Wedding Series Boxed Set (3 Books in 1) (The Wedding Series Book 97) by Patricia McLinn

Author:Patricia McLinn [McLinn, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Romance, Fiction
ISBN: 9781939215185
Publisher: Craig Place Books
Published: 2013-11-09T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

“America loves an underdog,” the newscaster intoned, “and especially when the underdog successfully pulls off a stunning upset. So, America, prepare to meet your latest darling.

“It’s well past midnight here in Illinois, and for Joan Bradon and her staff, the day that started at dawn this morning is still a long way from being over…”

The television camera panned over the happy chaos of a victorious campaign headquarters on election night, centering on a tall, rawboned woman who radiated energy and determination. But in a darkened living room in Washington, D.C., the viewer’s attention focused on the background, where a man with his loosened tie askew and a phone tucked into his shoulder used one hand to sign something held out to him by a teenage messenger, while he drove his other hand through his thick, unruly hair. He smiled at the teenager, a smile that didn’t mask his weariness, but made it clear that no amount of tiredness would change the basic decency of the man.

In the living room in Washington, the watcher folded her knees more tightly to her chest, covered her mouth with a fist and tried to ignore the twin tears burning down her cheeks.

*

Tris subtly withdrew from the conversation. It wasn’t impolite to do that when you wanted the other two people at the dinner table to get to know each other, as she hoped Leslie Craig and Grady Roberts would.

She deserved this slightly smug feeling. It had been a stroke of genius to insist Leslie come with her to dinner. She might not have done it with any ulterior motive where Leslie and Grady were concerned, but once she’d seen them together the idea had taken hold. They acted a bit wary of each other, but she hoped that would pass, especially if she participated less so they could talk more to each other. It didn’t hurt that that also served her initial purpose in inviting Leslie—deflecting some of the questions she had a feeling Grady was dying to ask her.

She’d been surprised when he called last week and said he was going to be in D.C. a few days and wanted to get together for dinner. But not as surprised as she would have been a few months ago. He’d called her more in the three months since Paul and Bette’s wedding than he had in the previous six years. Almost as if, for the first time, he felt comfortable being her friend.

Tris watched him laugh at one of Leslie’s medium outrageous comments, and thought again that maybe all of them underestimated Grady.

“Oh, look, it’s the Filbertsons. I simply must go say hello to them on my way to the ladies’ room. I’ll be back in a bit,” announced Leslie, significantly pressing Tris’s hand. “That’ll give you a chance to catch up on old news without an outsider here.”

She looked from one to the other of them, then swept away. Tris watched her go with an inward grimace. She’d underestimated Leslie, too. She

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