Oh that’s just fucking great. Nothing like my past coming back to bite me in the ass—again. “Let me get this straight, not only can you not be with me because you think I’m delusional in my feelings for you, now you’re blaming my past?”

“You are a playboy, Barrett.”

“Was—I was a playboy, but not anymore. People can change.”

“I wish I could believe that. I’ve had my heart broken once by a man cheating on me, and I can’t go down that road again.”

“Just like I told you before, I’ve never cheated on a woman.”

“And like I said then, you’ve never been monogamous for a long period of time. What happens six months or a year down the road when you grow tired of me and a piece of ass turns your head?”

“Are you blind? In all the months we’ve been together on the road, have I even once looked at another woman? Flirted with another woman?”

“You couldn’t because of the contract and what it would mean for your dad’s campaign. What happens after Election Day when it no longer matters?” she countered.

“I didn’t do it just because of the contract. I did it because you fucking consumed me. I only had eyes for you, and I always will.”

“You can’t make promises like that.”

I jerked my hand through my hair. “Isn’t my word worth anything?”

Addison rose off the bed. “I wish it was.”

“What happens now? You just call it quits and leave?”

“If you’re worrying about the campaign—”

“I couldn’t give a fuck less about that. Right now I’m more concerned with you and me.”

“Outside of the campaign, there is no you and me, not really.”

“Oh hell yes there is.”

Addison turned away from me to throw the last of her things in her suitcase. “Look, I’ve taken care of everything. I called Bernie last night.”

“You did?”

“Yes. He helped come up with a plan.” After zipping up her suitcase, she turned back to me. “We’re going to say the pneumonia I had earlier in the campaign has come back, and a doctor has ordered me on strict bed rest. I’m going to post a message to the blog from my bed, looking like hell, where I’ll relay how disappointed I am that I can’t be on the trail for the last two weeks. No one will be the wiser. It’ll just be one more bullshit story in this façade of a relationship.”

Grabbing her by the arm, I forced her to look at me. “It’s not a façade. I love you, dammit!”

“In time, you’ll see I was right.”

When I opened my mouth to argue with her, a knock came at the door. “Who the hell is it?” I growled.

“Ty.”

I narrowed my eyes at Addison. “You even told Ty you were leaving before you told me?”

“He doesn’t know anything except that I need a ride to the airport. I led him to believe something was wrong with Evan.”

“With your ability to lie at the drop of a hat, perhaps you have a future in politics.” Even though I knew it was a low blow, I wanted her to hear me, to stop judging me for who I once was.

Ignoring me, Addison went over and opened the door. When Ty stepped into the room, he suddenly recoiled back as if he could feel the heavy tension in the air. At his hesitation, Addison grabbed her purse and bag. “Would you mind getting my suitcase, Ty?”

“Uh, yeah.” As he bypassed me, his eyes searched my face for the answer to the questions I knew were swirling in his mind.

When she got to the door, Addison turned around. “Goodbye, Barrett.”

Although there were a thousand despicable words I wanted to hurl at her, I instead forced a smile to my face. “I’m only saying goodbye because this is what you think you want. Maybe when you get your head out of your ass and think straight, you’ll realize it was a huge mistake, and I’ll be here when you do.”

An agonized expression came over Addison’s face. Without another word, she scurried out the door. Ty threw one last What the fuck? look over his shoulder before he hurried to catch up to her.

The next two weeks passed in a blur. I stayed on the Niña, making campaign stop after campaign stop for Dad. I ate artery-clogging food from mom-and-pop diners while guzzling cheap beer. Sleep evaded me, so I existed on a Red Bull cocktail that gave me the energy I needed to keep me going at events all day and part of the night.

True to her word, Addison posted a video explaining her absence from the campaign. She actually managed to sound sick, and although she had been made to look ill, she still looked breathtakingly beautiful to me. At every stop, I fielded questions about her health along with well wishes for her recovery. Sometimes there would be a stuffed animal or a bouquet of flowers for her; I handed each of them off to Pete to send to the local children’s hospital.

With a week until election time, we made a swing through Colorado. Mom and Dad sat me down outside Denver and urged me to take a few days off. They must’ve been truly concerned about me because they even suggested I go back to Martha’s Vineyard for some R&R.

I refused. I was going to see this thing through, even if it killed me. Being back at the beach would only make me think of Addison, and I desperately needed something to get her off my mind. I thought about what Marshall had said the day we were signing contracts about a discreet hookup; the truth was I probably couldn’t get it up even if I tried. For the first time in my life, the thought of touching another woman held absolutely no appeal. The thought of looking into another woman’s eyes while hammering her made me feel sick. I had absolutely no desire to fuck anyone other than Addison.