my brothers and then telling me I wasn’t a real woman since I never had a family.”
I sighed because I’d never verbalized how my father messed with my head.
“It seems like whatever I do is wrong. Going into the Navy. Leaving the Navy. Being associated with Ford. I guess our parents have that bias in common.”
“The Navy is a good place for people with daddy issues,” Kennedy said with a smirk.
I snorted. “What are you talking about?”