Page 27 of Slow Hands Cowboy

“Well, I guess, but I don’t know what that has to do with –”

“Take a break. Everything is going to run just fine without you. Let Anna do damage control for the campaign. Let me do some damage control.”

“And I just… hide out here.”

“Why not?”

“Because people are going to think I’m hiding. Because they’re going to think that I am embarrassed and humiliated and heartbroken.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Two out of the three, I think.”

He wanted to press her and ask which two, but then decided against it. “You’re allowed to have feelings. If you were the one that had done the leaving, there would be a lot more to clean up.”

“But people are going to feel sorry for me.”

“And why is that a bad thing?”

“A leader needs to be… I don’t know, a leader. Not somebody that you pity.”

“Yeah, in the long term, I agree with you, but the fact that you have emotions now makes you look like you’re a normal person. You’re human, Addison. You’re allowed to sit down and have a feeling.”

“I don’t want to. I don’t like it.”

“That’s too damn bad.”

“But what am I…”

“Let me figure out what the availability is for the next week, and I’ll get you booked into something decent.”

“I’m going to pay for it.”

“You really don’t have to. Consider this comped for the disaster.”

“The disaster wasn’t your fault.”

He smiled, slowly. “As much as I like to hear you say that, and I do, it doesn’t much matter whose fault the disaster was.”

“Well, it was Alan’s fault.”

“Oh. Agreed. But do you want to know who’s not going to be able to PR himself out of this mess? Him. Because he’s the one that ran from the altar, like a little bitch. And he’s the one that got roped like a baby cow.”

“That is true,” she said, looking thoughtful.

Her brow furrowed. “Do you suppose that someday I’m going to look back on this and laugh?”

“I’ve learned to laugh about all kinds of things, Addison. You will too.”

He handed her the bag with her change of clothes in it. “I’m going to figure out where we can stick you for the week. Is your luggage in the hotel room?”

“Yes.”

“Packed for the honeymoon?”

“Yes.”

“Great. I’ll have that moved to wherever we move you.”