Nothing Left to Lose (59 page)

When we pulled
up outside the hotel, the crowd of reporters were easy to see. The
staff had cordoned off an area and they were all lined up ready
with their cameras and microphones. Luckily, due to the tinted
windows, they couldn’t see us yet. On the opposite side to the
reporters, a gathering of onlookers waited excitedly too. Obviously
word was spreading beyond just the press that this event was
happening.

Anna winced and
leant forward in her seat. “Are you sure that Ashton and I can’t
sneak in through the back?” she asked her dad hopefully.

He sighed and
shook his head apologetically. “I’m sorry, Annabelle, I need you to
come in the front. We need to show a united front. I know it’s
going to make things more difficult for you.”

I knew she
didn’t want to do this at all; everything was going to change for
her now. Once it was common knowledge who she was, her normal life
that we had tried to build would change completely. Until now, her
father had people managing the press so that it made it possible
for her to remain in the shadows. Now that she was about to step
out of this car with him, there would be no more paying off
photographers to keep her name out of the tabloids and magazines. I
squeezed her hand gently, trying to reassure her that everything
would be fine. We’d spoken about it a lot recently, so I knew
exactly how she felt about it; she was putting on a convincing show
for her parents though.

“It’s fine,
don’t worry,” she smiled, waving her hand dismissively. She
squeezed my hand tighter, so I knew she was lying through her
teeth. Her parents looked like they bought it.

As soon as the
car rolled to a stop, someone opened the door and waved her parents
out but then held up a hand to tell us to wait in the car. People
cheered, shouting their names excitedly as the cameras flashed in a
nonstop stream. I took a deep breath and snapped my business head
back on. I turned in my seat.

“You don’t
leave my side, and you stay within my reach at all times,” I
ordered, trying to sound stern with her. I hated telling her what
to do but I needed to keep her safe, she was the most important
thing in the world.

She grinned.
“Yes, Mr Sexy SWAT Agent,” she flirted, raising one eyebrow at me.
I couldn’t help but smile. Before I could answer, the same guy
stuck his head in the door and waved us out of the car too. I
climbed out first, doing a quick survey of the area. Dean was
already out of the car that had travelled in front of us; I could
see he was scanning the crowd for trouble too. He nodded
discreetly, so I turned and held out a hand to Anna.

Her hand closed
over mine, gripping so tightly that my fingers mashed together. She
stepped out; biting on her bottom lip so hard that I was afraid
she’d bite it in two.

“Miss Spencer,
Mr Taylor, if you would just follow me, and pose for a couple of
photos?” the flustered organiser guy requested, ushering us
forward. This was probably Reginald, the publicist.

We both
followed behind him, stopping where he pointed before he announced
our names and that Anna was Senator Spencer’s daughter. As soon as
he said who she was, the cameras started flashing in our direction,
so many flashes that I could barely even tell where they were
coming from. I pulled Anna closer to me.

She turned to
look at me, smiling her beautiful smile. “Oh my God, this is
crazy,” she whispered, laughing. I grinned and nodded. Crazy wasn’t
exactly the word I would have used. A piece of her hair blew across
her face, so I brushed it back into place, smiling down at her.

“Totally
freaking crazy,” I confirmed.

Reginald
stepped in front of us, holding up a clipboard, trying to shield us
from the continuing flash of the paparazzi. “Okay, that’s great.
The reporters are going to want to ask you a few questions,” he
said, as he pointed to a huge line of people with microphones and
video cameras. Anna tensed next to me as we followed him over to
the right place. Nerves settled in the pit of my stomach. “Just a
couple of questions, guys. One at a time, alright?” he instructed,
pointing to the first person standing there.

Anna tightened
her already vice-like grip on my hand. I smiled, silently wondering
if she thought I was going to run away and leave her here. The
first reporter, a woman in her early thirties I would guess,
grinned excitedly as she looked Anna over quickly, clearly debating
on her one question so that she didn’t waste it.

“Miss Spencer,
who designed the dress? It’s beautiful.”

I laughed.
Of all the things she could ask, and she asks about the dress.
Typical woman!
Anna smiled and looked down at herself. “I know,
it’s incredible. It’s by an English designer called Mary Shaun; I
think she’s going to be the next big thing. I love her designs,”
she answered easily, as if she was expecting this to be like
torture or something. I was half a step behind her.

Reginald
pointed to the next reporter who was obviously more prepared than
the first and wasn’t as concerned about fashion. “Miss Spencer,
what do you think of your father being elected?”

She beamed a
killer smile. “It’s great. He’s worked extremely hard and his
policies are worth supporting. I’m immensely proud of him.”

“Miss Spencer,
who’s your date tonight?” the next reporter asked.

My back
stiffened because I wasn’t expecting to be mentioned at all. I was
a nobody. Anna laughed and tugged on my hand so that I had to take
a half step forward to be at her side.

“This is my
boyfriend, Ashton Taylor,” Anna answered, smiling up at me. I
couldn’t help but smile back. I was so proud to have those words
come out of her mouth, even if they weren’t strictly true. My
boyfriend, Ashton. I loved that.

“How long have
you two been together?” the next reporter asked quickly, using up
their question.

“A year and
three months,” Anna lied quickly. That was how long we had told
people at college that we were together, so we needed to keep up
the pretence for them.

“Miss Spencer,
will you be working for your father’s administration?” the next one
asked.

She shook her
head in response. “No, I’m actually in college at the moment.”

My stomach
clenched, and I squeezed her hand warningly, praying for her not to
elaborate. While we’d discussed possible scenarios about what would
happen once people knew who she was, I’d already instructed her not
to give away any details of her life. Thankfully, she didn’t
elaborate though, so I breathed a sigh of relief. We were on the
last reporter now, and then I could get her inside and stop being
so damn worried about her safety. We both looked at the last
reporter expectantly.

The lady
smiled. “Mr Taylor, what’s it like dating the future President’s
daughter?”

Anna laughed,
and I smiled at her nervously. I had no idea why this woman would
waste her question on me. Not having practiced anything for myself,
I decided to answer her question with the truth. “Well, to be
honest, it was a little intimidating being taken home to meet the
parents,” I joked. Anna laughed, as did half of the reporters who
were still filming and taping us. “Honestly though, it’s been the
best time of my life. She’s the best thing that ever happened to
me,” I said honestly. I bent my head and kissed her on the
forehead.

Anna’s eyes
shone with happiness and joy as she smiled up at me, clearly
impressed by my answer.

Reginald
stepped forward once more. “Okay, that’s it folks. Only one
question each. Miss Spencer and Mr Taylor would like to get inside
and enjoy the celebrations.” He waved us towards the door so I
pulled her inside quickly, happy that it was all over.

My body relaxed
as we made it through the doors. From the corner of my eye, I saw
Dean slip into the building behind us. He nodded at me discreetly,
signalling that everything was satisfactory.

“That was
insane,” I muttered, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling
her body close to mine.

“I know, but
it’s done now though,” she sighed deeply, looking relieved. She
nodded towards the sign that was sitting in the foyer of the hotel,
announcing the way to the private function in the ball room. “Think
that’s us,” she muttered, slipping her hand into mine.

Formal didn’t
quite cover the posh party that I was currently in the midst of.
The dinner had been exquisite; on the small side though, so I was
glad I’d eaten a sandwich beforehand. After dinner, there were a
couple of speeches and people wishing Anna’s father happy birthday
and offering stories of him when they first met or witty anecdotes
on something he’d done or said at some point in their friendship.
It was nice and intimate. Of course, because Anna was underage, and
I was pretending to be, we had to toast with non-alcoholic
champagne.

Finally the
speeches finished, and a big band started to play. I smiled,
wanting to escape the stuffy people that were seated on our table
with us. “Want to dance?” I asked Anna.

She smiled
happily and nodded. “Sure,” she replied, taking my hand. I stood up
and proudly led her to the dance floor, pulling her as close as I
could without being all over her.

“You’re
amazing, you know that?” I whispered. I didn’t just mean how she
looked tonight; I meant how she was conducting herself with grace
and poise when she probably hated this whole thing and the
attention that was being directed at her. I was immensely proud of
her right now.

She smiled.
“You’re not too bad yourself,” she teased, tightening her grip on
my shoulder.

Dancing with
Anna made me feel amazing, like I was the most important man in the
world; she wouldn’t dance with anyone else like this and I loved
that fact. I could see some of the guys in the room watching her
like vultures. I smiled to myself smugly, setting my hand on the
small of her back as we sashayed around the dance floor.

After a few
songs, her father walked over, smiling happily. He looked every
inch the President tonight, and I was honoured to be in his
presence; he truly was a brilliant man who would do well for the
country.

“Do you mind if
I cut in?” he asked. I resisted the urge to say no. I didn’t want
to let go of her tonight. Well, that wasn’t strictly true, I didn’t
want to let go of her
ever,
it wasn’t limited to
tonight.

Anna shrugged.
“Sure, if you want to dance with Ashton, then I’ll go get a drink
or something,” she teased, making both me and her father laugh.

I stepped back
as he held his hand out to her in invitation. She took a deep
breath, seeming to steel herself before she stepped closer to him,
placing one of her hands into his and the other onto his shoulder.
I grinned proudly and made my way back to the table, sipping my
water but not taking my eyes off her the whole time. Anna’s father
looked like the proudest and happiest man on the planet as he
paraded his daughter around the dance floor.

When the song
was nearing completion, he bent and kissed her forehead.
Surprisingly, she didn’t flinch away from him the way I had seen
her do in the past. She detested all forms of affection or
closeness with other people. Her father looked up and caught my
eye, giving me a small nod. He had things to do tonight, and people
to speak to no doubt, so their dance was probably limited to one
because of that. I smiled and headed over to them.

I caught the
end of their conversation. “I know this is going to be hard for you
now with my new job, and I’m sorry. But I’m glad you have him. He’s
a really good guy,” Senator Spencer told her quietly. I slowed my
approach so that they could finish talking. I had a feeling that
the ‘him’ was me.

“It’s fine,
Dad, honestly. I’m really proud of you,” Anna replied.

Her father
beamed down at her. “Thank you, Annabelle. That means a lot to me,”
he answered. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I stepped to her
side, and she instantly melted against me. I smiled and wrapped my
arm around her waist affectionately. Her father smiled at me before
looking back at his daughter. “I won’t see you again tomorrow
because your mom and I are heading out early to catch a flight to
New York, so make sure you say bye to your old man before you leave
tonight, huh?” She smiled and nodded in agreement. “Thank you for
the dance,” he said happily.

Anna laughed.
“Anytime, Mr President.”

He grinned.
“That’s going to take some getting used to,” he stated, shaking his
head, looking a little bemused. He turned to me and held out his
hand, smiling warmly. “Look after my little girl,” he pleaded.

He really
didn’t need to ask me that, I would look after Anna forever if
she’d let me. “Of course, sir,” I promised, nodding and tightening
my other arm around her waist as I shook his hand. As soon as her
dad left, I pulled her into another dance, eager to have her in my
arms again. My mouth was itching to be on hers. She looked
exquisite tonight; she was so beautiful that it honestly hurt to
look at her. I couldn’t seem to get close enough to her. “I don’t
suppose I can kiss you in front of your parents,” I whispered,
already knowing the answer was no.

She shook her
head and winced. “I don’t think I’d ever hear the end of it.”

“Yeah, that’s
what I thought,” I admitted, trying not to show her how
disappointed I was that I couldn’t kiss her soft lips. As her eyes
drifted over my shoulder, her whole posture changed. She stiffened,
her hand tightened on my shoulder, her nails dug into the back of
my hand that she was holding as we danced. My body tensed too in
response, but I had no idea what, or who, had caused her reaction.
Just as I was about to turn and look, she twisted my body and
ducked her head so that she was hidden from view. Whoever she was
looking at, she obviously didn’t want them to see her.