1
Eight Years Ago
Reagan Campbell stood at the curb of the suburban Chicago mansion, trying to work up the nerve to enter the biggest and last bash of her high school career. Half of her senior class seemed to swarm across the manicured front lawn, like drunken bees returning to the hive. Her dad would ground her for the rest of her life if he knew she was attending her first and last high school kegger.
But it was her last chance to see Zach—the boyfriend she’d kept secret for the past nine months—before she headed off to Washington, DC, for her summer internship. Her dad never would have approved of her relationship. In his opinion, Zach didn’t have the right pedigree to date a senator’s daughter. After seventeen years of toeing the line, Reagan had finally found something more important to her than her dad’s approval. So she shrugged off the warning shivers racing up and down her spine and pushed past the crowd of intoxicated grads crowding the front stoop.
Music blared from speakers that had been set up in the living room. Reagan rose to her tiptoes to peer over the crowd. Someone bumped into her and sloshed beer down the front of her floral-print sundress. Great. Not only would she have to lie about where she’d been tonight, she’d have to figure out a way to get the smell of cheap beer out of her clothes, too.
“Reagan!” Zach’s voice came from behind her. His arm slipped around her waist, pulling her back and anchoring her against his solid chest.
She wheeled around in his arms, meeting his gaze. “Hi.”
“I’m so glad you made it.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead.
“Me, too. My mom and dad had to stop in at a fundraiser tonight, so I was able to sneak away. It’s our last chance to see each other before—”
His lips met hers and cut off her words. She responded, trying to tamp down the ache of their inevitable goodbye. They still had tonight. She’d fill herself full of him and live off the memories until they could be together again.
He pulled back, and his gaze searched hers. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll see each other in a couple of months.”
Reagan sighed. Why hadn’t they gotten together sooner? She’d noticed him freshman year, cheered him on every Friday night during hockey games, and spent three years imagining what it might feel like to bury herself in his arms. They hadn’t had enough time together. Dating on the sly through senior year wasn’t enough. She wanted more.
He rested his arm around her shoulders. “Want something to drink?”
She shook her head. “Can we go somewhere quiet to talk?”
“You bet.” Zach glanced around. “How about out back by the pool?”
Reagan nodded. She’d follow him anywhere, do anything, for a few more hours by his side. Around him she didn’t have to put up a façade. He liked her for who she was, not who she pretended to be to fit in with her father’s political aspirations.
“Hey! You’re not leaving so soon, are you?” Jimmy Baldwin, host of the party and voted “Most Likely To End Up Selling Bad Mutual Funds For A Living,” blocked their way.
“No. Just looking for a place we can talk.” Zach clapped Jimmy on the shoulder.
Jimmy stumbled forward. “Come on upstairs. I can show you a place where you can have some privacy.”
Zach glanced at Reagan, who shrugged her shoulders. Taking her hand in his, Zach followed Jimmy up the steps. The noise of the raging party faded into the background. Jimmy stumbled down the hall toward a cracked doorway at the end. A half dozen of their fellow grads sat in a circle on the floor of what appeared to be Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin’s bedroom.
“Got two new recruits.” Jimmy slumped to a seated position. “Add their names to the bowl.”
A girl from Reagan’s Calculus class scribbled something on two pieces of paper and dropped them into a silver bowl in the center of the circle.
Reagan backed away. “I don’t think this is such a good idea.”
“Yeah, we’ll just head out back.” Zach turned, pulling Reagan behind him.
“Stay for a few rounds. It’s Seven Minutes in Heaven. Come on, guys.” Jimmy staggered to his feet and fake punched Zach in the stomach. “Does Reagan’s daddy know she’s here?”
Zach grabbed Jimmy’s fist and twisted his arm back.
“Hey, watch it.” Jimmy put his other hand out. “I’m not going to be the one to rat her out.”
“You’d better not.” Zach let go and tugged Reagan down to settle beside him. “Fine. We’ll stick around and watch for a few minutes.”
Reagan leaned her head against his shoulder. Of course her father didn’t know where she was. As a long-time conservative senator from Illinois, he’d made it perfectly clear her behavior was a direct reflection on him, the family, and his entire political party. She didn’t usually disobey unless it involved Zach Anderson. He’d been her lifeline in the storm of being Senator Campbell’s only daughter. Even her older brother, Teddy, encouraged her to get out tonight and even said he’d cover for her.
Jimmy picked a couple of pieces of paper out of the bowl. “Josh and… Ashley. Off you go. Have fun, you two.”
Josh and Ashley moved toward the bathroom and shut the door firmly behind them. Jimmy set the timer on his phone to seven minutes then leaned against the bed frame and popped open a beer.
“Well, this is a blast.” Zach checked his watch. “So we sit around for seven minutes and wait for them to come out?”
“I suppose we can draw again. My house, my rules, huh?” Jimmy leaned forward, digging through the bowl. “Oh, hey, look here. Reagan and…”
Reagan’s heart thudded in her chest. There was no way in hell she was going anywhere with anyone except the guy she’d risked her dad’s wrath to see.
“Ha!” The can of beer next to Jimmy’s knee spilled onto the plush, cream carpet. “It’s me. Reagan and me.”
Zach let out a low rumble, almost like a growl. “Want to check that piece of paper again, Baldwin?”
Smirking, Jimmy grabbed a shirt out of the drawer next to him to sop up the spill. “Why don’t you take my turn, Anderson? I’ve got to clean up this mess anyway. Use the closet, and take all the time you need.”
Zach pulled Reagan to her feet. They crossed the room to the closet. He opened the door, and the overhead light automatically came on. The smell of leather, shoe polish, and dry-cleaning chemicals surrounded them, not exactly the kind of ambiance she’d pictured when she thought about their last night together.
Reagan followed him inside and pulled the door shut behind her. Surrounded in darkness, she felt for him.
“I’m right here.” His voice came out soft, low.
She bumped into him then wrapped her arms around his neck. “We need to talk. Have you decided where you’re going to be in the Fall?” He hadn’t applied to any colleges. Said he couldn’t afford the tuition, so why bother.
“I’ll probably be right here where you left me. I might take some classes at the community college.” His hand brushed her cheek. “Get the basics out of the way for cheap, and then maybe look into a photography program or something.”