He’d never thought about it from her position, only how everything having to do with his father—with his family—affected him. Sometimes he really was an insensitive ass. He picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Despite how hard it’s going to be to keep my hands off you today, Miss Hill, I’ll do my best to pretend we’re just working together. I’ll even let my father know how much I resent your interference in my everyday life.”
She beamed a smile. “That would be perfect. And speaking of my interference in your life—” She pulled out her laptop. “This is the agenda for today, including media opportunities and what I plan to post to your social media accounts. I’d like your approval before you get too busy with family things.”
He looked it over. True to her word, she kept it all pretty benign, the information she’d put together saying only that he’d be spending the holiday with his family, including his father, the senator, and his mother. No campaign stuff, at least not yet, though she had mentioned they’d be taking photos throughout the day. They could go over those later.
“This looks fine,” he said, swiping his knuckles across her cheek. “Thanks for checking with me.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for letting me post something about today.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her gaze lingered on his. It was going to be difficult not touching her today.
Yesterday had been great, because he’d been free to be with her, to spend time with her, and to put his hands on her whenever he felt like it.
Today they’d go back to being professional strangers again.
“Have you been to the ranch before?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m excited to see it. Your father talks about it a lot, and your mother loves this place. She tells me she can’t wait for your father to retire so they can spend more time here.”
He couldn’t imagine his father ever retiring from politics. “Which could be a while, especially if he gets the VP nomination and they win.”
“That’s true.”
The car pulled down a dirt road. Gray had to admit he was looking forward to visiting the ranch, and when they pulled up to the main gates and he saw Preston Ranch scrolled in iron, he took a deep breath.
His issues with his father aside, this was home. Thousands and thousands of acres of home.
“Wow,” Evelyn said, leaning closer to the window to look out as they drove past a herd of cattle. She dragged her gaze away from the window. “I’ve read the books about your father and studied his bio extensively, so I know the ranch has been in your family for generations, but seeing it in person is a sight to behold.”
He smiled. “Yeah, it was a privilege to grow up here. I learned a lot from my grandfather.”
They drove the mile or so to the ranch house. The car stopped and Gray got out and held his hand out for Evelyn.
She stepped out and he wanted to pull her against him and kiss her. She looked so fresh and cute in her white pants and navy striped top. She’d pulled her hair up today since it was hotter than a blazing forest fire out here. That was the one thing he remembered about the family Fourth of July barbecues. You could always count on them being blistering hot. Then again, there was the pool to cool things down.
Maybe Evelyn would don her bikini today. He had that thought to look forward to.
“You ready for this?” she asked.
He cocked her a grin. “Are you? There are lots of family members here. Plus, I might have invited some of my friends.”
Her brows rose. “You did?”
“Yeah. A few of my college buddies are in town for a charity golf tournament. They asked me to join in, but I wanted some downtime at my place in Florida so I turned them down.”
“Oh, that’s too bad, but I’m looking forward to meeting your friends.”
He laughed. “Wait ’til you meet them before you say that.”
He led her through the front door of the house, a blast of cold air instantly cooling him down.
“Oh, this is lovely,” Evelyn said. “It has your mother’s mark on it.”
“Yeah,” he said, smiling as he saw the simplicity that was the earmark of his mom.
He’d always loved the two-story house. When he was a kid it had seemed like a mansion. Hell, even now it was oversized and his mother complained that she was waiting for him and Carolina to fill it with grandkids. He sure as hell wasn’t ready for that, and Carolina was busy becoming the next great fashion designer, so he doubted she’d be popping out babies anytime soon.
Speaking of his mother—ever the eagle-eyed hostess, she spotted them in the crowd and moved in a hurry to greet them. She enveloped Gray in a hug.
“Thank you for coming,” she said, and after he hugged her back, she pulled away, but didn’t let go of his hands. “I wasn’t sure you’d show up.”
“With my bodyguard here? You think I had a chance to say no?”
His mother glanced over at Evelyn and grinned. “So, she’s doing a good job?”
“She’s a pain in my ass.”
“Grayson. Watch your language.” His mother let go of him and hugged Evelyn.
“I’m so happy to see you. Is my son being mean to you?”
Evelyn gave Gray a once-over. “Nothing I can’t handle. Don’t forget I swim with sharks every day.”
His mom patted Evelyn on the shoulder. “That’s so true. But don’t take any guff from him. He can be . . . difficult to manage at times.”
“Hey. I’m standing right here, Mom.”
She winked at him, then looped her arm in Evelyn’s. “Let’s go find you two something to drink. Come along, Grayson.”
And just like that, he was eight years old again, tagging along behind his mother. He rolled his eyes and followed them out to the back patio. There were kids in the pool and at least a hundred people spilled out over the back lawn. Shade tents had been set up all over the property, beer and whiskey were plentiful, and the smell of barbecue permeated the whole area. It was controlled chaos, and there were plenty of staffers present to make sure everyone was catered to.
Typical Preston holiday party.
His mother had disappeared somewhere with Evelyn while he’d been gaping, so he grabbed a beer and settled in against the wall, greeting a few cousins and aunts and uncles and doing his best to ignore the obvious political types he could spot ten miles away. Despite everyone being in casual dress, he knew who was here to enjoy the holiday and who was here to gain political favor with his father.