And he had a couple things in mind.
Starting tonight.
*
EVELYN WAS RUNNING FROM ONE END OF THE CONVENTION floor to the other, her head filled with so many things on her to-do list she was grateful for the calendar on her phone, because her brain was utterly fried.
She was exhilarated, and exhausted, thrilled and terrified, and so excited for Senator Mitchell. This was his moment, what they’d worked so hard for all these years.
She’d listened avidly to every speech this week, excitement building each night for the upcoming Cameron/Preston ticket. She stood front and center, prepared to listen to more great speeches tonight, so proud of everything they’d accomplished.
As one of Atlanta’s representatives spoke, Evelyn responded to a few emails that had gone unanswered while she’d been busy today. And maybe she’d been purposely throwing herself into every activity possible so she could focus on work and not on Gray.
God, she missed him so much and wished she could be in Daytona with him, taking care of him. She was certain he had plenty of people watching over him. Loretta and Carolina both assured her he was being well cared for and she didn’t have to worry about him, but she couldn’t help herself. She felt both guilty and a little hurt that she hadn’t been able to see him since that night in the hospital, but that was the nature of her job. And also his choice.
He hadn’t called her. She tried not to take that personally, or as a sign of things to come in their relationship. He had a bad injury, and was likely concentrating all his efforts on resting and recuperating, not on thinking about her.
But her heart still hurt so badly, which was why she spent every moment of every day throwing herself into work.
Besides, this was the way things were going to be. Her time with him was over. He had his life, and she had hers, and her job was about to go on overdrive for the next few months. She had no time for a relationship, no time to work on whatever it was she and Gray had together.
It was time to sever the ties.
“And now, I’m so proud to introduce, fresh off one very frightening injury at our local racetrack this past weekend, Senator Mitchell Preston’s son, Grayson Preston.”
Her head shot up. Gray was here?
He hobbled across the stage on crutches and her first thought was to rush up there to help him. But he smiled at the representative and made his way, albeit slowly, to the podium, to the raucous cheers of the crowd on the convention floor.
He was in pain. She could tell from the sweat that beaded on his upper lip as she made her way closer.
When the applause died down, Gray looked out over the crowd.
“I’ve never been much of a public speaker. I’ve always let my driving do the talking for me.” He looked down at the crutches. “Sometimes my driving outlines my mistakes for me, too.”
The crowd laughed.
“But the one thing I know for certain is what Governor Cameron and my father, Mitchell Preston, can do for our country.”
His speech was eloquent, impassioned, family oriented, and politically perfect. It was clear he spoke from the heart and his speech wasn’t practiced, nor had it been written for him. If it had been, she would have been the one to write it.
And she hadn’t even known he was coming.
“So I’m very proud to introduce you to my father, Senator Mitchell Preston.”
The applause was thunderous, the people in the convention center already one hundred percent behind Gray’s father. Evelyn took it all in as Mitchell came out and gave his son a handshake, then a very gentle hug. The looks they gave each other were filled with genuine warmth.
It was a perfect moment, and the media caught it all. But it was more than that, because Evelyn saw the bonding between father and son, and that meant more than anything.
She stood and listened to Mitchell’s speech, one she’d helped him prepare. But her gaze followed Gray off stage. She wanted to go to him, to talk to him, but her job was to be there for the senator, so she stayed put while he spoke of the country’s needs and his ideas on how to fulfill them. She was so proud of him, and when he finished, the convention floor thundered its approval.
It was a shining moment, one she was fully caught up in.
It wasn’t until hours later, when all the interviews for the day were finished, that she was able to ask the senator about Gray’s appearance tonight.
“I had no idea he was going to appear. I told him not to,” the senator said.
“I thought he was in Daytona.”
The senator smiled. “I put him up in a suite here at the hotel.”
Her eyes widened. “He’s been here the whole time?”
“Yes. He didn’t want you to know.”
Hurt clenched her stomach. “Why is that?”
“He wanted you focused on what you needed to do here, not on him. He said your job is your priority.”
“I see.” How nice of him to make that decision for her, or to think she couldn’t juggle both. A familiar refrain, and one she’d heard before. “Is he still here?”
“Of course.” The senator gave her Gray’s room number and, once she was certain the senator didn’t need her anymore that night, she headed up there.
It was unfair to fight with a man who was physically down. But then again, he’d looked capable standing at the podium tonight, hadn’t he?
She knocked at the door and a very attractive woman answered. She wore a pantsuit and looked official. And gorgeous, with her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and her exotic eyes all sexy.
Dammit.
Evelyn cocked a brow.
“May I help you?” the woman asked.
“I’m here to see Gray.”
“He’s not receiving visitors.”
“Oh, he’ll see me.” She brushed past. The woman objected, but Evelyn didn’t care.
“I tried to stop her, Gray,” the woman said.
Gray was sprawled on the sofa, his casted foot resting on an ottoman.
“Hey,” he said, smiling at her. “It’s okay, Cathy. This is Evelyn, my dad’s aide. And Evelyn’s a good friend of mine. Evelyn, Cathy’s my nurse.”
His dad’s aide? That’s how he introduced her? And yeah, this Cathy chick totally looked like a nurse.
Not.
Evelyn gave her a clipped nod.
“Cathy, why don’t you take off for the night? I’m good here.”