First Lady (58 page)

Ashley flashed a brilliant smile as she entered the room and made her way to Lauren, not bothering to close the door behind her. “Hi, Mr. Evenocheck!” She gave the man a little wave.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he greeted, his voice warm. Then he let loose with a wolf whistle. “You are every bit as gorgeous as both your mothers.” He sighed. “What I wouldn’t give to be one of the agents guarding your house and to be not so old that you’re absolutely right in calling me Mr. Evenocheck.”

Lauren laughed as Ashley blushed becomingly. Fondly, she wrapped an arm around the girl’s slim waist. “Don’t let him embarrass you, sugar.” Lauren’s eyes twinkled. “He enjoys scaring members of the opposite sex.”

“You wound me, Lauren,”
Wayne
said in a serious voice, but he winked for Ashley’s benefit.

“Oh.” Ashley suddenly remembered the book she’d recently finished. She sucked in an excited breath. “Mr. Evenocheck, Mama said you know—”

Wayne
chuckled. “His autograph is in the mail, sweetheart. Just don’t drool on it.” He winked again.
“Runs the ink.”

“Thanks!” Ashley gave an excited little hop.

“Oops.”
Wayne
looked down at his phone. “That’s my mother on my other line. This is her annual call to tell me how another Christmas has been ruined because I haven’t given her any grandchildren.” He cringed.

“Mr. Evenocheck has a mother?” Ashley murmured to Lauren, earning a muffled chuckle from the older woman.

“It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?” Lauren whispered back, tickling Ashley’s waist with playful fingers.

“I heard that,”
Wayne
complained, but he was smiling.
“Merry Christmas to my favorite author and her family.”
He met Lauren’s gaze. “We’ll talk again soon, yes?” He lifted his eyebrows in question.

Thoughtfully, Lauren nodded. “Soon.”

Wayne
disconnected from his end and with a few security codes, Lauren did the same thing. “How was your nap?” she asked Ashley, taking the time to save her file and turn off her machine.

“Nap?”

Lauren glanced at her in question.

Ashley’s mouth formed a tiny O. “Oh, right. My nap.” She yawned dramatically. “It was great.”

Lauren pursed her lips. Something was up.

“Hurry up, Ash!” came a voice from outside office. “You’re supposed to get her off the phone, not take all day.”

Lauren gave Ashley a puzzled look, then rose to her feet, gently moving Gremlin aside so she could stand without tipping over. “Aaron, is that you? You can come in.”

Then she heard it. The familiar pitter-patter of tiny feet. Four, tiny canine feet, to be precise.

Aaron pushed open the door to reveal a pug puppy, who was on a long, loosely held, bright red leash and collar. Over Aaron’s shoulder, Lauren could see a smiling Christopher and a sheepish-looking Devlyn peering back at her.

“What in the world?” Her eyes saucered as a tiny replica of Gremlin scampered in, his paws sliding on the hardwood floors. He ran headfirst into a chair leg and shook his head briskly. He was stunned, and he staggered backwards a few steps before landing squarely on his butt with a tiny thump.

Gremlin’s ears perked up and with a growl, and at a speed that Lauren hadn’t witnessed in several years, he bolted for the puppy, his feet slipping and sliding as he went.

“Gremlin!” Lauren cried, afraid of what he might do to the puppy.

But Gremlin came to a screeching stop just in front of the smaller dog, stopping just as his broad, flat nose bumped gently against the puppy’s smaller one.

For a tension-filled few seconds both dogs remained stock-still. Then the smaller dog’s entire body started to shake, along with his stumpy tail.

“Aww…” The kids cooed in unison, making their way to the floor with the dog.

Even Devlyn found herself melting a little as Grem tentatively poked out his tongue and greeted the puppy with a sopping, loud lick.

Lauren blinked as her dog warmed to his new task and began cleaning the puppy’s entire face as the puppy mewed and whimpered in delight. A smile edged its way onto her face, and she glanced up at Dev — who was doing her best to look innocent. “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s a Christmas present,” Christopher explained, petting both dogs with a gentle touch that was so characteristic of the boy. “Gremlin’s been so sad.”

Aaron stood up and handed the leash to his brother. “He still misses Princess, I think. We thought he might need a friend,” he grinned, showing off deep dimples, “with breath as bad as his.”

“How—?” Lauren shook her head in wonder. “How did you get one that looks just like Gremlin? I’m not even sure he’s purebred. We met at the pound!”

“The puppy is Grem’s grandson,” Ashley told her, her eyes on the puppy. “Uncle David bred his pugly with a purebred pug, and he ended up with one that looks like Gremlin again. We kept it a surprise.”

Dev stepped around her children and the dogs and approached the younger woman. “Surprised?” she asked, bracing herself in case Lauren reacted badly. She cocked her head to the side and asked in her most sincere voice, “Can we keep him, Mama?” She batted her eyelashes. “Please?”

Lauren’s jaw sagged a little as she wondered whether she'd heard Devlyn right. “Devlyn Marlowe,” she paused to kiss her in greeting, “you have complained about my dog every single day since I came to the White House and now you want another pug?”

Dev’s cheeks tinted and she dropped her voice so that only Lauren could hear. “But Grem is lonely by himself.” She gave Lauren a wish-filled look that left her helpless to do anything but smile.

“You’re such an old softy,” she whispered back, feeling as though she might cry.

“Shh…” Dev looked around in case she was being overheard. “The kids will never listen to another word I say if they figure out what a soft touch I am.”

The children all began to giggle. “We all know and we still love you, Mom,” Christopher assured her, using the puppy’s paws to scratch Gremlin’s ears.

“Well?” Ashley looked up from her place on the floor with the boys. “Can we keep him?”

Lauren eyed her dog, who was actually smiling, his crooked teeth gleaming in the afternoon light. Then she looked at her children, who were all giving her the same pathetic, puppy-dog eyes that Devlyn had subjected her to earlier. She sighed. “Was there ever any doubt?”

“Yes!” the boys crowed, startling the puppy and sending it scurrying over to Devlyn.

The white dog with black markings cowered at the President’s feet and Devlyn reached out a tentative hand to comfort him, ready to snatch it away in case Gremlin’s prodigy decided to take after his Grandpa and go for her pinky finger. But to everyone’s surprise, the puppy simply licked Dev’s fingers, then nuzzled her hand.

Beaming, Dev picked up the puppy and gave him a sloppy kiss. “He loves me!” She turned to Gremlin, a smug look on her face. “See this?” She squeezed the puppy to her face. “He loves me. Me, me, me, me, me! What do you think about that?”

Gremlin turned his flat nose up at the President and, seeing no reason to break with tradition now, refused to acknowledge that he was even being spoken to.

Dev’s eyes narrowed at the chubby dog, and her lips curled into her best snarl.

Snorting at Dev and Gremlin’s familiar antics, Lauren reached out to pet the puppy to say hello. “Yeow!” The dog snapped at her, his teensy teeth bared in canine fury. She snatched her hand away, rubbing it even though the tiny teeth had missed her. “Hey,” she said softly, “I won’t hurt you.” She tried again, and this time the dog barked, refusing to let Lauren’s hand anywhere near not only him but his new mistress.

Dev.

On Lauren’s third try, the puppy sank his teeth into the sleeve of her sweatshirt and refused to let go even when Lauren jerked her hand back. The frantic action yanked the skinny dog right out Devlyn’s arms and left him dangling from Lauren’s shirt as she shook her arm wildly and screamed for someone to get him off.

The children were nearly in hysterics by the time Devlyn successfully unhooked the puppy's teeth from Lauren’s favorite, orange, Tennessee Volunteers sweatshirt.

“He’s possessed!” Lauren wailed to Gremlin. “Can you believe that?
 
Your own flesh and blood is a demon and he likes her,” she pointed an accusing finger at her mate, “and not me.” She held up her now raggedy sleeve for Gremlin to see. “Look what he did!”

Dev petted the puppy possessively, enjoying this more than she could put into words.
 
“Thank you for naming him, honey. Hello, little Demon,” she murmured into his soft white fur.

The children hummed their agreement at the name, enjoying the play between their mothers and most especially the comical, sour look on Lauren’s face.

In consolation, Gremlin made the supreme effort of getting up and walking the few paces over to Lauren and plopping down on her feet. He was there for her to scratch, should she find it necessary.

Satisfied for the time being, Lauren shook her finger at Devlyn. “Keep Demon away from me. He’s tried to bite me twice and he’s just a baby!”

“But he’s so precious,” Dev cooed, kissing the dog again, mindless of his slobber.

“Uck.” Lauren made a face. “I won’t even do that with Gremlin. Your lips are not coming anywhere near me for days.”

“That’s okay,” Dev murmured, petting her new beloved. She sniffed haughtily, her nose high in the air. “It’s enough to know at long last that a pug has chosen me over you. It’s only sweeter that he’s a relative of Gremlin’s.”

“Devlyn,” Lauren groaned. “I am not keeping a dog that hates me.”

Dev arched an eyebrow. “We all want a new member of the family, and now I’ll have lots of extra time to spend with him.”

Lauren gave her a challenging look, and Devlyn gave her one right back.

“It’s either a dog or a baby, Lauren. You choose.”

“Hello and welcome to the family, Demon,” Lauren said instantly, trying once again to pet him, only to have to snatch her hand away to safety.

Dev sniggered. “That’s what I thought.”

“Here.” Lauren grabbed Christopher by the arm and hoisted him to his feet. He was already a little taller than she was, and she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before pushing him towards his mother. “Take Demon and Gremlin for a walk and let them get to know each other. I need a minute alone with your mom.”

“Oooo…” the kids taunted. “Mom’s in trou-blllle!”

Dev blinked, then her eyes widened. “I am?” She tried to sneak out with the kids, but Lauren grabbed her by the back of her shirt and hauled her back into the room, not stopping until they stood alongside the bed.

“Oh, no you don’t, Madam President. I said I wanted to talk to you.”

“So you did.” Dev sighed and flopped back down on the bed with her eyes closed. “I’m not really in trouble, am I?” She opened one very blue eye just in case.

The blonde laughed softly. “No. The puppy will eventually like me.” She joined Dev on the bed, stretching out and propping her head on her upturned hand. “Thank you for thinking of Gremlin,” she said, her voice soft and sincere. “He’s been so sad.”

Dev smiled, but just a little. “S’okay. We’ve sort of come to a truce over the years.” She shrugged one shoulder.

“I know. In fact, that was so sweet I’d kiss you now, but you still have puppy slobber on your face.”

Dev eagerly wiped her mouth off using her sleeve. “Better?” She presented her mouth to Lauren for inspection.

Lauren smiled warmly and patted Dev’s cheek. Then she leaned close to Dev’s mouth, stopping bare millimeters away to say, “No.”

The smile slid from Dev’s face, and Lauren laughed.

“Damn, you’re mean.” Dev frowned.

“Aww… C’mere, darlin’.” This time their lips met in earnest in a soft, slow kiss that they both sank into. “I.” Another kiss. “Love.” A third kiss. “You.”

“Wow,” Dev finally said, sharing the same breath as Lauren. “You’re in a good mood all of the sudden.”

Lauren nodded. “I’m… well.” She drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know what I am. Excited, I guess.” She pulled away just enough to gauge Dev’s reaction. “On the phone today,
Wayne
made me an offer.”

“I need to castrate that man.”

Gray eyes rolled. “Not that kind of an offer.” A beat. “At least not this time.” She grinned as Dev’s eyes turned to slits, but her expression quickly sobered.
 
“He wants me to write another biography when I’m finished with yours.”

Suddenly serious, Dev sat up. “Really?”

“Really.”

 
“Wow.” Dev licked her lips. “I… Um… I thought you were going to take a year or two off and do another Adrian Nash novel.”

“That is what I planned.”

Dev blinked as she caught the look of hesitation in her lover’s eyes. “But that’s not what you’d rather do.” It wasn’t a question.

“I didn’t tell
Wayne
yes or no to anything,” Lauren said quickly, searching Dev’s face for her reaction. She felt her stomach flip-flop. “I would never do that without—”